A lot of hunters build their rut-time strategies on long-held, but faulty beliefs. To fill your tag this November, first you'll want to separate fact from fiction.
10 Rut Lies Debunked
By Doug Howlett
Belief: The peak of the rut is the best time to hunt.
Reality Check: As far as I'm concerned, the peak of the rut actually kind of sucks. It's the pre-rut, that week to 10 days before the rut peaks, that most hunters think of when they describe deer charging around the woods like crazy in search of estrus does and getting careless. And that is when you want to be on a stand as much as you possibly can. While you will still find some decent bucks roaming about in search of a hot doe during the peak, the big boys will be on lockdown at that point, typically already with a doe ready to be bred and not moving unless she does.
Belief: It's too hot for deer to rut.
Reality Check: While a good blast of cold will usually put deer on their feet more during the day as the rut kicks in and consecutive days of soaring mercury can make it appear to shut down, the truth is, deer in a particular area are going to breed at roughly the same time every year regardless of what the weatherman delivers. Biologist after biologist will confirm this. Hot weather may force rut-weary bucks to chase and seek more at night than during the day, meaning hunters won't see them moving as much and mistake the lack of activity for a shut-down rut, but the fact remains: It's still going on. Hot weather won't force the rut to start weeks later or, as I've heard some hunters suggest, not take place at all any more than prematurely cold weather would kick in the rut a week or more early. If you have a good feel for when the rut typically kicks in year after year, that's when you want to be on a stand, regardless of what the weather is doing.
Belief: The full moon affects the timing of the rut.
Reality Check: Here's another one that almost every hunter has a theory on, but again, the science just isn't there to support it. Famed wildlife biologist Mick Hellickson says that while a number of hunters and scientists have examined the issue, no definitive relationship has been found between the moon and the timing of the rut. That doesn't mean a full moon doesn't affect deer activity in general. M.A.D. Calls founder and outdoor television producer Mark Drury says that while he can't say why, he has observed a definite increase in deer movement on both sides of a full moon. He says afternoon hunts are a top bet during the 10 days leading up to a full moon, then mornings appear to be best in the 10 days after a full moon. For my own part, I like midday hunts when a moon is full, choosing to sit a stand back in the woods, preferably along an edge of old-growth and new-growth stands of timber.
Belief: Hang your stand over a fresh scrape, and odds are good you'll kill a buck coming to check it.
Reality Check: I've seen guys scout the woods, find a single big, fresh scrape and hang their stand 20 yards away, positive the big boy is going to pop by to check it that evening or the next morning. And sure, it does happen, but not regularly. Odds are that when the buck does show, it will be in the dark. In fact, one Georgia study found that 85 percent of buck visits to active scrapes two to three weeks prior to the rut occurred at night, and as many as 50 percent of the bucks only visited a scrape once and were not seen again. Rather than focus on a single scrape (and definitely not a single rub), look for areas where there are a number of scrapes and a good line of clean rubs indicating frequent buck traffic. Hang a trail cam near the biggest, freshest scrape; analyze the photos to determine what time and which bucks visit it; look at an aerial photo of the surrounding land and figure out where to set up ambushes along funnels and well-worn deer trails that lead into the area. Focus on rub lines and scrapes made in thick cover and near a good bedding area; they are more likely to be visited during shooting hours. Put less emphasis on scrapes along field edges and more on trails entering the open areas.
Belief: Big scrapes and rubs are made by big deer.
Reality Check: The truth is, a scrape as big around as a truck tire could've been made by a hopped-up six-pointer just as well as it could be made by a 12-pointer. Different bucks will visit and scrape in the same spot, which can make it larger over time. On the other hand, rubs on really big trees are a fair indication that they were made by a large buck. Again, focus on areas with multiple big scrapes and big rubs either in a cluster, indicating a possible staging area before the buck moves off to feed or look for does in the evening, or in a discernible line, indicating the direction of travel of the bucks rubbing in the area.
Belief: Rutting activity is constant during the rut.
Reality Check: While we'd love to trust in a magic switch, triggered by the shortening day, that sets all bucks in motion to breed and thus start rutting over the same span of time, the truth is that the rut progresses much like the crowd in a college bar gathers during Dollar Draft night. At the bar, you have your handful of young, eager male students who show up well before the women in order to capitalize on the special pricing. Over a short time, the crowd grows, with the co-eds eagerly socializing and the cooler, more dialed-in dudes (usually already with their girl in tow) showing up to hang out and make an appearance. And then, as the night winds down, the bouncers almost always have to force out the door a small band of stragglers who don't want the night to end. Deer are the same, with some bucks chasing and some does going into estrus earlier, while the bulk of the deer will begin breeding activity days, even weeks later, with most of them
overlapping each other until the activity begins to die out. Think of it as a bell curve, and if you plan on taking vacation days, you want to pinpoint when the top of the curve will take place so you are in the woods at that time. As for the second rut that occurs roughly a month after the first--well, that's more like the after-hours club for those who didn't quite get enough earlier. And just like the after-hours club, it's usually hard to find and in most places not really worth the effort.
Belief: The rut makes big deer careless. I don't have to be as cautious.
Reality Check: I've seen hunters who were diligent about controlling scent and taking all kinds of precautions to minimize their presence in the woods during bow season abandon those same worries once gun season (and usually the rut) came into full swing. Their reasoning: I can shoot farther, and the deer are running around and not paying attention to anything but chasing does. It's true, bucks do get more reckless and are more apt to make a mistake pursuing does in brood daylight, but remember, big deer didn't get that way by being stupid. Their nose is still always on alert, as are their eyes, for anything out of place. Those does that are nearby also act as sentries and are usually the first to detect something, since they're leading the boys around. Don't leave anything to chance. Maintain your regimen of keeping still, quiet and scent-free at all times during deer season.
Belief: Heavy antlers and the deepest-sounding grunt tubes will attract the biggest deer.
Reality Check: I hear this from a lot of well-known hunters who work in the hunting industry and hunt so many quality places that they can be choosy and seek only the biggest deer a property has to offer. While every one of us who deer hunts would love to kill a record-book buck, I'm willing to bet that there's just as many who would be happy to kill an eight- or 10-pointer in the 130s or even 120s, particularly when in many places the odds of killing something much larger may not be good all season. For bucks like this, super-deep grunts and heavy, smashing antlers can intimidate as much as entice. I've seen bucks that looked big enough to whip anything in the woods turn tail and run at the first crash of antlers. To be sure, you want to challenge big bucks--enter the octagon, so to speak--but you want to sound like you can be whipped, too. Be big, but not too big. Think more Clint Eastwood than Kimbo Slice.
Belief: That big buck you scouted on your land in September will definitely be around when the rut rolls in.
Reality Check: A buck's summer range can differ drastically as the rut kicks in, expanding from an average of 600 acres to as much as 4,000, with some radio-collared bucks roaming an average of 10 miles a day--most of it at night. That means if you're hunting a 200-acre tract, the whopper you saw in your September soybean field could be well off your land for much of the rut. Some reasons for this dispersal include where a buck lines up in the order of dominance, food and the number of does in an area. This is probably the best argument for maintaining quality food plots. By doing so, you'll keep does on the land, and the bucks will be right there with them. Want some good news? Bucks will range from other properties onto yours as well. If you start catching a sudden influx of never-before-seen bucks on your trail cameras or observing them in the field, get in the woods, because it is game on.
Belief: Hunting pressure during the rut will make it almost impossible to kill a nice deer.
Reality Check: It seems in most places that just as the rut is kicking in, gun seasons open up, too, bringing a sudden influx of hunters into the woods. If you hunt a lease with other hunters or with a club, you know what I mean. The three or four guys who had the place to themselves in October are now fighting to get to the hot spots before another dozen guys and gals do. But don't let this pressure discourage you. Use it to your advantage, as all of these pumpkin-colored folks walking about are sure to push some big boys from hiding at any time of the day. Identify where most of your fellow hunters like to hunt--many will hit the same stands day in and day out--and figure out from which direction and at what time they generally approach. Then position yourself along likely escape routes and funnels with heavy cover, and be there before and after the other hunters typically move. Hunting pressure can actually be a good thing at a time when an abundance of shooting would otherwise force racked monsters to sit tight until dark.
By Chris Avena 