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Older bucks rarely leave the security of a swamp during the day. Hunt the dry fringes of marshy habitat the first hour of daylight to catch an old buck on his feet before he goes to bed. Photo by Slade Priest.

More than a million hunters are fixing to ring in the new year by chasing America’s latest deer rut, which is just getting hot in the southernmost woods and swamps of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. If you hunt down there, here are a few things to consider.

GO EARLY

A study of GPS-collared bucks conducted by the Mississippi State Deer Lab found two times of peak deer movement during the rut: two hours after sunrise each day and an hour after legal shooting light ends at night. The researchers also noted an unpredictable flurry of activity at midday. The takeaway is clear and jibes with my hunt notes from across the Deep South. Get to a stand early, and hunt until 9 or 10 a.m. every day. It never hurts to hunt a couple of more hours at midday, especially when the humidity is low and the air is cool.

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WATCH THE THICK STUFF

Set a ladder stand for rifle hunting on a tree line that overlooks a big chunk of CRP, or a pasture or young timber cut overgrown with grass, brambles and briars. An ag field or green plot abutting the cover on one side makes the setup better. Bucks love to prowl in head-high cover where they can see does and where does can see them. The deer think they’re hidden, but when you’re 12 feet up in a stand and looking down into the brush, they’re not. You’ll see trails crisscrossing the cover and leading to and from a food source or woods. Whether bucks cruise on those trails or work along them on the downwind side to scent-check does, you’ll spot them. Movement or sun glinting on hide or antler are giveaways.

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BOWHUNT A FUNNEL

In flat, thick habitat, many funnels are not visible on aerial maps and are easy to overlook. They are fine places to set a bow stand and kill a buck. To find these secret funnels, vary your walks in and out as you hunt each day. Look around in various spots for a tight creek crossing with tracks, a hump of dry ground between two sloughs, or a hidden edge of pines that borders an oak bottom. There are dozens of small, narrow terrains that bucks use to travel between doe groups. Set bow stands near funnels with the freshest tracks and scrapes.

BLEATS WITH A TWIST

I’ve tried doe bleating across the country, and have had by far the most luck with it down South. On a mouth-blown call or “tip” can, float out some sassy estrus bleats — “meaaa, meaaa, meaaa.” Here’s the twist. Back up those bleats with blowing and wheezing sounds that you’ve likely heard rutting deer make. If a doe is not quite ready to breed, she’ll often blow and wheeze at a buck to stop him from pestering her. Bucks know those sounds and will sometimes come in to see what the commotion is about. To make the sounds, simply blow and wheeze loudly through your nose after bleating.

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GET A SWAMP DONKEY

Several studies through the years have found that in a boggy habitat, 4- and 5-year-old bucks rarely leave the security of a swamp in daylight, even during rut. Science shows that younger bucks will leave swamps to feed and contact does in nearby timber and crop fields, but fully mature bucks routinely avoid those areas. According to one study of wild, hunted deer, a buck that leaves the security of a swamp during the day is almost three times more likely to be shot as compared to a buck that remains hidden in a swamp until nighttime. Here’s how to interpret that. In marshy habitat, hunt the dry fringes of a swamp the first hour of daylight in hopes of catching an old buck on his feet before he goes to bed deep inside a swamp. As noted, afternoon hunting is tough in general during this period, but watching a swamp edge the last 30 minutes of daylight might pan out big time. Good luck.