Deer Rut Body Signs
During the early stages and throughout the rut, deer will use different body signs and language than any other times of the year. A hunter needs to learn and pay attention to these signs as a means of understanding when the deer rut occurs.
Bucks
The bucks appearance will change towards the deer rut. The neck will begin to increase in size. The hair on the tarsal glands will become darker. Other changes include scars and broken tines due to fighting.
The deer rut also brings aggression into play. The bucks will often raise the hairs on its back, extend the ears back, and walk stiff legged. These are all signs that the rut is near.
While travelling the bucks will often keep nose to the ground searching for estrus does. The bucks may also be seen during daylight hours more frequently.
Does
The deer rut also changes how the does act. The does will often separate from the main herd of deer during estrus. A sign that the doe is coming into season is that the tale is held straight out as the doe walks.
When walking, the doe may frequently rotate the ears backward or keep a watchful look over her back trail. This can be an indication that a buck may be following. Both can be signs of the deer rut.
These are just a few signs of the deer rut. By watching the body signs and actions of deer, they can be used to better determine when the rut occurs.
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Recovering A Deer
After a shot is made on a deer, the best practise for recovery is to wait at least thirty minutes before approaching the location where the deer was standing. While waiting, make a mental note of that area as well as the last place in which the deer was seen.
Afterwards, quietly approach the area where the impact occurred. Look for any signs of the deer such as tracks, hair, disturbed ground, and blood. Don’t be too alarmed if blood is not found immediately. It often takes 10-30 yards before the blood will begin exiting the deer.
Blood And Hair
The following descriptions of blood provide color and possible impact locations.
- red – liver
- brownish red – stomach or intestinal
- bright red – arterial
- dark red – muscle, leg, groin, hind quarter
- pink red or bubbly – lungs
The following descriptions of hair provide color, length, and possible impact areas.
- white or brown – 1/4 to 3/4 inches – lower legs
- white or light gray – 2 1/2 to 3 inches – groin, stomach, intestinal
- brown or black – 1 3/4 to 2 inches – top of back
- gray or brown – 1 1/2 inches – chest, center hits
- thick dark brown – 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 inches – neck, brisket
- white – 3/4 to 1 inch – front leg
Signs of blood or hair that indicate a lung or arterial impact can be followed immediately and generally will produce the deer within 50 to 100 yards or less. Any other types of impact, it is best to wait 2-4 hours or more before trailing the deer. If the deer appears to be getting up after bedding down, stop and wait several more hours before continuing.
While trailing, use markers to indicate the direction of travel. This is important in case the trail is lost, a longer waiting period is required, or it is or becomes after sunset. On weak trails mark often, stronger trails can be marked less frequently.
If the trail is lost, mark the last signs found. From that point, divide the area into small sections ahead and to the right and left of the trail. Thoroughly search each section expanding the areas until the deer is found or until the trail resumes. Be aware that deer will sometimes circle back, so if a forward approach does not produce further sign, circle around the back trail to see if this may have occurred.
Regardless of how little sign is found, continue to search for the deer until located or until you are certain that the deer is not mortally injured. A slow approach is best and additional help in tracking is suggested.
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Handling Buck Fever
Defining And Symptoms Of Buck Fever
Buck fever is a term used by deer hunters that relates to becoming very nervous upon seeing or attempting to harvest a deer. Symptoms of buck fever include uncontrollable shaking, muscle pains or weakness, heavy breathing, a pounding heart beat, and an extreme feeling of mental pressure.
Mental Focus
To counteract these feelings, the hunter must learn to focus mentally and to control the emotions. Think positive, breath normally, and focus on the task at hand. There will be plenty of time after the shot for emotions to run wild.
- Focus – Picture in your mind making a good clean and accurate shot on the deer. This should be done not only when the attempt occurs, but also prior to and throughout the season. In a way you rehearse the events which helps prepare when the event happens.
- Positive Thinking – As with focus, positive thinking should take place prior to hunting conditions. Repeated positive thinking can improve on performance and allow the hunter to focus better.
- Breathing – To help control breathing, take long deep breathes and hold in for a few seconds before releasing slowly. This will also aid in the shakes and heart beat.
Practise Shooting
Regardless of the weapon to be used, repeated and consistent shooting skills will help ease buck fever. Shooting in the off season as well as throughout the deer season is required. This will prepare the body mentally and physically. Practise should be done under conditions similar to those found in the field. Place targets at different ranges and angles.
Add pressure to the practise by using a timer or have a friend tell you when and where to shoot. Work towards a five second rule, meaning from the word go to the actual shot is no more than five seconds long. The added pressure simulates deer hunting conditions and allows for better focus and attention.
There will always be some nervousness or excitement related to buck fever. However, maintaining composer through mental focus, breathing, and practising will help reduce and control the emotions.
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Adapting To Deer Activity
For most hunters, the deer hunting season begins with high expectations. Stand locations have been predetermined through scouting or previous experiences. However, hunters can have a let down if they fail to adapt to deer activity.
Although deer hunting sometimes goes according to plans, often there are times when the deer do not react as anticipated. This requires the hunter to rethink his game plan and be willing to adjust tactics in order for success.
The key here is being able to interpret current deer sign and activity. It is also important to be open minded and not be stubborn when it comes to deer hunting. Accept the fact that there are many things beyond the hunters control that will affect deer movement.
Weather, available food sources, cover, hunting pressure, and the deer rutting period are just a few factors that will affect deer activity.
To stay in the game, hunters should continue scouting and monitoring deer movement throughout the entire season. In doing so, one will be able to locate and set up according to where the most active deer sign occurs.
Adapting to changing conditions while in the field will greatly improve the chances for success.
Keep Deer Hunting Areas Fresh
Deer hunting a specific area of property often is most successful on the first few hunts. This is simply because the area id fresh and undisturbed. The deer have not been pressured and to a degree are caught off guard.
Regardless of the size of the property, it is best as a hunter to break the land into sections. Leave an area, or several areas if possible, alone and not do any hunting on it or at least wait until the deer rut or other prime times that offer the best chances of success.
This will be different depending upon how the property is set up. Some land is more suited for hunting during the deer rut while other land is more ideal to be hunted early or late season. This information can be gathered by monitoring deer activity in the given area.
If the property is large enough so that some of it can be left alone entirely, this will provide the deer with a safe zone. These areas will allow the deer to stay on the land without being disturbed.
This approach will often improve the hunting on the land. The reason is that the less pressure put on the deer, the more likely that the deer will be active during daylight hours.
Keeping the hunting areas fresh will keep the deer more relaxed. Since deer, especially mature bucks, are quick to go nocturnal when pressured, The less pressure a hunter puts on the land the better it will be.
No matter how well a hunter prepares for a hunt, repeated use of a specific area by the hunter will result in the deer avoiding the area. Scent, wind direction, noise, and using the same walking areas will only educate the deer and produce poor results.
Hunt smart, limit pressure, and keep the hunting areas as fresh as possible. By doing this in most cases the odds for success will greatly improve.
8 Deer Rut Tips
1. Be aware of the changing deer signs found throughout the area to be hunted. As the deer rut approaches, there will be more deer activity.
2. Look for and hunt well kept scrape lines during the early deer rut period. Deer hunting scrapes found leading from bedding areas to feeding areas can be very productive.
3. A rub line can also be an effective location to hunt during the early stages of the rut. As with scrape lines, more than one buck will make use of these areas.
4. Hunt near areas that offer good doe activity. Feeding and bedding areas that provide doe sightings will soon have bucks and will offer prime locations for the hunter.
5. Keep a watchful eye out for younger bucks that begin cruising or chasing after does. This is an obvious sign that the deer rut is near. Mature bucks will soon be more active.
6. Pay close attention to the body language of the does. A doe that is constantly looking back may be an indication that a buck is nearby.
7. As the deer rut progresses, find and hunt near isolated patches of cover. Does will frequent these areas and the bucks will follow.
8. After the initial phases of the deer rut, the bucks will return to thick cover to rest. Locating and deer hunting these areas hard can be very effective.
Deer Hunting Late Season Food Sources
After the rutting period the deer, especially the bucks, will be primarily focused on obtaining much needed nourishment. The deer go into survival mode and seek out the late season food sources.
These deer foods will be different depending upon location but most areas will have remaining field crops, food plots, or other natural deer foods. The hunter should focus on finding these feeding areas.
Since the deer will try to conserve energy, they will often bed near a food supply and get up throughout the day to feed. It is not unusual to see deer, even mature bucks, feeding during daylight hours.
In order to take advantage of the feeding areas, the hunter should locate and monitor such areas for any signs of fresh deer activity. When possible, observing from a distance is best.
A good set up will allow the hunter to slip in and out of these deer food areas without spooking or being detected by the deer. Be prepared to sit on stand for extended periods. A hot food source can be very productive during the late deer hunting season.
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7 Deer Rut Tips
This article offers seven tips for deer hunting during the rut period.
Scent Control
It is very important for hunters to take steps in reducing human odors. Proper clothing and maintenance, using scent controlling sprays, and being aware of wind directions are all vital for success. If deer hunting all day, remember to focus on scent control throughout. Mature bucks will continue to be alert for danger even during the rutting periods so watch your odors.
Hunt Feeding Areas
Both does and bucks will continue to feed throughout the deer rut. Although the bucks may not feed as much as normal, they will follow does and take advantage of the available food sources. Field crops, acorns, and secluded food plots are often good locations for finding deer during the rut.
Hunt Secluded Areas
During the rut, does coming into estrus often move away from the main deer herd. A small secluded area that provides some cover can be a great place for a hunter to set up stand. These areas don’t need to be overly thick or dense with cover. A field overgrown with tall grass or a thin sapling thicket can be all that’s needed for the does to begin breeding.
Hunt Longer
Since the deer rut will get bucks moving around more, it is wise to stay in the woods as much as possible while deer hunting. It is not unusual to see bucks roaming the woods at all hours of the day. Prepare accordingly with adequate clothing, food and drink, and a comfortable place to sit.
Hunt The Rut
As soon as the first signs of the rutting period occurs, hunters should spend all available time deer hunting. The pre rut, rut, and post rut periods all offer excellent opportunities for those who spend extra time in the field.
Use A Grunt Call
The deer rut is a good time to use a grunt call. Bucks will respond to a grunt better during the rut than any other time. Mix a series of soft grunts together or try louder grunts to see what works best. Since most areas will have a decent number of bucks, at any given time one or more may be willing to respond to grunting.
Stay Focused
It can be very easy for a hunter to let his or her guard down while spending long hours on stand. It is important not to fall into this trap. There is an old saying that you only have about five seconds on average to identify and make a harvest attempt on a buck. This is often very true so it is wise to always stay focused especially during the deer rutting periods.
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Deer Hunting Bottlenecks
So what is a bottleneck? For the purpose of deer hunting, a bottleneck is a narrow strip of land that controls or restricts whitetail deer travel areas. There can be many types of terrain that meet this criteria such as funnels, land edges, and saddles.
Funnels
A funnel is a section of land that connects two other sections of land together. For example, a small tract of trees that run parallel with and in between two fields can be considered a funnel. Another example is a patch of undergrowth that runs along the edges of a creek or river bank. Narrow sapling thickets that divide two other types of land is another.
Land Edges
A land edge is the area that runs along and borders different types of land. For example, a crop field edge that joins a wooded area. Deer will often travel just out of sight walking along the perimeter of a field until an area is reached to enter. A swamp edge that borders other terrain is also an example.
Saddles
A saddle is a low area that runs between two higher sections of ground. These areas are more common in mountain or hill terrain. Deer will travel the bottoms or lower edges of saddles. Deer will cross over the higher ground when directional change is needed.
Deer Hunting Bottlenecks
When it comes to hunting, the key to success is finding the bottlenecks and then setting up in the proper area. The use of aerial photos and topographical maps can be of assistance. However, the best approach is to scout on foot.
Once these areas are located, the next step is to find the most active and freshest deer sign and set up accordingly. One suggestion is to break the bottleneck into sections and hunt each until the best set up is found. Make sure to use proper scent control and to factor in the wind directions.
Bottlenecks offer hunters excellent opportunities and can be hunted throughout the season.
Still Hunting And Stalking Tips
Deer hunting from the ground can at times offer hunters a better chance at success. These are some tips for better still hunting and stalking for deer.
Safety
The first thing that hunters need to consider before anything else is safety. Since the hunter will be deer hunting from the ground and on foot, extra precautions must be taken. It is best to hunt on private property in which no other hunters will be nearby. Always wear hunter orange. Always be aware of the set up boundaries and terrain of the land to be hunted.
Shooting
Before firing at any deer from the ground, make sure that the shot is a safe one. This requires knowledge of what is beyond the deer. Take your time and make an accurate shot. Never rush, and if the shot is risky, don’t take it. This will help reduce any chances of accidents.
Clothing
The clothing to be worn by the hunter should be made of a soft, noise resistant material. Being on the ground dictates that the hunter will come in contact with branches, briers, undergrowth, or other natural objects that may cause noises when brushed up against. Wearing quiet clothing will reduce any unwanted sounds. It is also important that the clothing be camouflaged with patterns that blend in naturally with the terrain to be hunted.
Hunting Conditions
One of the best times to use still hunting tactics is during wet weather. The ground will be soft and wet which allows the hunter to move more quietly. Light rain or snow days offer ideal conditions. Another condition to consider is the wind. The best approach is to have the wind in the face while moving about.
Hunting Technique
The best technique for still hunting is to move slowly and methodically throughout the woods. Walk short distances as quietly as possible. Stop and look around the area thoroughly before moving on. Listen for any sounds that may be related to deer activity.
Locating Deer
To be successful, the hunter must have a good knowledge of the land and be aware of the areas that are most likely to have deer activity. These may be feeding, bedding, or travel areas. Look for fresh deer sign that indicates current deer movement. When attempting to spot the deer, look for legs or body movement, head turning, ears or tails moving, white hair patches, antlers, or even deer bedded down. A good pair of binoculars is suggested.
The key to success when it comes to still hunting or stalking for deer is to spot the deer before being detected. Use a slow quiet approach and spend enough time looking and listening before moving again.
