To Rut, or not to Rut ... That is the question.

According to many national sources, the rut should be in full swing. But in our area, between the lack of consistent colder weather and does who seem to be carefree, I'm not sure if the rut is as far along as we would normally expect at this time of year.

You can easily find opinions on both sides of the fence regarding how much the rut period is based upon cooler weather. However, this much is true: big game like the whitetail are much more likely to be active in cool weather. In my opinion, if it's too hot for me to stalk the woods without breaking a sweat, it's too hot to expect the big boys to be out cruising around either.

Also, as I watch the does, they seem to not be worried much. Something that many folks overlook is that fact that does are not necessarily out looking for romance. Until they are actually in an estrous cycle, does are leery of any bucks that might be in the area looking for a breeding opportunity. Therefore, once the rut is in full swing, you'll most likely see does looking behind them and becoming cautious; not because of hunting pressure, but more because they are watching for horny bucks on the prowl.

I've yet to see any of this behavior. Being in thickly wooded areas with an abundance of cover, as opposed to open prairies and meadows, can sometimes make it more difficult to see a buck chasing a doe. Nonetheless, when you do see a doe who knows the rut is peaking, you can tell that they are more nervous and anxious. I've yet to see any of this.

Supposedly, the temperature around here should be taking a significant nose dive later this week, right around Thanksgiving. I'm hoping this will be the trigger that sends our big bucks into the coveted rut frenzy.

Until then, it's all just a matter of luck. Have you seen anything that indicates otherwise? Comment below!

Are you hunting, or waiting?

This past Sunday I had a good time out in the field. After sitting in my climbing stand for a couple hours, I got down and decided to stalk through the woods.

It seems to be increasingly rare to hear of someone talking about their hunt without mentioning their stand, blind or another type of concealed location. Whereas these tools were originally designed to provide a hiding spot while waiting to ambush game, more and more "hunters" have become one-dimensional by simply sitting in a stand or blind, and waiting for game to walk in front of them.

In my opinion, this approach does not reflect the definition of the word "hunt." To hunt, there should be an active pursuit of prey.

Don't get me wrong ... I love using stands and blinds. However, if your definition of hunting is limited to sitting in a fixed location and waiting for something to come eat corn out of your feeder, you're not hunting ... You're sitting.

Without getting into the differences between a stand and a blind (that's a different discussion), essentially, I believe that these tools can be a PART of hunting without being the definition of hunting.

So, back to my hunt on Sunday. I set my climbing stand up on Saturday, in a location where I believed there would be a good amount of activity. In this instance, I consider the use of a stand to be part of an "active pursuit of prey," because it's location is based upon scouting and other factors that lead me to believe that this is where I would find activity. I was right, too! After climbing the tree and getting set up, I sat for about ten minutes before a shootable buck walked right up behind me. Unfortunately, he busted me ... Again, another discussion.

I went back on Sunday to see if the buck would come back. It was obvious after awhile that the strong winds were not helping my chances. After two hours however, I was able to deduce that the wind was blowing pretty consistently in my direction, which was downwind of a suspected bedding area.

I climbed down and decided to stalk quietly into this area. I quickly found a game trail and, instead of following it directly, I chose to follow the trail from about 7 yards inside the brush. While taking just a few steps at a time and then surveying the area before continuing, I cautiously approached a long line of wood debris. I have suspected for awhile that this wood, which had been cleared years ago to make a shallow pond, was serving as a wind-break and shelter for deer. Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised to see a large bodied buck pop up from a nook in the pile and eye me wearily.

As luck would have it (or not), he had popped up as I was in between cover. I stopped, lowered my eyes and watched as he contemplated the situation. He finally decided to bound off, and I was left to decide what I would now do. Since he had taken off downwind of me, taking away my advantage, I decided to continue on. While I didn't see any more game, I did find several more beds, tracks and creek crossings that will aid me in the future.

The point here is that I had a choice -- continue sitting in an unproductive situation, or get proactive. If my hunting approach didn't involve scouting and being comfortable with stalking through the woods, I would've missed a great experience and would not have gained valuable information.

My utilization of stands and blinds involves setting them up in locations that are in line with scouting information I've gathered before the season. This allows me to combine the use of concealed locations and stalking to give myself the best chance of bagging an animal.

While I enjoy the opportunities that stands and blinds provide -- especially when sharing a hunt with my son, daughter or friends -- some of my favorite times afield are when I get off my backside and actually HUNT, and I hope you'll Do the same ... The rewards are amazing.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

"Hey Honey, can you stop and pick up dinner?"

In our area, it seems like there has been a low amount of mast-tree production, such as acorns and pecans. I'm not a botanist, but I'm told this could be because of heavy (yet early) rains, and subsequent periods of little-to-no rain. This can be both good and bad as we pursue whitetails.

On the downside, obviously this means that there is less abundance of nutrition available to deer and other wildlife. However, I've seen some nice-sized deer this year, both on camera and in person. So maybe it hasn't affected their overall health.

On the positive side, if you're willing to bring dinner to the deer, they'll be more willing to come to the table! When deer can pick and choose where and what they eat, hunters are at a disadvantage because the deer are not motivated to seek out food. It's all around them. During low-producing years though, when deer find a good food source, they are more likely to keep checking that area ... Especially when the food keeps magically appearing!

Some ideas:

Well, the first option of course, is setting up a feeder loaded with corn. By setting the feeder times to coincide with shooting hours, you create a situation where deer learn when food is available. Be sure to set these times in line with sunrise and sunset. Morning feed should typically be set to disperse at sun up, so that deer don't show up for breakfast before you have enough light to shoot. Evening times can vary from an hour or two before sunset or as late as 30 minutes prior, depending upon game movement in your area. The key is to not set the time too late, or else it will be too dark to shoot by the time the deer show up.

You don't have to use a feeder to broadcast corn. A strategy I've had success with is carrying corn to the desired location in a coffee can or five-gallon bucket. You can also carry molasses or dark corn syrup and drizzle it over the corn and on a few tree trunks nearby. I've heard of folks creating a mixture of corn and molasses, but this seems pretty labor-intensive regarding transport and distribution.

If you have pecan or oak trees in your yard, or have neighbors or friends who do, you're in luck. Many times these valuable nuts are bagged and set to the curb during Fall. Ask around. Deer don't care whether the acorns actually came from a tree in their neighborhood, and this is a lot cheaper than buying deer corn. To use this tactic, you can either spread the acorns and/or pecans around to create a forage scenario, or just put them in a large pile within a shooting lane.

There are many other inventive and successful feeding strategies, but these are some I've been working with this year. Feel free to leave a comment with anything that has been working for you!

The Complexity of it All ...

If you're like me, hunting is a large part of your life. Though you may be doing any number of things at a given moment, somewhere in the back of your mind there's a constant desire to be in the field. You long to be in a stand, or scouting a trail. You find yourself reading articles in magazines or scouring the Internet, looking for a tip or strategy that will make you a better hunter. Whether you're at work, home, or driving down the road, your thoughts always drift back to that big brute you caught on the game camera, or a recently discovered doe bedding area. In short ... Hunting consumes you.

And, if that is the case, you're also like me in the fact that you've come to realize that not all hunting strategies relate to you, or your hunting landscape.

That's why I'm starting this blog. My hope is that, by sharing my thoughts and experiences regarding hunting in Texas -- and specifically northeast Texas -- I can establish a resource that gives better understanding, and a more personal perspective to hunting in Texas.

I am not a so-called "hunting expert." I don't hunt for a living (although I sure wish I could!), and I don't pay thousands of dollars to gain access to wildlife management properties who grow massive animals for profit. What I am, is an everyday guy who loves to be in the woods, searching for signs that will lead me in the direction of experiencing the thrill of the hunt. I eat what I shoot, and honor nature's gifts for their beauty.

I have been contemplating this writing project for quite some time. I look forward to sharing my stories of success, adventure and tribulation with you personally, and the hunting community as a whole. I guarantee that not all of these experiences will be success stories, but then again ... just having these experiences, and the opportunity to share them, is a success in itself.