Sometimes, it can be easy to become narrow-minded regarding our rut hunting tactics. We find a few techniques that seem to work well for us, and we don’t want to do anything else. And why should we do anything different? Those ways work, after all.
While our favorite tactics may work the best for us, we ought never to completely rule out other techniques that could be useful to our hunting endeavors. Certain tactics that may be deemed as “not worth the time” in some instances may be the best tactic in other situations. A veteran hunter never rules out any approach – he simply prioritizes the better ones.
One such rut hunting technique that seems to be often overlooked is trail hunting. Pinch points, staging areas, and other such setups often hog the spotlight, and trail hunting is brushed aside. And certainly, in my opinion, hunting the former setups are often better than hunting a solitary trail. Yet, at the same time, highly active trails can produce some of the most fun hunts a hunter can enjoy. In addition to this, hunting pinch points (and other like setups) are not always feasible, depending on many various factors. In such instances, then, setting up on a trail with a high traffic rate becomes the best situation. And even if those other setups are available, a heavily traveled trail is always a good secondary option.
For instance, I recall one hunting season years ago in which I did most of my rut hunting over an active trail. The deer had utilized it so much that it was bare dirt, and many sizable bucks had shown up on the trail camera overlooking it. In fact, several of the mature bucks were passing through during the daytime; one of which my brother was able to harvest. So, between the trail camera’s pictures and my brother’s successful hunt over that very trail, I couldn’t resist heading out the next morning to try my luck in that same spot.
As the overcast day began to break, my brother and I settled into our chairs positioned behind the Ghost Blind and waited for light. Our position was basically in the exact same place he had set up only the previous morning; but with the rut coming into full swing, we had speculated that our chance for success remained fairly high.
We had been sitting for no longer than 15 minutes when my brother silhouetted a deer on top of the hill we faced. As the movement disappeared into the darkness of the bottom in which we were sitting, he whispered into my ear to grab the crossbow. It was a deer he had seen, though he had not been able to identify it as a buck or a doe. Although technically it was legal shooting light, visibility was very limited, due to the nature of the low-lying area the trail ran through. All we could do was wait.
A minute or so later, a twig snapped in the bottom. The deer was moving closer along the trail, it seemed. My heart pounded with excitement, for I knew the deer was approaching fast, yet I still could not see it. Seconds crawled by as I strained to see any movement on the trail. Suddenly, there it was. A mature buck was walking with his head down, moving slowly on the trail. I hurriedly whispered, “It’s a shooter!” and raised the crossbow to the trigger stick. Clicking off the safety, I again locked my attention on the buck, who was several steps away from walking into my shooting lane. Leaning into the stock and peering through the scope, I could see his tines near the ground as he sniffed the trail. Taking a step, he paused again and sniffed.
“Can you shoot him?” my brother asked.
“No,” I replied. His vitals were just barely behind a limb obstructing the shot.
The two seconds that passed before he took another step seemed like hours. Finally, he moved into the shooting lane. I “manted” to stop him, and, doing so, his head swung up as he paused alertly to listen. What he heard next was the discharge of the crossbow, and the famous “thwack!” of the arrow striking his body. As he tore off, I struggled to see him as he disappeared into the darkness of the bottom. Being a young novice, I hoarsely whispered, “Did I get him?”, but my brother shushed me in order to listen. A second or two elapsed before silence filled the woods. We struggled to listen for any sound, hoping we could detect some sign of the buck’s state. For a second, the woods was noiseless.
Suddenly, a loud crash ripped through the stillness of the early morning, indicating that the buck had fallen. My brother and I could contain ourselves no longer; we burst into a joyful celebration, tossing each other’s hats into the air and jumping up and down. Amidst the ecstasy of the successful hunt, I couldn’t believe that, just a day after my brother had shot a mature buck, another big buck had walked through that I was blessed to be able to harvest.
Although I was too young and inexperienced at the time to take note of much other than the success of the hunt, I look back now and realize that the entire situation was unconventional. For one, it is incredible that big bucks were harvested in the same areas on back-to-back days. For another, it is odd that those hunts took place over a solitary trail.
Most hunts are situated in a more favored spot for the hunter – an area that he feels can produce more action. Some hunters like to set up overlooking fields where they can see a distance, while others like to set up in staging areas, just to name a few. Seldom do individual trails get hunted, mostly since hunters believe their time may be better spent in other areas. While that is sometimes the case, I think that, as a rule, trail hunting is brushed aside, believed to be unworthy of the time. Such thinking is unproductive.
Simply put, trails are specific routes that deer travel often. While times and frequencies of travel vary, the fact that the deer can be expected in a very specific location always plays into the hunter’s hand. Few deer hunting setups give the hunter liberty to plan so specifically; and trail hunting is one of them. Granted, other setups may produce better odds the majority of the time, but trail hunting should never be completely overlooked. For more popular hunting setups, the success rate is often subject to change from year to year; but a deer trail’s activity tends to remain static. (For instance, several years after the above-described hunt, I was able to kill a beautiful 10 point following the exact same trail.) Especially in phases like the pre- and post-rut (where bucks move to a greater extent and more in daylight), trail hunting can be an exciting and action-packed experience. In addition to this, much of the uncertainty that accompanies other deer hunting spots (ranges, shooting lanes, etc.) is absent regarding trail hunting. If peak travel times and conditions can be pinpointed, trail hunting can be one of the most successful techniques in rut hunting.
Again, I’m not saying it’s the best technique. I certainly don’t believe that. But I do think it can be a productive approach when handled correctly. So, when hunting season rolls in, give some thought to trail hunting. If you find the right trail, you’re in for some fun.