Where Did All the Bucks Go?

Where did all the bucks go?  Is that what you’re asking yourself on this wet and windy November 16^th?  Well, hold on to your BaseSlayer’s, I have an answer for you!  Well, maybe not as far as where to tell you to go specifically tomorrow morning, as in what tree you should be in, but I can give you some insight into the type of habitat you need to be positioned in. 

Those of you who have a tag in your pocket and been in this position before are actually quite lucky if you live in a state that hasn’t been pressured by the big bang sticks!  This is the biggest opportunity time of the year, and if it weren’t for the wonderful world of video, I would have passed on the unlucky 5 ½ year old - 173 that walked by a week ago and been hanging from a tree like a drowned rat like some of you may have been.  In fact, if it weren’t for risking water damage to our HD cameras, I’d still be in a tree filming one of my staff!  From now till Thanksgiving is hands down the number one time for you to score on a true giant. 

With most of the girls off the market, the ones who are still in the mood for love are being driven off from the rest of the herd to the most isolated areas you can imagine.  To put this in perspective, let’s put this in human terms. (Sorry girls, I mean no offense in the manner in which I am going to put this, but we guys all know how this story goes.) 

So a guy walks into a strange bar – no this is not a joke – and he sees a gorgeous gal at the rail.  He walks up and strikes a conversation.  After a brief exchange of words, he can tell his new gal is showing some interest.  Beginning to feel lucky, he looks over his shoulder only to notice all the guys in the bar recognize her beauty as well.  Beginning to feel a bit insecure he decides it’s time to exit and asks the gal if she’d like to go to another bar down the street.  He’d really like to just take her home, but it’s a bit early for that in the conversation.  As he exits the bar he breathes a sigh of relief.  What happens after that becomes irrelevant to the rest of the story and isn’t for me to tell to all audiences (LOL!), but what is important is the same instinct for the guy to get the hot girl out of the bar and off the market for the evening. 

Mature bucks aren’t all that different from mature guys.  They search far and wide for an acceptable dance partner.  And, when they find one, the best maneuver they can pull to ensure the highest chance for success, is to get them off the playing field if they are to be successful in their quest.    

So, if you’re already one of our clients, and lucky enough to have our Advanced Habitat System™ in place on your property, you know exactly where to go tomorrow based on the modifications we likely made to your property to ensure a shot during this time period.  If not, and you’re still scratching your head on what type of habitat you should be positioned over tomorrow, focus on areas you don’t normally hunt.  They most likely will not produce any results. 

Instead, focus on areas where a buck can get some peace and quiet with his lovely lady.  Places such as creek bottoms in open pastures, where a buck can pin a doe down against a sharp creek wall and wait till the time is right.  Climb up in a nasty, thick timber extending into a large CRP field tucked below eye level from other deer.  Position yourself in a cut bean field with a bedded doe decoy and a standing buck that can be seen from distant timbered bedding areas or fencerows that bucks may travel in search of a hot doe.  Rattling antlers and deer decoys can be unbelievably effective this time of year if you have a decoy setup like I just mentioned.  Use the antlers only to get a passing bucks attention, then let the decoy do the rest of the work. 

To score at this time of year takes outside the box thinking and the will to hang in there all day, even in the rain.  As I said before, don’t lose hope.  You’ve still got a solid week, or more, of opportunity.  With the proper setup and access to the right kind of habitat, you’re looking at your best odds of the season to tag a true giant here in the Midwest! 

Just for inspiration, I’m attaching one of my bucks from the past.  This guy fell at 12:45pm on a blustery and ugly November day just a couple years back in a wicked deep cut along a river corridor where he had a doe pinned to a rock wall waiting for her to accept him as a mate…