2018 Whitetail Rut-cation Journal
This journal will chronicle my Rut-cation and review tactics, based on weather and timing, to hunt NE Ohio whitetail deer. I look forward to sharing this ongoing story with you.
Good Luck Everyone and – Stay Afflicted with Whitetail OCD
(Decided to hunt some October Pre-Rut this year. Will be out through 10/29 in this October phase)
- Pressure 28.99 and rising all day
- North West winds 15 MPH
- Temperature
- Morning Low 39 degrees
- Afternoon high of 47 degrees
- Moon
- Waning Gibbous – 73% Illuminated
- Rise: 10:39 PM
- Set: 12:52 PM
- Morning hunt in the transition area where three habitat features meet
- NW Wind will blow straight in my face
- Looking to catch later movement to bed
- Evening hunt travel corridors
- Scrapes and rubs within 100 yards
- Set up 200 yards off bedding cover
Probably the slowest day I have had in a long while. Zero deer sightings all day. I cannot put my finger on why, but the whitetails just were not moving at all today. The winds gusted up to 18 MPH on and off all day long, but they stayed consistent. I sat the morning from 6 AM until 10 AM and the evening 4 PM until dark. I rotated stand locations and kept a favorable wind for each stand. Still, no deer all day.
These are the days when doubt can creep in. Doubt in your location. Doubt in your setup. Doubt in your preparation. Doubt in your plan. The longer you sit without seeing any deer, the easier it is to second guess yourself. STAY THE COURSE! Continue grinding it out. Whitetail season is full of peaks and valleys. The entire season can turn 180 degrees in a moment. One hot doe and the seemingly dead calm woods will explode with activity. We just need to manage our navigation of a season’s unique ebb and flow. These times of adversity are just part of the process. Whitetail hunting is a mental game and staying focused through the hard times is paramount to success.
Plus a bad day of hunting is still better than a good day of work.
I am back to work for three days and then the extended “Rut-cation” as we enter Sweet November! The best lies ahead. Enjoy the journey; I sure am!
