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From OutdoorsCentral.com
Big Game Hunting
By Thomas Van Horn May 22, 2004 - 6:28:00 PM
Hunting the Whitetail Rut By T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors Words 1048
During the summer whitetail bucks don’t associate much with the does, and they usually stay near their summer core areas. When they do travel they rarely use the same trails the does do. But, as summer turns to fall, and preferred food sources become available, the bucks will begin to use the same food sources as the does, and they may be seen in the late evening and early morning hours. After the bucks shed their velvet and begin rubbing and scraping they become more security conscious and they may move less during daylight hours. They travel more at night, use secluded areas and keep more to the security of woods and brush where they can’t be easily discovered by predators and hunters. Once the breeding urge hits the bucks will begin to travel in search of does, leaving rubs and scrapes as evidence of their passing so that any receptive doe knows where to find them. They may begin to travel more during daylight hours and use the same trails as the does, so that they come in contact with the does more often. The bucks also begin frequenting the same feeding areas as the does for the same reason. This is when bucks are the most predictable in their movements, and when they are most susceptible to hunting. Find The Does One of the easiest ways to find a whitetail buck during the rut is to find the does. If the deer population is healthy and close to balanced the bucks will find the does during the rut. If you know where the prime food sources are, then you will know where to find the does. Once you find the does you should be able to find their home ranges. Once you find the doe home range you should be able to find a buck’s rub route, rubs and scrapes. And once you find the rub route it is a matter of time and effort before you find the buck. There are two times during the year when locating does is easy. One is obviously during the fall when the deer are in meadows and agricultural crops taking advantage of the abundant forage. They can also be found in woods where they search for mast crops, but they are often harder to see in this environment. The other time of year to locate does is in the spring when the leaves are still off the trees and the deer begin to look for new green growth and leftover mast from the year before. I prefer spring scouting for does because I like to devote the fall to locating the rub, rublines and scrapes that bucks make. Then I locate the bucks themselves. Glassing After the long winter I always get spring fever, so I begin glassing (using binoculars to look for deer) in April. I drive around the country, checking farm fields at dusk looking for does. Once I find where they are feeding I watch to see where they come from so I can locate their bedding area. Every once in a while I get lucky and see one of the bucks too, like I did April 28 one year. I was out looking for the does near the railroad tracks where I knew they locate to feed. As I drove across the tracks I saw deer about a quarter mile away. I got out of the truck, took my binoculars and got as close as I could. There where four deer; it looked like one doe and two yearlings but I couldn’t tell what the other deer was. As they got closer I could see two inch velvet on the head of the other deer, and knew it was the big eight point buck I had watched all fall. I could also see small bumps on the head of the bigger yearling. As I watched the male yearling got too close to the bigger buck, and the eight point kicked the yearling on the top of it’s back with both front hoofs already exerting dominance over the one year old buck. I keep watching the deer all summer long, so I know where to find them in the fall. . Scouting After I find the does in the fall I start scouting, looking for evidence of bucks passing through. Rubs and scrapes are very evident in the spring and it’s easy to locate the bucks rub route. Once I find the rub route I backtrack it to find the buck’s bedroom. More often than not I will go into the bedroom and spook the buck out but I don’t worry about it. By the time hunting season rolls around the buck will have forgotten about my intrusion and I know right where to find him in the fall. When I look for does in the fall I use the same technique. By this time I know where the mast crops are and which crops the does will be using. I check the food sources, find the does and then I begin to watch them to see which foods they use and what time they use them. If I can, I sit in a treestand, or get on a high point where I can see a lot of territory. I sit and watch the deer for the next week during both the morning and evening to see when they are most active. Then I choose my hunting sites based on the knowledge of where the does travel, where they will be feeding and the added knowledge of where I found the bucks rub route. I also make a point of looking for the bucks near their bedding areas, to see what their racks look like and which ones made it through the winter. Once I know where the does are, what food sources they use, where the buck rub routes are, and which bucks are still around, I know where to find the bucks when the rut begins. By watching the bucks from an observation point for a few days I know what time to expect them at certain points along their rub route. Then I choose which stand site to use at what time of the day for the best chance at the buck.
If you are interested in more deer hunting tips, or more deer biology and behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com . If you have questions about whitetails log on to the T.R.'s Tips message board. To find out when the rut begins, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart.
This article is an excerpt from the Deer Addict's Manual; Volume 3 ($9.95 + $5.00 S&H), by T.R. Michels.
T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products are the 2003 Revised Edition of the Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2003 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2003 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a catalog of books and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors, PO Box 284 , Wanamingo , MN 55983 , USA . Phone: 507-824-3296, E-mail: TRMichels@yahoo.com Internet Site: www.TRMichels.com
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