Ken McBroom recommends what to look for, what to avoid and what to do while deer hunting this season.

For deer hunters, November is special because of the rut. Many may argue about when the rut begins and ends, and there are always articles on speculations, charts and videos made each season. As an avid deer hunter pursuing mature whitetails over many years, I have settled on mid-October to mid-November to hunt “the rut.” Here are a few tips for hunting deer in November that will help you bag more deer.

Rub lines

Rub lines provide one of my go-to tactics for locating mature bucks. When hunting large tracts of land, it’s crucial to at least know where a potential “shooter” is hanging out. The best way, for me at least, is to locate big rubs. Now, I know what you’re saying: Little bucks rub big trees, too. I have read much of Greg Miller’s content on mature whitetail and their habits. Greg is an avid hunter with many great bucks to show for his studies and hard work. Greg says that after many years of observation, and now with the application of trail cams, he has determined that mature bucks most often are the culprit when a tree is shredded.

When you hunt public land encompassing a couple of hundred thousand acres, you need a way to eliminate unproductive areas to make the most of the time you have in the woods. Big rubs are the best way I’ve found to do that.

Trail cameras

Since cellular trail cams have come to market, the ability to scout 24/7 in today’s hectic life has made it possible for many hunters to harvest deer they might have never even known about. My old-school ways are slowly being chipped away as I learn more and more ways to use trail cameras to scout. One of those is to set trail cameras up on the rub lines you find to get a glimpse at what you are hunting. I have used trail cameras a couple times and was impressed with the results. Setting a few up early on some big rub lines just might be what drags me into the 21st century of deer scouting.

Run and gun

As a public land bowhunter, I have learned that the run-and-gun method is a very effective way to hunt. Most big bucks will not tolerate any intrusion into their core area before relocating. I usually hunt a site one or two times before I begin to lose confidence in the spot. Public land deer not only get a lot of pressure, but in my opinion, a mature doe teaches her offspring how to avoid hunters.

Pressured deer can also be on private land as well, and the run-and-gun method might be a great tactic to try. If you have a stand in a great travel route and you are seeing deer, then staying put will work. But if deer sightings dwindle, you might be wasting your time, and it is time to run-and-gun.

Moving stand location doesn’t have to be drastic. A hundred yards might be all it takes. I have moved just 50 or 75 yards, where cover is thick, and began seeing my target buck again. Mature bucks still want to stay within their core area if they can, so you must either be very noisy or not practice good scent control to run a buck completely out of the area.

Mock scrapes

I have always used mock scrapes in my deer hunting, even though I never had any real success with them. They are quick and easy to make, so I usually make one 30 yards or so from my stand, just in case. I always made the mock scrape in a spot that might stop the buck in a good shooting lane, but I must say that I never had any luck with them. That is, until I finally got serious about them and added the right combo to my mock scrapes.

I finally started seeing activity throughout the day on my mock scrapes when I added two things to them. One was a licking branch above the scrape, and the second—and the most important—was adding pre-orbital gland scent to the licking branch. The pre-orbital gland is located in front of a deer’s eyes. Deer will rub this gland on branches to leave their signature and establish dominance in the herd. Deer leave this scent on branches year-round, but leading up to the rut, mature bucks will almost always use a branch above their scrapes. These branches are known as licking branches.

A licking branch is a mature buck’s way of telling other bucks in the area that this scrape is his. When making a mock scrape, try adding a licking branch by cutting a small branch and securing it with zip ties or cord. Leave the end just over the mock scrape and put a little preorbital scent on it. If you put a few drops of mature buck urine in the scrape, I think you will see more activity at your mock scrape.

After adding the licking branch and preorbital scent, I have been amazed at the all-day activity that I have seen visiting my mock scrapes. I have also shot my two biggest bucks to date when using mock scrapes. One came in and was checking out the scrape, giving me a perfect shot; the other came up the hill, smelling the air. When it got close to my mock scrape and licking branch, it began to make its own scrape within easy bow range.

Scent control

One thing that I can say, without hesitation, that helped me kill more deer is scent control. In my opinion, when hunting mature whitetails, there is no limit to what you should do to eliminate your scent. They include everything from bagging your hunting clothes with pine needles, to spraying scent elimination on all your gear, to watching what you eat during the days before a hunt. I guarantee that if you use modern scent control tactics along with old school woodsmanship, like playing the wind, you will have more opportunities to see and harvest more whitetail deer.

I hope that these tips will help you progress in the deer woods and harvest more deer. Remember, though, that there is no substitute for time in the woods. Applying these tips doesn’t guarantee that you will be successful, so don’t get discouraged if you are not. Just keep learning from each hunt. There is always something valuable to be learned even when unsuccessful.

Even the most seasoned hunters can learn something new from the information available in MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.