nOOb Hunting Question....

[Parks 788]

As I mentioned in my first thread I posted here that I was fairly new to hunting considering my age and where have lived most of my life.

I only hunt rifle season in Eastern OK in the Cookson hills.

Is that it is now time to do my yearly shopping for any new hunting clothing, scents and scent control, ammo, etc. Am also looking at getting a new grunt call.

Now the question. In Eastern OK, the general area where I hunt, what is the protocol for grunting and calling in regards to Nov. 20th and where we are at in the rutting phase? Is the 20th near the end of the rut? Middle? What tactics should I use? Will the deer be licking their wounds and holding up in the thick cover and be done with rutting activity? Rattling? Thanks for putting up with the NOOB question.

 

[bigcountryok]

1) Bucks grunt year round. There are different grunt for different situations. The best thing to do is read up on it. Then wait till you see one and try it out and see how he reacts.
2) Rattling works well in areas with a decent buck to do ratio. If you have too many does you are wasting your time and giving away your position.
3) Nov 20th should be middle/ end of the rut.

Just get out there have fun and see what works. Each deer is different. No two bucks react the same to a call.

 

[WhiteyMacD]

I have hunted deer my entire life and with the exception of archery season, I dont;

wear "hunting" clothes,
use attracting scents,
use any type of call.

 

[bigcountryok]

I have hunted deer my entire life and with the exception of archery season, I dont;

wear "hunting" clothes,
use attracting scents,
use any type of call.

Yeah most of the stuff is meant to catch hunters and their money.

I will say that Leafy suit/ghillie suit and Grunt calls work. I do hunt archery and both help you to get close and stay close to deer on a regular basis.

As far as gun hunting goes, eh, just sit down with a favorable wind and don't let your outline stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[DownDeep]

Nov.20 should be close to the end of the "Chasing Period" of the rut. The bucks and does will then be in the "Breeding Period". Not much deer activity takes place during that time frame. The weather will have a major "say so" on what it will be like when that time comes. The Rutting moon will be later than usual so rifle season should be better this year than the past few years.
I believe that a "Bleat Can" works much better than a "Grunt Tube". You can easy spook deer if you do not know how to grunt. Biggest mistakes made by noob hunters is grunting too aggressive.

 

[dennishoddy]

1) 2) Rattling works well in areas with a decent buck to do ratio. If you have too many does you are wasting your time and giving away your position.
3) Just get out there have fun and see what works. Each deer is different. No two bucks react the same to a call.

Rattling in Ok is not good in Ok because of your explanation.
99.9% of OK has a poor buck to doe ratio.

I've said it a million times and will say it again.....when the rut is on, stay in the stand all day. Take a book(like I do), a quiet video game or whatever, but stay in the stand.

 

[Survivor]

I try not to do any grunting in the woods at all. I get that taken care of at the house before I leave to go hunting and that is what I recommend to all hunters.

If you have to grunt in the field do it some place where it can be covered by plenty of soil. That is all I have to say abut that.

 

[MrShooter]

I have hunted deer my entire life and with the exception of archery season, I dont;

wear "hunting" clothes,
use attracting scents,
use any type of call.

Yea... I don't use that stuff either. I got blue jeans and boots.
No special scents or scent killers, no calls, etc.. Works just fine for me EVERY year. Well... I do a lil grunting/scent cover But it's natural. Hahaha

 

[Porter]

Spend all day in the stand during the rut! The two biggest bucks I ever shot were between 1 and 3 pm.

I've never had much luck rattling, grunting etc. I'm not saying it doesn't work, just never had any success with it myself.

Also, when it comes to scent, don't buy in to all the products on the market. Just make a smart decision when it comes to wind direction. Pay attention to the areas that you hunt and use cover that is natural to the area. If there are cattle near buy, a little cow dung on the boots works well. If you have a lot of cedar trees, put your hunting clothes in a bag with a few branches. I used to hunt an area that was close to several roads with high traffic. Before I went into the woods, I would stand behind the car and get exhaust fumes on my clothes. I know this sounds crazy, but the deer were used to the smell and it didn't seem to bother them. I walked up on the biggest buck I've ever seen in the woods after using this trick. Thanks to some well placed trees I never got a shot at him.

The best way to learn is to get out there and do it. You'll pick up a new tactic or trick pretty regularly and figure out what works.

 

[RidgeHunter]

1. Nice 1st Gen Blazer in your Avatar! (That's what it looks like anyways.) Always wanted one.

2. I've hunted that area of the state my entire life. By the 20th most of the chasing is over and the activity is usually at a lull. The rifle season pressure in that area combined with the bucks "holing up" with does (no longer seek and chase phase) makes it slow. Sorry. Though opening weekend of rifle can be good, and the advice Dennis gives about sitting all day is a good idea then too.
Oct. 31st thru Nov. 14th is my favorite time of year for just sheer daylight buck activity.

R
I've said it a million times and will say it again.....when the rut is on, stay in the stand all day. Take a book(like I do), a quiet video game or whatever, but stay in the stand.

That's the best advice you can get, and the one I have the most trouble with. The rut is the magic time, you never now what will show up or when it will happen. I've been caught with my proverbial pants down in the middle of the day in all kinds of weather conditions when the rut is on, more times than I care to count.