Whitetail Rut-cation Journal 11/7/2018

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

11/05/2018

Weather

Pressure 29.9
NW wind in AM and SE wind in the PM 8 MPH
Temperature
- Low 28 degrees
- High of 43 degrees
Moon
- New Moon
- Rise: 7:48 AM
- Set: 6:13 PM
Strategy
- Hunt the hot stand in the AM
  - Transition zone near doe bedding
  - Go where pressure has been low
- Hunt Unpressured Farm
  - Untouched farm, hunting ridgeline over large valley adjacent to doe bedding
  - Grunt and Bleat

Results:

The morning hunt was slow with zero deer sightings. I was hunting the edge near known doe bedding areas.

The evening sit was more eventful. I went to an unpressured farm and set up along a ridgeline adjacent to doe bedding. I settled in for the afternoon at 3pm and grunted at 3:30 At 4 PM three squirrels ran underneath my stand and behind me. I had set up to allow the wind to take my scent down into the valley below me allowing the ridgeline to remain clean. The squirrels ran behind me and were rustling in the leaves. Or so I thought.

I was ignoring the noise behind me because I assumed it was the squirrels. I wasn’t going to move more than necessary so I never looked. Finally, the noise was loud enough that I knew it wasn’t the squirrels. I slowly looked over my left shoulder down towards the valley to see a nice 8-point standing 25 yards away. The buck caught the movement and trotted off to 55 yards. I shouldered the crossbow and settled the crosshairs on the buck. I had dropped my rangefinder so I was unsure of the distance. I normally range trees out to 30 yards. I began calculating the distance past the 30-yard tree and realized he was out of my range. I had to let him walk away. He trotted off down into the valley, stopping several times. I first thought he caught my wind, but thinking back and talking to others, I feel he saw my movement and didn’t like it.

The afternoon ended without any further sightings. I was encouraged to see a buck but disappointed that I let him slip by me that way.

The deer are on their feet and seeking an estrous doe. This is our favorite time of the year.

More to come…

Stay Afflicted with Whitetail OCD!

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