2019 Whitetail Deer Rut Forecast
Russ Chastain 11.01.19
Jeff Sturgis is at it again, this time predicting the whitetail rut for 2019. He won’t stop at that of course; he also offers up advice to hunters about how to use their rut hunting time wisely and where best to hunt during various parts of the rut.
This 2019 Whitetail Rut Forecast can not only help you narrow down when to predict and hunt the annual rut, but how to use the tools of the rut to significantly increase your level of potential success. Maximize the timing of your rut hunt, to make sure that you are in your favorite treestand or deer blind during the best days to be there.
Spoiler alert: Jeff says the rut timing doesn’t change from year to year; instead it will occur about the same time every year in any given location.
If you know when the rut usually happens in your area, you’re ahead of the game, but the weather will play a big part in how your hunting goes. You want good weather — because without it the rut will still take place, but the “good stuff” may well take place during night hours.
The way he sums that up — and he explains this thoroughly — is that hunting one or two days when weather conditions are favorable is much better than hunting a week in poor weather. Why? Because you’re not spreading your scent around your prime hunting spots during times when mature bucks are unlikely to travel there.
Then he lists what he calls “tools of the rut,” with the caveat that if you are not using great care on a daily basis to prevent alarming mature bucks, you might as well not bother.
- Water holes
- Morning stands that relate to bedding areas
- Mock scrapes
- Good access
- Silence is golden
- Weather hunting formula
It’s way more thorough than I can reflect here, so you might as well just watch it. And prepare yourself to hear the phrase “playing poker in the deer woods” dozens of times.
It’s worth it.
