Beating the Rut Grind

How to Push Through The Long Days of The Rut If You Haven’t Yet Filled Your Tag

By Pat Kolbe, Buck Fever Outdoors

The calendar has turned the page into 'Sweet November' and that means one thing, right? Bucks will certainly be running does ragged, checking every scrape, sparing, making rubs, and the action from your treestand will be non-stop. Until it’s not. 

You’ve started to log long hours on stand and the action is minimal at best. As you scroll social media and see post after post of another giant down or get another new text from a buddy who shot a big one – you start to question what in the world you are doing wrong.

Hang in there. While the rut can be a magical time of year in the whitetail woods, oftentimes it can be a flat-out grind that challenges you as much mentally as it does physically.

Here’s a couple tips to beating that ‘rut grind’ and punching a tag this November!

Keeping a Positive Mindset

The thoughts that run through your brain in preparation for a rut sit and while on stand are equally as important this time of year. The early morning wake-ups and getting home late can be a drag, but keep your head up. Know that during this time of year, your whole season can change in the next five minutes. Keep your hopes up and keep telling yourself it's going to happen!

I do a lot of fishing throughout the year and I can’t remember too many days that I filled the livewell or bucket full of fish where I went into the day with a negative attitude. I always fish my best when I’m optimistic and having fun. 

Another important factor in holding a positive mindset is the people you hunt with or communicate with. Sharing a hunt or strategy conversation with someone feeding into the positives is a huge deal - versus someone that is always a ‘debbie-downer’ about each hunt in which they didn’t kill a buck. I’m fortunate to have a great group of hunting buddies that keep the vibes in the plus category - and that helps keep the mind above water when you otherwise feel like sinking. 

Refocus by Taking a Break

If there is a time of year that’s built for an all-day sit, that time is now. But those sits are hard and take a toll on both the mind and body. So are the early morning wake-ups or maybe sitting through a harsh northwest wind, rain or snow.

Sometimes it's best to take a sit off. That’s right, take a break. Take a morning or afternoon sit off. Go out for breakfast with your hunting buddies. Stay home during that super windy afternoon and spend some time with your family and watch a movie. Do something to relax your mind and rejuvenate those batteries. Oftentimes just taking one sit off, when you could’ve been in the tree — is just the recipe you need to feel re-energized and ready to go for the next one. 

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Try Something New

Maybe the reason for your lack of success is because you’ve been relying too much on the same old setup that you killed that rutting buck at seven years ago. Instead of continuing to pound the same spot, with the same view, and same lack of results — it's time to switch it up. 

Bucks can be in weird places this time of year. Whether they are on the search for an estrus doe or maybe they have one pinned down waiting to breed her - they might end up in some off-the-wall places. How many instances have you heard of the first-time guy to deer camp shooting a big buck in that spot that no one ever sits? Or a big buck got taken out of that fenceline or small patch of woods?

What I’m getting at is maybe its time to switch things up. Give a new stand site a try. Still-hunt on the ground — maybe you’ll come across some hot new sign you didn’t know existed. Go mobile and use a light hang-on stand or climber and get into a new piece of your property or public land. The new landscape and views alone should rejuvenate the spirits.

Enjoy the Grind

The bottom line is this: The rut can flat out be a grind, even when implementing any of these tips. But enjoy it - you are deer hunting after all - and our success and fun with it shouldn’t solely rest on whether you get to wrap your hands around a buck’s antlers. Enjoy nature’s changing seasons as we transition into winter. Enjoy deer camp and those extra conversations you get to have with hunting friends this time of year. Enjoy the ups and downs that come along with just about every deer season. Enjoy the grind and here’s to hoping you beat it and get to tag a buck this rut!