Changing Strategies For The Rut

By Paul E. Moore

It’s a magic time for bowhunters. The leaves are beginning to fall, there’s crispness in the morning air, and bucks are starting to prowl. It can mean only one thing: the rut is quickly approaching.

The early season can be very productive and lots of fun to hunt, but most all hunters love hunting the pre-rut period the best. The hot days of the early season are over and the woods just have that special feeling. Deer are more active and every trip to the stand is laced with anticipation of seeing something special.

There are a lot of changes that takes place during the weeks just prior to the peak of the rut. Before then, deer are primarily only moving between feeding and bedding areas. Now, bucks will begin cruising for receptive does, laying down scrapes and rub lines, and just generally being more active. Most times, this calls for a change of tactics.

It’s true that deer still have to feed and bed during the breeding weeks. Setting up along trails leading to feeding areas or bedding areas can still be productive. The does will still be traveling these areas and bucks are sure to follow, as well. However, there are even changes that occur along the feeding paths which can alter movement.

Particular food sources change as row crops are harvested, acorns come and go, and hunting pressure and human intrusion increases. Hunters must be quick to notice these changes and be willing to change with them. Now is the time to be on the move with the deer and not waste time hunting unproductive locations.

Bucks will start making some major changes to their travel habits. They will be eager to find the first does to come in, so they will increase their activity almost daily leading up to the rut. Rubs and scrapes will begin appearing throughout their travel range.

I pay little attention to early season rub lines. However, rubs and scrapes that start showing up during the pre-rut catch my attention quickly. These are excellent areas to intercept a moving buck.

Bucks begin serious scraping close to the peak of the rut and will come back and check these scrapes for doe activity. The buck will almost always approach from downwind. If you believe in using scents and lures, this is the best time to get them to work. One has to be extremely careful and be “tuned in” to wind direction when hunting scrapes, regardless of whether using deer lures or other scent products.

I always try to set up so the buck will hopefully catch the deer scent first and approach at a right angle to the scent or scrape, being forced to pass by my location without entering my downstream scent. For simplicity, let’s assume the buck is expected to be traveling from the north toward due south and the wind direction is from the east. I will try to set my stand location southwest of the scrape or lure. The buck will theoretically catch the scent of the scrape or lure first, and turn toward it before reaching my scent stream. This will bring him by my stand location as he moves toward the source of the scent.

Of course, in practical application, there are variables that can alter the success of this method. There are no guarantees when hunting free-ranging animals. Swirling winds, deer approaching from an unexpected direction and other factors often come into play. The trick with any hunting method is to use every bit of savvy you can to try to sway the odds in your favor. Hopefully, you’re in the right place at the right time.

Hunters can’t be reluctant to move stand locations if the situation warrants it. Locating a good buck is only half the battle. The bowhunter still has to get him into range for a shot. If he’s passing by, out of range, don’t wait until he alters his travel habits and you lose contact with him. Move the stand closer to get into range, but do so as quietly and scent-free as possible.

A close acquaintance and one of the best bowhunters I know is a strong advocate of moving his stand to keep pace with the changing habits of bucks during the pre-rut. I’ve known him to move his stand every day for two weeks or more, following a particular buck until he gets his shot. This method has worked well for him and he has consistently tagged good bucks year after year.

Another method that many hunters use if they can’t find and target a particular buck is to hunt doe groups. The thinking is that the bucks will seek out these doe groups looking for females to breed. It’s true that where there are does, the bucks will show up sooner or later. Nonetheless, the hunter still has to find a way to be in the right place at the right time.

There’s no better way to be in the right place at the right time than to just simply be in the woods every chance possible. One has to be there to get a deer. The only deer tagged while lying on the couch is on video games.

Some studies have shown that a lot of the actual breeding takes place at night. However, during the days leading up to the peak of the rut, bucks can be on the move at any time of day. Many good bucks are tagged each year right in the middle of the day. Every extra minute that can be spent in the woods is time well spent, if one wants to take a nice buck.

Regardless of the situation or hunting method preferred, change is sometimes inevitable. The key to success is to embrace change and not be reluctant to change with it. One of the greatest assets a bowhunter can possess is being adaptable to the changes throughout hunting season. Welcome change and use it to your advantage.