4 Phases of the Whitetail Rut : United Outfitters Association article

Like an apparition, the sleek 10-pointer drifted through pale maples and crystal snow, silver on silver. He was well out of bow range, gaining distance with a purposeful stride, cruising for amorous does. But just as the buck was melting into the streamside alders, he turned abruptly. He nosed around a bit, then headed straight toward me as if on a string!

Actually, he was on a string — a hundred yards of carpenter’s twine, to be exact, soaked in doe scent and laid from my stand to the creek across several deer trails. I watched in awe as the buck stopped abruptly and traced that fragrant line to my stand. Distracted, he horned the tangled twine at his feet. I raised the bow to put another sort of string into play. At the twang he ran, but not far. His mounted rack, still sporting fragments of the thread that might as well have been his hangman’s rope, attested to the effectiveness of using the right tactic, at the right time, when hunting the whitetail rut.

Breaking down the rut into phases has less to do with science and is more an arbitrary exercise in identifying and understanding what’s happening and how to deal with it. Some whitetail experts see it a little differently, with more, or fewer, or different phases, than I do. I don’t consider the rut to begin with the shedding of velvet; I consider it to be the start of increased buck activity that the hunter can take advantage of. And the phases are not definite; indeed, one buck might be in a different phase than a neighboring buck given different scenarios they live under. For example, a buck that has caught the fancy of the first estrous doe will be in a different phase than his buddies who have just begun chasing the girls all over the landscape.

The phases as I categorize them are the onset of the rut, the chase phase, peak breeding time, and decline of the rut. Here I’ll describe them and what I’ve found to be the best tactics to take a buck in each phase.

As the season progresses from mid to late fall, the cooler weather and onset of the rut bring increased whitetail activity. Deer patterns are different from when the hunting season began, but there is a good clue to what the bucks are doing –— their rubs.

Bucks often rub saplings at random, and a rub made as a buck simply wanders browsing is of little use to the hunter. But researchers have found that bucks make most of their rubs along frequent travel routes near their bedding sites. If you find a trail where rubs appear one day, then again another day, it is probably a good place to hunt now. Because it’s probably near the buck’s bed, hunt it very carefully to avoid spooking him from the area.

Rubbing increases dramatically now as bucks prepare for tests of social standing and breeding rights. Bucks rub to mark territories, release pent-up hormonal anxiety and train for upcoming battles. Mid to late October is when deer dominance is determined, when bucks are very interested in each other’s activities.

I’d always considered rattling a gimmick, and went about it half-heartedly. That’s probably why I never had much luck, until one certain October several years ago when I banged the antlers together a few times during a pause on my way out of the woods. The bow, of course, was just beyond reach when the buck charged up to me like a bull to a matador, fire in his eyes. After that I orchestrated some serious rattling sessions — this time with my bow in hand — and have taken several dandies since.

The consensus of people I know who rattle in dozens of bucks each year is that successful rattling has little to do with the “tone” of the antlers or the pattern of your rattling. The important things are sounding realistic with grunts, thumps and thrashing bushes; being heard but not scented by a buck in the right frame of mind; and staying watchful and ready.

Many bowhunters report significant success with another rut-hunting trick — using scents. Scents, particularly doe-in-heat urine, can produce amazing results. As the majority of does begin to come into heat, which occurs in late October throughout most of the whitetail’s range, serious scraping activity begins. A hunter can initiate this ritual by making scrapes of his own, attracting bucks with the sight and smell of breedable does. Fake scrapes are not surefire as some purport them to be, but I know from experience that they can aid the hunter as much as a regular scrape. That is, if you make a scrape where a buck will find it — preferably where you located a real scrape last year — he may leave his own sign there and be inclined to return.

To make a scrape, start with rubber boots and gloves and clean tools and clothes, and make every other effort to keep your own scent out of the area. Find or set up a fresh overhanging branch or sapling about six feet up, and scrape a tire-sized patch of ground free of grass and debris directly under the branch. Pour in some doe-in-heat scent and any other type of natural deer scent you might have. Add some to the overhanging branch. Of course, estrus urine on the branch is not realistic, but the signals it sends the buck will override any suspicions he might have. Chances are big bucks will begin to use your scrape or make their own in the vicinity.

Only a week or two after earnest scraping begins, the rut reaches full swing –– the first few days of November in most parts of the country. Most does are coming into estrus. Bucks scent and chase them for a day or more before does will stand for breeding.

This is the rut’s chase phase, the time of maximum deer activity. It’s the period when hunters should spend every minute possible in the woods, because deer are moving all day. In fact, a high percentage of big bucks are taken in the middle of the day during this period. Forget still-hunting, forget driving. Take stands at trail intersections in the woods near signs of rutting activity. The best trails are wide-open paths such as old logging roads. With all the hype that surrounds hunting the rut, the real reason it is so productive is the ceaseless deer movement as bucks try to find or catch does. They tend to run the open trails.

During this period, a buck hunter should always use doe estrus scents. Apply the scent liberally to a rag tied around your ankle. Drag the rag to the stand, recharging it with a few more drops every 50 yards or so. Chances might be against a buck encountering the scent trail, but if he does, chances are very good that he will follow it to you. Sometimes they will discover your scent and turn away; other times they won’t.

Place the rag strategically behind a tree trunk or bush so that as a buck stops to sniff it, his eyes are hidden with his vitals visible a perfect shooting distance upwind of your stand.

While a hunter usually has an advantage in a tree stand, the peak of the rut is a prime time to use a ground blind. You can more easily prevent being seen or scented because you can more accurately predict exactly where a buck will walk. He’ll likely approach along an open trail where you’ve dragged and deposited doe scent, upwind of your position, which is concealed by strategically transplanted brush. Also, mobility is very important this time of year. If you’re hunting and see a doe crash through the woods, get over there now, because she’s probably being chased by a buck that will be along in a few moments. This tactic can work wonders, but is severely hampered if you’re strapped in a tree.

Whitetail hunters speak with excitement when they refer to the peak of the rut. But in truth, peak breeding is a time of frustration for the hunter. A large percentage of does are ready to breed all at once, and each tends to lead the buck into a little hidey hole for a couple days of private lovemaking. It always amazes me how one day, amid all the hot action, the woods suddenly fall silent.

One of my favorite whitetail spots is central Iowa, an intensely farmed area with cover limited to smaller woodlots, riverbottoms and CRP. During peak breeding you can often find a buck tending a doe in some unusual place like the sparse cover along fence lines, or even the middle of a plowed field. I’ve launched stalks on some whopper bucks in those cases and have come close with the bow, only to have it blown by a doe.

Tim Burres, who outfits for whitetails in the area, has done well with the tactic. He’s bagged two Pope & Young bucks by spotting and stalking them with his bow. The key, he says, is finding them in a vulnerable spot with climate conditions to help cover his stalk. He likes it windy and raining or snowy.

Throughout the rut, including this phase, an ace in the hole is your arsenal of good deer calls. Bucks grunt for two basic reasons: from antagonism toward a foe or frustration caused by a doe. Another buck within hearing range will often find this “interaction” irresistible and will investigate if his curiosity overcomes his doubts.

The actual buck grunting I’ve listened to has been three or four extended, monotone grunts in a slow series, and my mimicry has attracted several deer. I’ve also called both bucks and does using estrous bleat imitations. There are a lot of great deer calls out there today that really work. The trick in calling, like rattling, is to entice a buck so well that he comes into range, but not so well that he pinpoints you.

Peak breeding lasts only a week and then begins to decline as quickly as it developed. It won’t be long before deer activity slows noticeably — usually by Thanksgiving where I do most of my hunting in the Midwest. But until that happens, we have a week or so of some outstanding hunting opportunities in the form of bucks that can’t say goodbye to love.

Like the sudden increase in gobbling among spring turkeys when all hens are bred, whitetail bucks have a surge in activity as they desperately seek the last willing does. It is well documented that bucks might travel far out of their normal home range during this time. That makes them more vulnerable to hunters for several reasons. They are exposing themselves for more time over greater distances. They are vulnerable to making mistakes because they are in unfamiliar territory where they can’t use their home-turf defenses. And, because they are actively seeking other deer, they might be more vulnerable to hunting techniques like calling, decoys, rattling and scents.

The best tactic now is to identify the best funnels and bottlenecks that a buck would use to cover ground. These are typically narrow strips of woods, creekbottoms and fencelines; field perimeter trails and “narrows,” where deer are at least risk crossing a field; and places where deer funnel around a large obstruction such as a pond or deep ravine. If you still have a buck tag to fill at this point, put up your best stands and sit it out, because this is my favorite time to hunt the big boys!