Hunting during the rut is the pinnacle of the year for a bowhunter.  November ushers in cooler weather, shorter days, and more daylight deer activity than hunters have seen all season.  Hunting during cold fronts at this time of year can be absolute dynamite.  You can increase your odds by trying some aggressive calling sequences in the right place at the right time.

As mentioned, the weather can really take a turn toward winter during the rut cold fronts.  Deer like moving in colder weather because they won’t overheat at easily.  Bucks are much more likely to put on the miles in 30-degree weather compared to 70-degree weather while wearing their winter fur coat.  Calling in these conditions can be very productive.  With deer constantly on the move, potential shooter bucks can be coming in and out of hearing range all day long.  Calling effectively increases your hunting area beyond what you can see from your stand.

Aggressive calling can mean many things.  Increasing the volume, increasing the frequency of calling sequences, and the nature of the specific sounds you are making can get bucks fired up.  Before you start making noise in the woods, try and build a scenario in your mind that you are going to try and replicate. Maybe a few bleats followed by some tending grunts.  Or maybe some buck grunts followed by half a minute of rattling.  Remember, deer can pinpoint the location of the sounds they hear with an amazing degree of accuracy, and they often circle and approach from as close to the downwind direction as they can.  They may come immediately into calling, or they may circle and hang back.  During the rut, you can get away with more calling mistakes than any other time of the year, so it’s a great opportunity to try calling for the first time or to try something new in your calling game.