http://www.higginsoutdoors.com/, https://www.realworldwildlifeproducts.com/

Don Higgins / Higgins Outdoors, Gays, IL (2025)

11/05/2025

Rut Report - November 5, 2025

What a great day in the deer woods! I didn’t draw my bow today but it was one of my best deer hunting days. I got some of the best video footage I’ve ever filmed.

The morning hunt produced sightings of four bucks, all 3 1/2 years old or older. All were cruising in search of does. The high winds and warm temps halted the action by 8am. I was going to sit the entire day with the bucks in close proximity but a wind shift forced me out. The cameras showed the same as my observations with activity dieing around 8am and next to nothing during midday. On the afternoon hunt I started seeing deer around 3:15 and it continued off and on until dark. I saw 4 more bucks and 3 of them were at least 3 1/2 years old. Looking forward to tomorrow and the cold front that will hit this weekend. There will be a lot of good bucks shot across the Midwest this weekend. The older bucks are now on their feet.

Today’s photo is of my friend Sam Mette with the giant buck he shot recently. Sam says he used the “same time, same place” tactic to be in position to kill this buck who was with a hot doe. Sam killed a 200” buck a year or two ago so it looks like he has things figured out. I appreciate Sam’s attitude as much as anything. Always positive and never bashing anyone. I love it when the good guys are successful. Congrats Sam!

11/05/2025

Rut Report- November 4, 2025

Today’s action was a little better than yesterday. On the morning hunt I saw 5 bucks which were all cruising. Four were yearlings and the other was this 3 year old. All the action stopped around 8am. The wind picked up and temperatures rose after that and midday activity on the cameras was nonexistent. On the evening hunt I saw four mature does and shot one of them. It was in a location where it would put no pressure on the property. She went 50 yards and piled up in an open ag field. The cameras showed no activity until the last hour of daylight. Looks like we got another couple of warm days so I expect much of the same tomorrow.

Interesting observation from this year- I have had 4 mature does hanging out very closely together all summer. I mean they were always in very close proximity and there was never a fawn with them. This was the group that came by me this evening so now there are three but I have never seen this sort of extremely close grouping of barren mature does. I mean these four were tighter than most does and their own fawns. Weird. The more I learn and observe the more I realize how little I really know.

11/03/2025

Rut Report- November 3, 2025

Well today was slightly better than yesterday. On the morning hunt I did not see a thing but once again I was hunting on a permission property where there are very few deer but my target buck does show up there on occasion. The action on the cameras died down around 9 am and the midday activity was very minimal which is not surprising given the temperature. The evening hunt was better as I saw a doe and fawn a 3 year old buck and a 4 year old buck. I got some good video footage of both bucks and this photo of the 3 year old as he walked in front of a cell camera. All the evening activity happened in the last 45 minutes of shooting light and the cameras showed the same. It looks like these warm temps are going to stick with us for a few days but some much colder temps are forecast for the weekend. I would expect the trend of good movement for the first and last hour and very little activity during midday to continue tomorrow.

Spent some time in the stand today dwelling on drones. I really think they should be illegal for any purpose during hunting season. There is just too much opportunity and temptation for abuse. Cell cameras are actually pushing the limits in my opinion and honestly I wouldn’t care if they were also outlawed but that will never happen due to property owners rights. Anyway just a thought I had today that I thought I would throw out for discussion and food for thought as you all sit in your stands tomorrow. Best of luck!

11/03/2025

Rut Report - November 2, 2025

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday the woods were alive with deer activity all day but not today. The activity was about half this morning over yesterday morning and the midday was dead with only two photos of a fawn and a yearling buck. The evening hunt wasn’t any better. I saw a yearling buck and Kory didn’t see anything.

This is already a very strange rut. One of my better bucks was locked down with a doe today and a friend shot a buck this morning after watching him breed a doe. I have heard other reports about mature bucks locked down from other states as well. Weird.

On the latest episode of Chasing Giants podcast released today and I talk about watching the barometer more closely to see how it correlates with deer movement. Check it out!

11/02/2025

Rut Report - November 1, 2025

The switch has flipped! The deer must keep a calendar of their own because when we turned ours from October to November the deer woods lit up 🔥as if they know what November means!

On the morning hunt my son-in-law Kory and I hunted together in a and saw continual movement from daylight until around 9am. We saw 6 different bucks and somewhere between 15-20 does and fawns. All of the bucks were searching or bumping does. Cameras showed continual movement throughout midday but it was all does and young bucks. There wasn’t an hour that I didn’t get a photo. For the evening hunt Kory and I split up. I went to an out of the way place where I knew I wouldn’t see much but if I did there was a good chance it would be a mature buck. All I saw was three does way off in the distance. Kory saw 5 more bucks but no shot at one he wants.

This photo came in on a cell camera this morning of a buck hitting one of my rope scrapes. The scrape activity this year is as good as I can ever remember. This morning as Kory and I were walking back out from the hunt, we observed numerous scrapes in places I have never seen them before on my farm. Many of my rope scrapes are getting hit by multiple bucks daily. I’m not sure if this means anything but I will definitely be keeping a close eye on how this rut plays out. I will just throw out a guess and welcome any other ideas. I’m going to guess that this year’s rut is going to be very intense but will end abruptly versus some years when it seems to get going more slowly and drags on. It’s just a guess based on what I have seen so far.

11/01/2025

Rut Report - October 31, 2025

Today started slow but ended on fire. On the morning hunt the wind continued to blow just like yesterday and I saw one lone doe from the stand. Cameras showed a little activity but not a lot and it all pretty much ended by 9am. Midday activity was minimal. For the evening hunt I was in a stand on the edge of a thicket where the deer exit to a harvested cornfield. The last hour of the hunt the thicket came alive. I first heard bucks in the thicket snort-wheezing and pawing leaves numerous times. By dark I had seen 6-8 does and 3 bucks including two 4-year olds and a 2-year old. On the short drive home it seemed that deer were out everywhere. I hope this is the hunt that marks the start of several days of good activity.

The short video I posted here was recorded yesterday morning and represents my typical morning hunts this time of year. I am posted right on the edge of a bedding thicket with the wind blowing out towards the cornfield. This yearling buck is doing what I see bucks of all ages do on morning hunts during the rut. Admittedly this youngster is out in the open further than most mature bucks who will hug the edge of the cover much closer. My scent was blowing right over this bucks back and out into the cornfield beyond. This edge is probably 300+ yards long and I could have been in any tree along this edge and shot this buck. Hunting mature bucks during the rut is more a matter of hunting terrain and wind than hunting sign.

Note- I have changed the settings on my account so that only followers can comment. Once you follow, you can start commenting 24 hours later. If you like these rut reports please follow and tag some friends. Thank you

10/31/2025

Congrats to Cole Wettstein on a great first buck. Cole shot this dandy with his bow at 15 yards on a property I consulted on a couple of years back. He is following right in the footsteps of his dad and uncle who have hung up several giants. Great job Cole!

10/31/2025

Rut Report - October 30, 2025

I have gotten a lot of requests to continue my annual Rut Report which I have been doing for close to a decade now so I guess I’ll do it for at least another year. Based of feedback I am going to go with a typed version instead of a video as this allows hunters to read it while in a deer stand which it seems a lot do.

Let’s start by sharing the basis for what I will be sharing. Each evening I will report on what I observed that day while hunting as well as what my cellular cameras showed that day. These observations are from Central Illinois primarily so you will have to factor that in for where you hunt. As we all know, weather plays a major factor in deer movement. With weather fronts primarily moving from west to east, folks to the west of me probably saw what I report a day or two before and those to the east will probably see what I report a day or two later.

Let’s also remember that I am hunting mature bucks and my reports will often be slanted that way. Still, any hunter no matter their intended target animals or goals, should be able to garner something from these observations.

I will also post photos each day with a related story or observation to keep things interesting. Today’s photo is of my biggest buck ever “Mel” which I shot exactly 5 years ago today. Mel grossed 221” and netted 196” typical, making him the #6 all-time biggest typical in the world by bow when he was shot. I have no idea where he ranks today, 5 years later.

So for today’s report, on my morning hunt conditions were very windy, limiting deer movement. The only deer I observed were a pair of yearling bucks around 9am that were headed into a thicket to bed. The trail cameras showed a little movement during the first hour of daylight but it was very limited. Midday activity was extremely slow with only a single doe and a yearling buck on camera from 9am until 4pm. The wind was strong all day and hampered deer movement. I managed to see a single doe and cameras showed some fair activity during the last hour.

Things are about to explode and with the winds dying down and the rising barometer things look better for tomorrow and the weekend.

10/30/2025

Another success story from a consulting client. Here is what he had to say-

“Hey Don my wife was able to harvest a good management buck of our ***** farm that you consulted on. She got him back in the orchard plot we had three 4 year olds in the field great nite with the family!
On a side note we are doing everything exactly to your plan and it’s turning out great my brothers and dad were not too convinced on the 26 acres switchgrass but now that they see how many deer are using it they are starting to really like it!! We planted it this spring and it’s already 4 to 5 feet and looking great!!”

Note- my 2026 daily Rut Reports start tonight!

10/28/2025

Congrats to consulting client Chad Nugent on this awesome Missouri Ozarks buck. Chad said -

“Another happy consulting client! Was my primary target buck this year. “

Chad Nugent - Lake of the Ozarks

10/27/2025

Just got this from a consulting client this morning. Without a doubt, our plans work if given a chance. -

"Don, we have reached another pinnacle of the Higgin’s Plan for our property. Last Thursday night Dad killed a 157” 8-point that only had 2 inches of extras. In total, we have had 7 sits this year and have killed two bucks at least 5 years old, scoring 170 and 157. Everything we have tried to accomplish seems to be happening. We have 13 bucks on the do-not-shoot list and none of them are 8-points. We are targeting every 8-point or bucks with messed-up racks so only the best remain alive. I believe this is the last step in making this property as good as it possibly can be. Dad’s buck was killed out of a blind, a few yards from the property line. A few years ago, we stood by that very blind and you said that you would have put it out by the property line. I took it to heart and moved it back to the property line and this buck stepped out of the cover with-in ten yards of where this blind had been before we moved it out.

We have killed between 10 and 17 mature does each of the past 5 seasons, targeting does with button bucks, and we are seeing a major increase in more bucks growing up here. The Higgins Plan is alive and working on the Borkholder Farm. Everything I used to doubt 6 years ago when you first showed up has happened. Next Step? 180”bucks. From there it’s 200”, and only now do I fully believe it’s possible."

10/27/2025

Congrats to consulting client Coby Curtis on his great Illinois buck. In the past two years I have consulted on 3 properties for Coby and his family and for the second year in a row Coby has shot a dandy buck. Here is what he said-

“Don, shot him on the ••••• property Thursday night. Had such an awesome sit, saw 3 mature bucks 12+ bucks in general and tons of deer. Set ups worked out absolutely amazing. That property is turning out to be a good one it seems. Thanks for all your work we appreciate you!”

Don Higgins / Higgins Outdoors

11/05/2025

11/05/2025

11/03/2025

11/03/2025

11/02/2025

11/01/2025

10/31/2025

10/31/2025

10/30/2025

10/28/2025

10/27/2025

10/27/2025

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Share