Hunting the Rut: Woods vs Fields

UTGrad · Nov 25, 2012

This season I've had the best luck hunting corn fields with a rifle during the rut.

Lately when I've hunted in the woods around oaks I'm not seeing much.

When hunting the rut, do you prefer to hunt fields or woods?

timberjack86 · Nov 25, 2012

Woods hands down. Way too many spotlighter hit the fields before shooting light around here.

Mike Belt · Nov 25, 2012

It kind of depends on what's around those fields. If it's thick then when I hunt a field I like to be in that stuff with some visibility of the field. Too many tmes I've seen the big boys cruising just inside chcking out the fields.

catman529 · Nov 25, 2012

Woods with thick cover, and enough room to see and shoot, has worked for me this year. The does like the thick understory and bucks follow and chase em around in the woods

redblood · Nov 25, 2012

woods

Beardendy88 · Nov 25, 2012

Woods! Does try to lose bucks in the thick cover

holstonangler · Nov 25, 2012

Go where the does go, i woulda said woods until yesterday evening

backwoods7 · Nov 25, 2012

6 in one half a dozen in another. Where your does are if there in heat the bucks will come. Im a field guy. My current spot where i killed my big 8pt is a mixture. To my left is woods with a bunch of deer trails that go into a thick swamp. To my right and front is a big pasture. At about my 11oclock about 120yards away is a pond with a thicket and fence row behind it. My big 8pt i killed chased a dou out from by the pond when i let the air outa him.

JGreg · Nov 25, 2012

I prefer where the deer in your area prefer. One place I hunt its woods, another place 1/2 mile away is field. It all depends on the deer in your area.

de novo · Nov 25, 2012

I prefer the woods for all hunts. I get nothing out of shooting deer in a field.

hitek7 · Nov 26, 2012

My favorite spot on our property during the rut is open fields in a good travel area. Not all properties have these, just lucky that ours does. Saw 19 bucks over 2.5 days of hunting and the half day I did not hunt it my buddy shot a mature 8 point. I saw some shooters but it takes me a little longer to decide when they are 150 yards or more.