With Hurricane Milton now having come and gone, I’m praying for everyone negatively affected by the storm. I came out okay, better than many, and spent the first few days after the storm helping clear roads and homes of downed trees. What a mess it was. But, by Sunday afternoon, I was back in the woods.
The biggest thing is it’s wet. Water is higher than I’ve seen it in many years. Lots of trees have fallen down out in the forest…. I wonder if they made a sound. However, accessing the properties and stand sites makes it a bit more challenging, which is why our Florida Wildlife Commission has been closing many of the public lands. High water, downed trees, washed-out roads, and a host of other reasons have led them to reconsider allowing the public to hunt in these Wildlife Management Areas.
That affects the property, whether there has been a planned quota hunt or not. I recommend you go to the FWC”s website, www.MyFWC.com and click the link labeled WMA Closures. With any luck, you won’t have to alter your plans. But, it’s best to know now, rather than the morning of your hunt, you discover a locked gate.
Now, for those of us taking to the woods this weekend, know that the rut is still happening. The doe herd is actually focused on food; these tons of newly blown from the limb acorns are their greatest focus. Meanwhile, the bucks are only focused on the does. This early rut has been carried on longer than usual, but I believe the beautiful cool mornings after the hurricane keep the herd frisky.
Whatever it is, dragging the rut out, take advantage of it. Urine-based estrous scents are very effective right now. I try to hang at least three saturated wicks in a big triangle around my blind. That way, no matter how the winds may shift and swirl, there’s a better-than-average chance that any approaching buck will encounter the scent of the estrous wicks before he smells me!
Now is the time to use a buck grunt call. I try to adjust my reed so that it’s not overly deep in pitch or tone. I don’t want to sound like a big dominant buck spoiling for a fight. Instead, I want to imitate the sound of an over-confident two-year-old buck arriving into a new territory and grunting to let everybody hear him claim the territory for his own. As if he’s saying, “ I am here now and all this about me is mine.”
Hearing that, often, the older, dominant bucks will stroll over to put a little humble pie on the newcomer’s plate. It’s worked for me many times over the years and when I’ve combined the scents with my calls…. Oh yeah! I began to fill my freezer!
Just know, that both of those tactics work better if the deer are there. An old-timer once told me to hunt the deer where they are, not where I wanted them to be. Made sense…. With all of the changes in the woods following the storm, get out and scout. Find where the deer are, then create a game plan accordingly.
If you’d like to reach out to me for questions or comments, do so at [email protected]. God Bless, and good hunting.
Toby Benoit is a best selling novelist and professional outdoors-man with thirty-five years of experience guiding and outfitting for big game all across America. Toby is a renowned archer and turkey hunting expert who manufactures custom game calls and is a regular judge at NWTF sanctioned turkey calling events across the Southeast.
