How to Hunt the Phases of the Rut

June 6, 2022

 

There are millions of hunters all over the world who make up something like a hunting community. One of the most common types of a hunt in the USA, Europe, and New Zealand is a deer hunt, which is usually carried out with a rifle, a shotgun, or a muzzleloader.

What is deer hunting?

As it is known, deer are usually hunted either for food, hide, antlers, or as a sport. Many hunters value deer meat for its specific flavor and can either consume it themselves or sell it to venison lovers or restaurants. Similarly, deer hide can also be sold or used for making different things. Trophy hunters take hunting as a competition, in which they want to shoot the heaviest game. Antlers can also be regarded as proof of their victory. Nowadays hunters mostly combine these two aims of hunting and receive both excitement from their successful hunt and the game itself. You may probably know that there are over 40 species of deer in the world. The most common ones are red deer, fallow, wapiti, silka, rusa, whitetail, mule-deer, whitetail, sambar deer, chital deer, and others. As a rule, they rarely live alone. Most deer live in herds, which can be groups of bucks (male deer) or groups of does who live with fawns. Different countries have special regulations about deer hunting, which often depends on the local situation with different species of deer. Some of them are widely spread and even cause problems to the vegetation, that’s why hunters are encouraged to help in maintaining the necessary balance. However, others are much more rear, thus hunting them can be banned. As regulations are different for every country and even state (if we speak about the USA), you need to study and carefully follow them.

Pre-rut hunting

Throughout centuries people used trial-and-error method in hunting that has led to the formation of the most productive hunting strategies: stalking, tracking, baiting, stand hunting, calling, rattling, driving methods, and others. It should be mentioned that an old-fashioned way of deer hunt that looked like chasing the deer with packs of hounds is banned in most countries now.
Every hunter needs to take into account the annual cycle of deer’s life to understand when the most suitable time for chasing the game is. This mostly depends on the mating season, better known as the rut. It usually falls on the same part of the year. If we speak about the rut in a broad understanding, it starts at the end of October, continues in November, and finishes in December. Experienced hunters say that the rut is the best time for deer hunting. During this period testosterone makes bucks change their behavior, they start thinking about does above all. As a result, they can lose caution and do things that can make them easier to be shot.
Different phases of the rut include the pre-rut (October 10th-20th), the rut itself, which consists of 3 phases: the seeking phase (October 20th – November 1st), the chasing phase (November 1st – 10th), and the tending phase (November 11st – 20th), the post-rut (20th November – December).
Each phase of the rut requires particular hunting strategies that are the most effective and match the deer’s behavioral patterns at that time. During the pre-rut deer tend to reaffirm their territory, by refreshing their signs, such as rubs and scrapes, they become more competitive and aggressive. Of course, any hunter understands the need to use scouting and tracking in this period. The changed food source, which includes mostly acorn and other mast crops, should be also taken into account. Another successful strategy for hunting at this time is to hide between the bedding and feeding areas, and wait for the deer to come and shoot. As they still tend to feed after it gets dark, the most preferable time for a hunt is the evening.

Best hunting strategies during the rut

As it was mentioned above the rut phase can be subdivided into 3 sub-phases. During the seeking phase deer’s activity is mostly determined by the increase of the testosterone level. While it is still being kept under control by more mature deer, one-year-old fawns can become an easy game for hunters even in the afternoon-evening time. You are highly recommended to go deer stalking with keeping in mind that if you keep close to does, bucks will come to breed them sooner or later. That’s why making several stand locations near the place where does feed and bed is going to be a wise decision.
The most exciting phase for most deer hunt fans is the chasing phase, which is often considered the rut itself. Naturally, bucks’ testosterone level is the highest at this period, which makes male deer forget about safety while chasing does. Breeding desire becomes much higher than their need for feeding or having rest. The rut wakes them up early, so you can find mature animals, who are mostly nocturnal, wandering in the daylight. Experienced hunters apply calling and rattling strategies during this phase, as the sounds attract male deer looking for does or eager to fight with their rivals. Don’t be afraid to make too much noise, it will definitely work in your favour. The hunting method with approaching the game is also appropriate, as you are pretending to be another male deer who is trying to lure it for a fight.
The tending phase comes after a doe has been bred by a buck and they are spending some time together lying in the thick cover. This is where they can be found and hunted for. However, it can be easier said than done. So, tracking and stalking become useful methods again. Baiting can also prove effective with using a decoy, for example, dried corn, apples, salt, and even something like peanut butter, etc. It is explained by the fact that bucks need to get the energy to continue looking for does. Provoking them with sound and smell can still bring some results. However, this stage is thought to be less productive for hunting.

Hunting strategies for post-rut bucks

Post-rut time means that bucks may be still searching for the last remaining females. In other words, if you find a hot doe in the area where you are hunting, your chances to shoot a buck are pretty high. However, the general truth is that during this period bucks are almost totally worn out by the chasing, fighting, and breeding. As a result, they may lose up to 20-25% of their body weight, which means that they crave for food. So, the best option for putting a tree stand or a tower blind is to do that near the forage places or close to trials bucks take to find something to eat. Since their body has to conserve energy, bucks usually take the shortest trail from their bedding place. Another option for a stalker is to hide in the secret thick cover and wait silently for the buck to come. To sum up, it’s necessary to vary hunting strategies depending on the phase of the rut. A key to a successful hunt lies in understanding deer biology and behavior.