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Poll: Which Deer Rut Phase is Best?
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January 02, 2013
Poll: Which Deer Rut Phase is Best?
By Dave Hurteau
Bestul and I are writing a book on deer hunting. Want to help? In an attempt the prevent readers from tiring of us too quickly, we figured we’d mix in someone else’s opinions. Namely, yours.
Right now, we are writing about the phases of the rut. While chatting about this yesterday, we wondered: If you could hunt any phase of the rut all the time, which would it be? We both picked the same phase but agreed that certain biases might play into that.
So we put it to you. If you could hunt any phase of the rut all the time, with the implement of your choice, which would it be? Which phase gives you the best shot at taking a good buck?
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Comments (13)
While most people live and die for the initial rut and all of it's phases, I really enjoy the secondary rut 28 days later. Especially if you have a lot of yearling does in your herd. You can have this rut all to yourself since most people are tagged out or just not aware of it.
The best phase of deer hunting is first light opening morning to last light on the last day of the season.
My favorite part of the season is before any rut action, that early bow opener in SC.
Early to mid November to me is an easy time to sit in a stand.
I like the Post Rut .As Buckhunter stated , there is little of no hunting pressure. I like to use doe in estrus scent drags . Fun to trick a buck into thinking there is a doe ready for breeding. He might come trotting in dogging a doe . Exciting to see any does in view scatter when they know he is near . Gets your heart pumping in anticipation
In my neck of the woods, early to mid November is the time when I see more bucks on the move.
The best phase...any one you can get out and hunt in!
Why are the seeking and chasing broken up into different phases? Seeking & chasing occurs at the same time. Bucks seek out does and when they find them, they chase them. They will chase just about every doe they encounter during this time, regardless if she is in heat or not. If the doe is in heat, he will continue chasing. If she is not, then he will give up the chase and continue seeking. Splitting the behaviors to make them appear as if they happen during different time periods causes confusion, so it should be called the "chasing/seeking phase" to describe the behaviors that are most commonly observed during the early part of the rut.
Semantics...I know, but it's important that everybody is on the same page when it comes to describing the rut.
Absolutely true, Bioguy; when bucks are not chasing, they are seeking a doe to chase. But I do think that colloquially, hunters talk of the "chasing phase" to refer to that time when there are enough does in or very near estrous that it seems as though every deer you see is either chasing or being chased. And, from a hunting perspective, it does represent a bit of a shift, because as the rut intensifies and more deer a running around, actually getting on a buck becomes more unpredictable.
The earlier you get in the field the better the hunting is in my opinion. As soon as the first gun goes off the deer know it and disappear.
I'm a fan of getting out whenever you can doing the most you can with whatever time of the season it is. In my opinon you will get the most action during the chasing/seeking because the bucks arent thinking about food but finding a mate is high in the list.
I really like the pre rut best, when the deer are mate searching they are very easy to figure out their patterns.
I use very little if any bait and when I do its a handfull of corn early in the A.M. that way the does will only come to the bait to check it in daylite and if they are getting in heat the bucks will follow in the daylight. this has worked great for me in the U.P of Michigan for many years.
I have most of the rut ruined for me because there are a million other hunters running around durring the firearms season that runs from the second weekend to the third in November. Therefore my vote went to the chasing phase. But I can't get any good "data" because most of the movement during the peak breeding is caused by hunting pressure and then after gun season the woods is left barren with every deer hunkered down in fear of getting blasted at so I can't speak for post rut either.
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While most people live and die for the initial rut and all of it's phases, I really enjoy the secondary rut 28 days later. Especially if you have a lot of yearling does in your herd. You can have this rut all to yourself since most people are tagged out or just not aware of it.
The best phase...any one you can get out and hunt in!
Why are the seeking and chasing broken up into different phases? Seeking & chasing occurs at the same time. Bucks seek out does and when they find them, they chase them. They will chase just about every doe they encounter during this time, regardless if she is in heat or not. If the doe is in heat, he will continue chasing. If she is not, then he will give up the chase and continue seeking. Splitting the behaviors to make them appear as if they happen during different time periods causes confusion, so it should be called the "chasing/seeking phase" to describe the behaviors that are most commonly observed during the early part of the rut.
Semantics...I know, but it's important that everybody is on the same page when it comes to describing the rut.
I'm a fan of getting out whenever you can doing the most you can with whatever time of the season it is. In my opinon you will get the most action during the chasing/seeking because the bucks arent thinking about food but finding a mate is high in the list.
The best phase of deer hunting is first light opening morning to last light on the last day of the season.
My favorite part of the season is before any rut action, that early bow opener in SC.
Early to mid November to me is an easy time to sit in a stand.
I like the Post Rut .As Buckhunter stated , there is little of no hunting pressure. I like to use doe in estrus scent drags . Fun to trick a buck into thinking there is a doe ready for breeding. He might come trotting in dogging a doe . Exciting to see any does in view scatter when they know he is near . Gets your heart pumping in anticipation
In my neck of the woods, early to mid November is the time when I see more bucks on the move.
Absolutely true, Bioguy; when bucks are not chasing, they are seeking a doe to chase. But I do think that colloquially, hunters talk of the "chasing phase" to refer to that time when there are enough does in or very near estrous that it seems as though every deer you see is either chasing or being chased. And, from a hunting perspective, it does represent a bit of a shift, because as the rut intensifies and more deer a running around, actually getting on a buck becomes more unpredictable.
The earlier you get in the field the better the hunting is in my opinion. As soon as the first gun goes off the deer know it and disappear.
I really like the pre rut best, when the deer are mate searching they are very easy to figure out their patterns.
I use very little if any bait and when I do its a handfull of corn early in the A.M. that way the does will only come to the bait to check it in daylite and if they are getting in heat the bucks will follow in the daylight. this has worked great for me in the U.P of Michigan for many years.
I have most of the rut ruined for me because there are a million other hunters running around durring the firearms season that runs from the second weekend to the third in November. Therefore my vote went to the chasing phase. But I can't get any good "data" because most of the movement during the peak breeding is caused by hunting pressure and then after gun season the woods is left barren with every deer hunkered down in fear of getting blasted at so I can't speak for post rut either.
Post a Comment