Friday morning
Coming to you from Pike County, Illinois this week — right in the thick of the rut, which is the best sentence I get to write all year.
Just one video this time, but it’s a good one. I’m putting Kelly on a giant, and I’m going to show you exactly how we picked her spot, because it’s the whole game this time of year. Then a word about Tuesday, because it matters.
Let’s get into it.
— Dwayne
THE RUT REPORT
Killer funnels
Live from the Illinois rut — how to read a fatal funnel
Welcome to the rut from Pike County, Illinois.
I’ve been coming out here to hunt for years, but this year’s different — I’m not hunting. Kelly is. I’m here to put her on a big buck, and if you’ve followed along, you know why I believe in this week. Three of the five giant bucks I’ve killed out here came on November 2nd. The first week of November has always been good to me.
Here’s what’s happening in the woods right now, and why I love this exact window.
The bucks are chasing, going hard into the rut. And there’s a difference between the little ones and the bruisers you’re actually after.
The young bucks are the ones you see running all over the place, all wound up, chasing anything that moves — you know how that goes. But the big boys? They’re laying back. Hanging off to the side, waiting. They know the does aren’t quite ready yet, so they’re not going to burn themselves out running around like fools. I like to catch them in this window, while they’re still cruising and before they lock down on a doe and disappear. That’s the sweet spot.
Now here’s the lesson, and it’s the most useful thing I can teach you about the rut.
Even at the peak, when it feels like chaos and anything can happen — you still pattern these deer. They don’t move randomly. There are corridors and funnels they travel, every time, and if you find the right one, you put the odds way back in your favor.
Kelly’s sitting in what I call a fatal funnel.
Let me paint you the picture, because you can’t draw it up any better. There’s a creek to her right. A strip of woods about 150 yards wide that runs for miles. Cut beans on one side, cut beans behind, standing corn out back. All that food, all those does, and one natural corridor connecting it — and the deer are wearing that path flat. There’s a main trail coming right down past her stand, she’s got the right wind, and the deer are moving the direction she’s set up for.
That’s a fatal funnel. Food, cover, does, and a pinch point that squeezes all the movement through one spot. Find that, and you’ve done 90% of the work before you ever climb the tree.
She’s passed on a bunch of bucks already this week. Just hasn’t seen the right one yet. But sitting where she’s sitting? I like her chances. Watch the video and I’ll walk you right through it.
ON THE WATER
Taking the week off the water, y’all — I’m chasing the rut, not the musky, and you already know I can’t be in two places at once. Back on the river soon. For now, the woods have my whole heart.
BOOTS ON THE GROUND
This Tuesday is Veterans Day
I want to do this one a little early this week, because Tuesday is Veterans Day, and it means more to me than I can usually put into words.
I don’t honor one name this week. I honor all of you.
Every man and woman who raised their right hand and signed a check payable up to and including their life. The ones who came home, and the ones who didn’t. The ones carrying wounds you can see and the far greater number carrying the kind you can’t. The ones sitting in a deer stand this week finding a little peace in the quiet, and the ones for whom the quiet is the hardest part.
I served. I know what it cost, and I know I got off easy compared to a lot of better men. So this isn’t a speech from the outside. It’s a thank you from somebody who stood in the same boots.
If you’re a veteran reading this — thank you. We wouldn’t have any of this, the woods, the water, the freedom to spend a Tuesday however we please, without what you gave. And if you know a veteran, Tuesday’s a good day to call him. Better yet, take him hunting.
We see you. We will always see you.
THE LAST LAUGH
My wife asked why I spend so much on hunting gear every fall.
I told her it’s cheaper than therapy.
She said, “You sit alone in a tree in the freezing cold for twelve hours talking to yourself.”
I said, “And it’s working.”
Wear the brand
Full Rut hats and shirts — $25 at fullrutnation.com
NEXT WEEK
If Kelly connects on that giant, you’ll see it here first. And I’ll be back in the West Virginia woods for that magic Veterans Day week.
Hunting the rut this week? Hit reply and tell me what you’re seeing. I read every one — and to every veteran out there, happy early Veterans Day.
See you Friday.
— Dwayne