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T.R. Michels' Trinity Mountain Outdoors Magazine TM
News, Articles and Information for the Serious Outdoorsman TM
Most of the articles on this page are excerpts from the Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual, by T.R. Michels. For more information on deer biology and behavior, and deer hunting techniques, order your copy in the |
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T.R.'s Tips: White-tailed Deer Biology & Behavior
T.R., I would like to thank you for all your expertise on whitetail deer movement. I live in Illinois and the information on behavior and different season movement patterns has allowed me to score a pretty good-sized 8 point buck. Thanks again, Anthony Colvin
Click the star to go to the article The Deer Stand* Biology Of The Rut* October: A Time of Transition & Dispersal* Understanding Whitetail Scrapes* The Moon: Lunar Factors and Deer Activity* Does The Moon Affect Daily Deer Activity?* How Seasonal Changes Affect Fall Deer Movement* What is The Rut?* Reading Rubs and Hunting Rub Routes* Locating Trophy Buck Bedding Areas to Pattern a Buck* Scrape Hunting * Attracting Deer with Calls* Attracting Deer with Scents* Hunting Corn Country Bucks*
When I look back over the years I realize that I've spent more time sitting in my stand being cold wet and miserable, than I have been warm, dry and comfortable. I've also spent more time in a stand without seeing a deer, than I have seeing deer. As a result of my reflections I've come to the conclusion that going to a deer stand is often not comfortable, and it is not about killing or even seeing a deer. So, what is a deer stand? And what is it all about? Sometimes a deer stand is a wooden platform placed strategically in a tree near a deer trail or "high use" area in deer habitat. Often it is a cumbersome, somewhat portable, metal contraption hung from a tree, designed to make deer hunters feel somewhat comfortable for long hours in all kinds of weather; more often than not cold, windy, drizzly, snowy, miserable weather. A deer stand is someplace where the hunter hangs not only his stand, but also his hopes. Hopes of seeing a deer; hopes of seeing a buck, a big buck, one that might make the record book. Hopes of getting a chance in the clear and close enough. Hopes of a good shot and a clean kill. A deer stand is that and more. It is also a place where men, women and children go to get away from the office, the tedium, and the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It is a place for a short vacation; a place to rest in solitude, to enjoy nature, to commune with the other creatures of earth; a place to renew the spirit and soul; a place to forget what lies behind and remember what hopefully lies ahead. I've spent more hours than I care to count on a deer stand in good and bad weather. The times in bad weather never leave my mind. Like the time I sat in a pouring rain, hoping it would let up so the big ten point buck I had been watching would appear. Or the time I went to my stand after a heavy snowfall and the temperature plummeted. I stayed at my stand, hoping a deer would come out for a quick bite to eat while trees crashed to the ground around me with the weight of the frozen snow. I finally had sense enough to get out of the woods before a tree fell on me. The times in good weather are sometimes forgotten, because of my interest in seeing a deer before it sees me. But, even when I haven't seen a deer, there are days I remember well, because I've had company. When I sit in my stand there are often scolding Blue Jays nearby, occasional Robins, Chickadees calling out their own name, and Downy or Hairy Woodpeckers calling peek as they search through the branches for a meal. If I'm in the right area a Ruffed or Spruce Grouse may walk by. A Cardinal or a Song Sparrow often let me know when its morning. There are furry creatures too. I've had Raccoons hustle across the deer trail, looking like large balls of moving fur; and rabbits often stop and feed in the shadows. I've often been kept company and fooled into thinking a deer was on the trail by the rustling of leaves as a red, gray or fox squirrel or coyote searched for food on the forest floor. After an initial inspection the squirrels usually go about their business, or sit in the crook of a tree, their tail curled over their back like a parasol, while they munch on some tidbit held in their tiny paws. From my latest stand I can hear the hunting cry of a Red-tailed Hawk as it soars over the hayfield as it searches for mice. The crows that caw most of the day have often kept me from using this stand because they claim the tree as their own, and loudly protest my presence, alerting every animal within hearing that an intruder is in their woods. In the morning I can hear the lazy quack of a hen mallard, and the deeper raeb - raeb - raeb of the drake mallard on the nearby lake. Over all the other sounds I hear the herr onk-onk ... herr onk-onk of five hundred geese as they land in the lake and nearby cornfields. At other times I sit alone on my stand, just watching as the sky changes from purple to violet to pink. Then the great, glorious, orange ball of the sun peaks over the horizon, spreading it's light slowly over the shadow covered fields and hillsides. The grass and goldenrods in the meadow below me glisten with dew or frost and, for a while, everything has a silvery shine from the reflection of the sun. Daylight creeps across the land and the birds begin to wake, making their soft, early morning sounds. The wind picks up and I listen to it sighing as it blows through the leaves of the hardwood trees. If I happen to be in an area with pine trees the wind has a different sound, more distant, more remote; bringing with it the inner peace and stillness of the wilderness. These sights and sounds may be the reasons deer hunters sit on a stand waiting for a deer. Some hunters may not want to admit it, but the call of the wild, the peace, the solitude; becoming one with nature, regaining primitive instincts often lost or forgotten, is what really makes them get up at what otherwise normal human beings consider ungodly hours. It is not the lust to kill; some bloodthirsty passion that drives us. It is some inner need reaching out, desiring to be expressed. The need to spend time experiencing nature and all the glorious sights, sounds and smells that God, in his wisdom, gave to the woods, the wind, the sun and the animals. A deer stand is not just some piece of metal or wood or camouflage, where a hunter waits to kill a deer. A deer stand is sun and wind, sleet and snow, rain and cold, birds and animals, trees and grass and leaves. It is sights and sounds and smells. It is now, often was in the past, and hopefully will be in the future. A deer stand is hopes, dreams and memories. A deer stand is not just a place or a thing: it is an experience. Deer pheromones, the scents given off by deer, are used as a means of communication. Pheromones serve to stimulate a behavioral response in another animal. White-tailed deer pheromones are present in the forehead, interdigital, tarsal and metatarsal glands while estrogen and testosterone are found in the urine. There may also be pheromones associated with the pre-orbital gland and saliva. Many of these scents are used in combination during self impregnation (rub-urination), and sign post marking (rubs, scrapes) and are interpreted by individual sexes and age classes differently. When used by themselves these scents may be interpreted differently than when they are used in combination with another scent or scents. Recognition and Trailing Scents Tarsal scent from the gland on the inside of the rear leg is used in combination with urine as the primary recognition scent in whitetails. This scent is both sex and age specific and deer encountering tarsal scent from another deer can determine the sex and relative age of the other animal by it's scent. Tarsal is used in combination with urine during rub-urination all year long when the animal urinates over its rear legs. All deer rub-urinate, often just after rising from their beds. Bucks rub-urinate more frequently during the rut while making scrapes. Rub-urination is used by moose and possibly elk in response to danger, probably as an alarm signal. Deer often sniff and lick each other's tarsal area during social grooming for identification, which helps to reinforce the social hierarchy. Because of this they know the smell of all the animals in their areas. I have noticed flared tarsal gland hair when bucks fight, and tarsal scent may serve as a danger or dominance signal in this instance. The Metatarsal gland on the outside of the leg is largest in mule deer, next largest in blacktails and smallest in whitetails. It's been suggested that blacktails, and possibly mule deer, use Metatarsal scent when alarmed to express danger. It's not totally understood in whitetails. Interdigital scent from the gland between the hooves of all four legs is used by deer to track each other. Does and fawns use it to locate each other, bucks use it to track does. The scent of each individual deer is so specific that one animal can track one individual no matter how many others are in the area, and because scent molecules evaporate at different rates an animal can also determine which direction the other is traveling. Forehead scent from the sudoriferous glands between the antlers is used as a recognition and dominance scent. Prior to the rut bucks take part in social grooming, sniffing and licking the forehead and tarsal area. Later, when sparring and fighting begin, dominance is established and the bucks recognize each other by scent and associate it with social level. Bucks are able to recognize the scent of other bucks once signpost marking begins, and know which rubs and what overhanging branches at scrapes have been visited by which buck. After being threatened or attacked during the pre-rut and rut, subdominant bucks soon realize they should not be in area's near a dominant buck and it's rubs and scrapes. Recognition scents are present all year and can be used any time during the rut, or any time of the year without fear of alarming deer. However, forehead scent is most prevalent during the rut and is more effective at that time. Because deer are curious about their home range, and often exert dominance (even does) in their core area they may investigate any new scent to find out what deer had been in the area. Territorial and Dominance Scents Both the signposts of rubs and scrapes are "dominance areas" of mature bucks. These signposts mark the areas used by the buck. Each rub contains scents from the Forehead glands. After rubbing bucks often lick the rubbed tree, and because they sometimes lick their own tarsal after rub-urinating there may be urine, testosterone, tarsal and saliva left on the rub. This combination of scents is a territorial signal proclaiming dominance by mature bucks. These same scents may occur on the overhanging branch at a scrape (urine, testosterone, tarsal and saliva, possibly pre-orbital) because the buck sniffs, licks, rubs and chews the branch with his forehead and antlers. Urine, testosterone and tarsal are deposited in the scrape during rub-urination. The buck also leaves interdigital scent on the trail of his rub line and in the scrape as he paws the ground. This combination of scents is again a dominance and territorial signal to other bucks and a sign of a mature, dominant, breeding buck to the does. The complex combination of scents left on signposts occurs primarily during the rut. The scents at the rub occur when bucks begin to shed their velvet. The scents at scrapes begin shortly after rubbing begins, but become most evident about a month later. These scents can be used anytime during the rubbing phase to attract bucks, but they become less effective after the first breeding phase. Because a dominant buck makes rubs and scrapes as a prelude to breeding as a proclamation of dominance, he is impelled to investigate the smell of any unknown buck intruding on his territory. Estrogen in the urine of a doe signals sexual readiness to bucks. Bucks readily respond to estrogen, or other scents that are present when a doe is in heat, soon after they shed their velvet through the second and possibly the third estrous, which may occur as late as January, even in northern latitudes. Because bucks are curious estrogen can be used anytime of the year to attract them. High amounts of testosterone in urine signal a buck's sexual readiness to does and dominance to other bucks. Testosterone may attract does to a particular area, in turn attracting bucks because the does are there. In one study from the University of Georgia buck urine attracted deer better than estrous urine. Does travel extensively when they are in heat, often traveling outside their core areas, possibly in search of healthy dominant bucks to breed with. It has been suggested that does can determine the physical health of the buck by the amount of protein in its urine. The doe chooses the buck she breeds with, possibly by the combination of the protein, testosterone and tarsal from rub-urination. I've seen does wait in the vicinity of a scrape of a dominant buck until he showed up. Lunar Factors and the Rut; The Real Truth Several outdoor writers believe they have found a way to predict the peak of the rut by using moon phases. One writer believes that the rut will begin 5-7 days after the second Full Moon after the fall equinox, which occurs on September 21/22. He believes that the peak of the rut will occur during the New Moon. Two whitetail researchers, who also write, believe the rut will peak during the Full Moon and Last Quarter of the moon. Another writer believes that the peak of the rut will occur 5-7 days before the first New Moon following the second Full Moon after the fall equinox. What they are all saying is that peak breeding will occur somewhere between the Full Moon and the following New Moon. That would mean the peak of the rut would normally occur before the New Moon in November. There are several reasons why the "5-7 days before the New Moon" theory may not hold up. The main reason is because the study was based in part on a study of Water Buffalo in India. While the theory may apply to Water Buffalo in India, deer biologists are quick to point out that Water Buffalo are not deer, but a form of cattle. Several researchers also point out that the tropical weather conditions in India are far different from the temperate conditions of North America. There are two basic problems with these theories. One is that they are so new that they have not been thoroughly tested or proven yet. The other is that they each predict a slightly different time frame. One theory suggests that the peak of the rut will occur before the New Moon, one suggests that the peak will occur during the Full Moon and Last Quarter, and yet another suggests that the peak of the rut will occur 5-7 days before the New Moon. They can't all be right, yet it would be hard to say that any of them are wrong, because peak breeding in many areas usually lasts from 2-3 weeks. The chances are those 2-3 weeks would include portions of both the Full Moon and the New Moon, and everything in between. One thing that must be made clear is that all of the breeding activity does not occur during the one to two weeks of the peak of the rut. Larry Marchinton's studies in Georgia, and my own studies in Minnesota, show that the breeding season often lasts 90 days or more. While the peak of the rut may occur in November, these studies show that from 10-20 percent of the does may be bred in October, 40-60 percent in November and another 20-30 percent in December; depending on the area, buck to doe ratio, the health of the deer, and the age structure of the herd. In Marchinton's study the 1 1/2-year-old does came into their first estrus in October and November. In most northern areas 1/2 year old does come into their first estrus in December. Generally speaking, in northern areas, the November primary rut will last three weeks, with the peak of the breeding occurring from one and a half to two weeks after the first doe comes into estrus in November. The theories about breeding activity and the moon involve lunar light, melatonin and reproductive hormones. Melatonin is believed to be a regulator of hormones, and as such it may have the ability to affect the growth and shedding of hair, and affect estrus cycles. It is believed that melatonin is produced during the dark. Because melatonin regulates the production of hormones, some of the writers/researchers feel that a reduction in melatonin during the full moon triggers breeding activity. Supposedly, it takes a few days for the reduction in melatonin levels and the corresponding rise in reproductive hormone levels to occur. Then supposedly, peak breeding activity occurs 5-7 days after the full moon. However, the effects of low light conditions that affect the rutting period of white-tailed deer are thought to be in relation to the reduction of solar light, or daily photoperiod, during the fall; not the increase of lunar light. To check the validity of this theory I spoke to several well-respected deer researchers. Dr. Valerius Geist says he does not believe there is a correlation between melatonin, moon phase and estrus cycles. He doesn't believe there is enough light during the full moon to affect overall monthly melatonin production. He also agrees (with me) that the prevalence of clouds during the fall would eliminate most of the lunar light during the full moon. Dr. Karl Miller does not believe there is a correlation between moon phase and whitetail estrus cycles either. He told me that in their tests with melatonin that the deer grew winter coats earlier than they normally would, but the average first estrus dates did not change. This suggests that melatonin is not the only thing that controls estrus dates. These theories may be based, in part, on the misconception that the estrus cycle of whitetails occurs every 28 days, which coincides with a 28-day lunar cycle. However, neither the moon nor a whitetail deer has a 28-day cycle. It actually takes the moon 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.8 seconds to orbit the earth once; and not all whitetails come into estrus every 28 days. Studies by Dr. Larry Marchinton in Georgia show that whitetail does come into estrus from 21 to 30 days, not every 28 days as previously thought. Therefore, even if the first estrus of a doe fell on a specific moon phase during one month, the second estrus could be as much as a week before the same moon phase a month later. I mention the first estrus because several studies on whitetail deer and other hoofed animals suggest that females experience a silent, or non-estrus, ovulation prior to having their first estrus ovulation. If this is true, and the moon phase does affect the ovulation cycle of deer, then the first "estrus" of the doe may not occur during the same moon phase a month later, because the doe may not come into estrus exactly 28 days later. The amount of light that affects the rutting period of white-tailed deer is thought to be in relation to solar light, not lunar light. Most deer biologists believe it is the decreasing number of hours of daylight during the fall (referred to as photoperiod) that triggers the rut in white-tailed deer. In northern regions above the 40th parallel whitetails generally breed when there are 9 1/2 to 10 hours of light per day. This photoperiodic change occurs once every year, roughly every 365 days, and so does the rut. But, the rut for deer herds in different areas may vary by days or weeks. The time of year when whitetails breed in each area is dependent on the survival rate of the fawns in the spring. Spring fawn survival depends on weather conditions that are warm enough so the fawns won't die from exposure, and on the availability of spring forage, so that the does have enough to eat to produce milk for the fawns. Through trial and error, and selective survival over several generations, the deer in each area have adapted their breeding schedule so that they breed approximately 200 days before the arrival of spring in their area. To ensure that at least some of the fawns survive each year not all of the does breed, or produce fawns, at the same time. An extended fawning season ensures that some fawns will live even when there is a late spring. Because of this, the length of the breeding season in most deer herds lasts six or more weeks, which makes it hard to predict when peak breeding occurs, especially if it is in associated with the phase of the moon. The rut in most northern areas above the 40th parallel occurs from 180 to 210 days before spring warm-up and the emergence of new growth in that area. However, spring conditions occur at different times in different areas, and so does the rut. Because spring and summer last longer below the 40th parallel, southern deer are able to breed over a wider range of dates than northern deer. Peak breeding on Blackbeard Island off the Georgia coast occurs from mid-September to mid- October, while peak breeding for southern mainland Georgia occurs from mid-October to mid-December. Peak breeding dates in different areas of Louisiana and Texas range from as early as October 15 to as late December 15. Peak breeding in many of the northern states occurs in mid-November. If you want to know when to expect bucks to be acting stupid during the day, and you want to know when peak breeding activity occurs in your area, check my Rut Dates Chart, it has peak breeding dates for every state where whitetails are found, or you can call the local game managers and ask them. Then you can hunt the two weeks before the breeding activity, when individual bucks are most predictable as they make their rubs and scrapes. You can also hunt the two to three weeks of the breeding period, when the bucks throw caution to the wind in their efforts to find estrus does. Or you can hunt the week after peak breeding, when the bucks are trying to find any does that remain unbred. Although I have read several articles on lunar rut theories, what the average hunter is not being told is that does go through what deer biologists call a "silent" ovulation approximately 12 to 23 days before they experience " estrus" ovulation. During the silent ovulation the does ovulate, but there are not enough reproductive hormones present for the doe to conceive and become pregnant. What this means is that, if the moon does influence breeding behavior, and the moon does affect the estrus cycle of the doe, it is the moon phase the month before the doe comes into estrus that starts the process, and there is the crux of the problem. Let's suppose that the full moon does trigger a reduction in melatonin level, which in turn triggers the first ovulation cycle of the doe (5 to 7 days after the full moon). In much of North America whitetail does are bred in November. That would mean that it was the full moon in October that triggered the ovulation cycle. Remember, does come into a first "estrus" ovulation until 12 to 23 days after their "silent" ovulation. And we have to add 5 to 7 days for the "melatonin effect" to the 12 to 23 days between the silent ovulation and estrus ovulation. What that means is: IF a doe experienced a silent ovulation 5 to 7 days after the October full moon, and IF she experienced an estrus ovulation 23 days after her silent ovulation, she COULD come into estrus during the November full moon. But, what if she comes into an estrus ovulation 12 days after her silent ovulation? Then she would come into estrus nine days before the full moon. Now remember that the moon theories suggest the doe will come into estrus from 5 days before to nine days after the full moon. It just doesn't add up. Priming Pheromones and Rut Synchronization I've already mentioned that whitetail does experience a silent ovulation prior to having a normal estrus ovulation, which is when they can normally be expected to breed and conceive. And I mentioned that it appears there is no correlation between the phase of the moon and peak breeding. We do know that it is the shortening number of hours of light each day that triggers the rut. But, is there anything besides the sun that helps assure that bucks and does are ready to breed at the same time? Miller, Marchinton and Knox presented a scientific paper in 1987, in which they suggested that the scents left behind at rubs may serve as priming pheromones, and help bring does into estrus when the does come in contact with the scents. When bucks rub a tree they transfer scents from their sudoriferous (forehead) glands to the tree. The scent from these glands has been correlated with a bucks age and probable social status. In other words, does may be able to tell how old a buck is, and probably whether or not it is a dominant buck or not, by the scent it leaves behind at a rub. But, what matters is that when does smell the scents at a rub it may cause them to come into a silent estrus. Since rubbing usually peaks early in the rut (mid to late September in many areas), and because the does don't all come in contact with the scents at the rubs at the same time, many of them may come into a "silent" ovulation in late September early/October, and come into a normal estrus from late October to late November. Interestingly, during Marchinton's 1985 study the full moon occurred on October 28 and again on November 27, with peak estrous occurring November 9, showing no correlation with the full moon. This lack of a correlation between moon phase and peak rut was to be expected because of the lateness of the November full moon. I suspect that when the full moon occurs too early or too late the rut will occur when it usually does, during mid-November in the many areas. Even if the amount of moonlight causes does to come into estrous, Marchinton's research shows that not all does come into estrous during a particular moon phase, or even during the same month. As mentioned earlier, Marchinton found that the estrous cycles of does ranged from 21 to 30 days, with an average of 26 days, but the moon phase changes every 29 1/2 days. Therefore, if a doe came into estrous during the full moon in October, and assuming it wasn't bred, it's second estrous could occur as much as a week before the full moon in November; and two weeks before the full moon in December. The Moon and Rut Related Activities My studies, research by Kent Kammermeyer, and research by Grant Woods, suggest there is a correlation between increased daytime deer activity and the moon. These correlation's are related to the position of the moon and the earth; the distance of the moon from the earth; the position and speed of the moon in its elliptical orbit; and combinations of these factors. The position of the moon (not the amount of light) during the full moon phase may cause increased gravitational pull; the distance and acceleration of the moon during the perigee (when it is closest to the earth in it's elliptical orbit) may cause changes in magnetics. The independent or combined effects of these two factors appear to increase daytime deer activity. Because the elliptical orbit of the moon (the time it takes the moon to revolve around the earth) has a 27 1/2 day cycle, and the light phase of the moon has a 29 1/2 day cycle, the full moon and the perigee can occur on the same day, or as much as two weeks apart. This difference in cycle lengths may be the reason why deer movement is high during the full moon in some years but not in others. I suspect that when the full moon and the perigee occur at about the same time (as in 1997) it may cause increased daytime movement of deer. No one really knows if and how these lunar factors affect deer activity; which lunar factors influence deer activity and how much; or what happens when the perigee and the full moon occur two weeks apart. The key thing to remember is that daytime deer movement (including breeding activity) appears to be highest during the week of the full moon each month. However, hunting pressure, the rut, food availability and the weather can completely override any affect the moon has on deer. My studies show that during November, when both the hunting season and rut are in progress, there was no noticeable peak in daytime deer activity. Even though we may not be able to predict when peak breeding occurs, there may be a correlation between lunar factors and daytime deer activity. When normal deer activity, caused by the weather, the rut, or lunar factors, occurs during the day, you would expect that rut related activities such as rubbing, scraping and breeding would also occur during the day. Because Dr. Grant Woods has researched several other deer activities I asked him if this assumption was true. Woods says that when lunar forces cause increased daytime deer activity you can also expect rut activity, including rubbing, scraping and breeding, to occur during the day. Incidentally, I found that the Moon Indicator is fairly accurate at predicting when peak scrape activity will occur. This article is an excerpt from the Whitetail Addict's Manual ($19.95 + $5.00 s&h), by T.R. Michels. It is available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products Catalog. For more Deer Hunting Tips click here October: A Time of Transition & Dispersal In many areas October is a time of transition, for both the deer and the habitat. As summer rains decrease some food sources become dry and unpalatable to deer, and other food sources (such as nuts berries and agricultural crops) start to ripen, making them more palatable. October is also when temperatures may begin to drop and the wind speed increases, which means the deer may begin to look for core areas more suitable to colder, windier weather. The result of these seasonal forage availability and weather pattern changes is that the deer may have from one to four seasonal home ranges; spring summer, fall, and winter. In many areas the deer begin to shift from their summer home ranges to their fall home ranges from early September and late October. Sometimes the deer (both bucks and does) will use the same core areas for different seasonal home ranges, but they use different portions of their home ranges for different seasons. To be successful as a deer hunter you need to find out where the core areas of the deer are during the time frame you are hunting them, what the deer are eating at that time, and determine when and where the preferred foods become available. Since the weather affects both the suitability of daytime core/bedding areas and the availability of preferred forage, you need to scout regularly to determine where the deer spend the day, where they forage at night, and which travel routes they use between those two areas, in both the morning, and in the evening. October is also the time when the deer are preparing for rut. During late August and early September bucks often hang out in bachelor groups. Shortly before and after the bucks shed their velvet, you may see them traveling or feeding together, and participating in sparring matches in preparation for the rut. But, within weeks of shedding their velvet the buck's testosterone levels rise to the point where they will no longer put up with each other. Once this occurs the older bucks will start to become solitary, and begin moving to and/or establishing their fall breeding ranges. Depending on forage availability, whether or not deer use the same core areas in late summer as they use in the fall, and the distance between summer home ranges and fall home ranges, it may take a week or more for the bucks to move onto and establish their fall breeding ranges. If the deer in your area regularly breed from early to late November, the bucks often begin to break up from summer bachelor groups sometime between mid-September and mid-October. In many areas above the 36th parallel the bucks will be on their fall breeding ranges two to three weeks before the peak of the rut. If you want to know when peak breeding occurs in the area you hunt check the Rut Dates Chart on my web site at www.TRMichels.com. You can usually tell when the bucks have moved onto their fall breeding ranges by the appearance of new or fresh rubs and scrapes, in areas where they have not previously occurred that year. Once you start seeing new rubs and scrapes after mid-October you can begin watching the area to see which bucks have moved into the area, which bucks are traveling near the rubs and scrapes you've found, and what time of day they are near them. Johnny on the Spot Hunting Since October is a time of transition, the key to deer hunting in October is to know where the deer are during the days or weeks that you hunt. Because the deer may be using one area in the early part of the month, and another area during the later part of the month, you need to scout often to locate high-use deer areas, and be willing and able to move to new locations at a moment's notice. To do this you need to be able to read deer sign, determine what time of the day the deer are using particular areas, and have the ability to quickly and easily move to areas where you are most likely to see deer. This means you should use lightweight compact equipment that you can take with you as you scout. For most hunters that means either hunting from the ground, using natural terrain, vegetation or a compact, portable blind for cover, and tree seat or hunting stool to sit on; or hunting with a portable tree stand. You want to be able to hunt the same day you scout. What you are looking for when you are hunting bucks in October is fresh deer sign, particularly fresh rubs and scrapes; although fresh doe sign can tell you where you might find bucks once the does come into estrus. (And research shows that does in many areas start coming into estrus in mid-October.) Fresh rubs and scrapes along lightly used trails that parallel or bisect the more heavily used doe trails are an indication of buck trails; and if you want to take a buck, buck trails are where you should setup. I like to hunt along buck rub routes (indicated by 1 1/2 -2 inch rubs on or near lightly used trails) or near traditional scrapes (scrapes used 3+ years in a row), that are in secluded locations (heavy cover or low-lying areas) where bucks feel secure traveling during daylight hours. When I find these signs while I'm scouting, I determine what time of day the bucks use the areas, and setup in the best locations for the time of day I'm hunting. Generally speaking I like to hunt along a travel corridor the bucks use between their daytime core/bedding areas and their nighttime feeding areas, where they often find does.
Understanding Whitetail Scrapes As early as 1974 Larry Marchinton and Karl Miller began to research the role of whitetail rubs and scrapes during the rutting season. While much of the research on scrapes centered around the mechanics of scrape making (chewing on the overhead branch and marking it with the forehead, pawing the ground, and urinating into the scrape), the researchers also studied the type of habitat where scrapes were found; the size of the scrapes; the mutilation of the overhanging branch; how many scrapes there were in a given area; when scraping began, peaked and ended; and how scraping corresponded to rubbing and breeding. Since that time many other researchers have studied scrape activity to determine the possible visual and olfactory functions of a scrape; and how age and dominance affect scraping activity. While some of this information has been passed on to hunters through articles and seminars, a lot of it is unknown to the hunting public, because it may be difficult for the average hunter to understand due to the scientific nature of the information, and because it has more to do with whitetail biology and management than it does to hunting. However, some of this relatively unknown research on scraping behavior can help hunters, because it can tell them which scrapes to hunt, where to hunt, what time of day to hunt, what rut phase to hunt, whether more than one buck is using a scrape, and whether or not there is a dominant buck in the area. After reading several of the research papers sent to me by Larry Marchinton, and because I wanted to find out when fall scraping began and peaked in my area, I began monitoring the scrapes on the properties I hunt on a daily basis. As a hunter and a guide I wanted to find out which scrapes were most likely to be used during the day; which scrapes were used during the different phases of the rut; how often individual scrapes would be used; which scrapes would be used most frequently; which scrapes were most likely to be used by trophy class bucks; and most importantly, to try to determine if there was a way to predict which scrapes would be used, and when they would be used. In the years since 1994 I have monitored scrape activity on six different deer herds in three widely separated locations. In that time I have checked over 200 scrapes, and documented over 300 uses at those scrapes. Because I wanted to find out what makes deer tick, particularly dominant bucks, I kept track of anything that might affect deer activity; weather conditions, lunar factors, hunting pressure, breeding activity, and particularly the progression of the rut. Every day I would get up before dawn, check the weather conditions for temperature, humidity, dewpoint, wind speed and direction, wind-chill, barometric pressure, cloud cover and precipitation. I would also consult all of the known game predictor tables I could find; Solunar Table, Feeding and Fishing Times, Vektor Fish and Game Activity Tables, Moon Guide, Deer Activity Index and the Rut Guide. I would then place all this data on graphs. For the first three years I watched the deer from an hour before sunrise to three to four hours after, and from three hours before sunset until I could no longer see. I wrote down everything I saw; what time I saw the deer, where they were, how many deer there were, what age and sex class they were, what they were doing, which way they moved, how they reacted to each other, and when rubbing, scraping and breeding occurred. Between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM I would check every scrape I could find, and write down its location, the type of terrain it was in, the type of tree it was under, which days it was used, during which rut phase it was used, and how often it was used. As a result of my research I realized that I could predict when and where to find deer, and predict when rubbing and scraping would occur, based on the current weather conditions. I found that the timing of the rut, and breeding, has a lot to do with scraping activity. I also found that the current meteorological conditions could affect whether or not bucks are likely to scrape on any particular day. (That information is included in the Daily Deer Movement Indicator in the Trinity Mountain Outdoors catalog.) I also found that scraping in different habitats occurred at particular times of the day, and that most scraping occurred just prior to peak breeding. But, I found no way to accurately predict which scrapes would be used at any particular time, which was what I really wanted to do. For the next three years I limited my research to scrape activity only. The results of my research showed that scraping begins a lot earlier than most hunters realize; that most scrapes are used at night; that scraping falls off significantly during certain phases of the rut; that the areas where bucks scrape change during the rut; that some scrapes are used only once and others up to twenty or more times; that some scrapes are used so infrequently that they are probably not good hunting sites; that scrapes maybe able to tell you whether or not there is a dominant buck in the area; and that scraping can help you predict when peak breeding is occurring in your area. During the last two years of my research I found a way to predict which scrapes are most likely to be used during the different phases; and, in many areas, which scrapes are most likely to be used during the different phases of the rut. But, I still did not find a way to predict which scrapes would be used on any particular day. However, I believe I did find a way to predict when peak scraping should occur. Before we go further let's go over some scrape basics. A scrape is a combination visual (sight) and olfactory (scent) sign left primarily for other deer. Other deer can see the mutilated overhanging branch, and the bareness of the ground,, and the complex set of scents at a scrape are easily smelled by all deer. The scents at scrapes help does identify the social status and health of the bucks using the scrape, and which bucks that are using the scrape. These scents are also a signal to other bucks in the area. Scrape making by dominant bucks involves two different signposts and four different actions: 1. the overhanging branch; a. rubbing the branch with antlers and forehead and, b. rubbing and licking or chewing the branch with the nose and mouth. 2. the scrape, a. pawing the ground and, b. urinating or rub urinating into or behind the pawed area. The usual sequence of scrape making is; 1a. the buck rubs a low hanging branch over an open area with its' antlers and forehead, leaving forehead scent from its' sudoriferous glands on the branch. It may also rub the area near its' eyes on the branch, possibly leaving scent from the preorbital gland. 1b. it usually rubs the branch with its' nose and mouth and licks or pulls on the branch with its' mouth. Because the buck may have previously rub-urinated, then licked its' own tarsal, it may leave urine, testosterone and tarsal scent on the branch. It may also leave scent from the nasal glands, and saliva on the branch. 2a. the buck then paws the ground with both hooves, using three to five strokes with each hoof, leaving interdigital scent on the torn up ground litter and dirt. 2b. the buck then urinates or rub-urinates, leaving urine, testosterone and tarsal scent in or behind the scrape. When bucks rub a tree or overhanging branch with their antlers and forehead they leave behind chemical compounds produced by their forehead (sudoriferous) glands, and possibly compounds from their pre-orbital glands. When they lick, chew or rub an overhanging branch, they leave behind chemical compounds from their salivary glands, and possibly from their nasal glands. When bucks rub-urinate they leave behind chemical compounds from their urine, testosterone and their tarsal glands on the ground. These actions create a complex set of scent signals for other deer in the area. Some deer researchers believe that these chemical compounds may serve as priming pheromones that are used to bring does into estrous, and are also used to help synchronize breeding behavior between the bucks and does. These pheromones may also tell subdominants that a dominant is using the area. In a study conducted by Larry Marchinton et al. scrapes were associated with game trails, old roads and small openings. In my own studies I found that scrapes often occur along fence lines; along ridges, benches and river bottoms; and at the edges between wooded areas and openings, such as fields and meadows. These are all high use areas where whitetails normally travel, and where frequently used or "primary" scrapes are often found. When clusters of rubs and scrapes occur in one area, hunters often refer to the area as a buck "dominance area." Dominance areas are often found near staging areas, downwind of food sources and also within individual doe use areas. Staging areas are places where deer gather (usually in the evening) before entering feeding areas at duck. If bucks want to attract does then staging areas are one of the best places to leave signposts. This suggests that a scrape found in a doe use area was probably made by a dominant buck, and that there should be a rub route nearby. If the rub route is near a trail, road, stream or river bottom, it may be in a travel corridor. If there is a nearby food source the rub route and scrape may be in a staging area. If other signs confirm that the scrape is in a high use area you should see deer on a regular basis, provided there is still nearby food. The hoof marks in the scrape; direction of the scrape marks; and where the dirt, snow or leaves are piled, tell you the direction the buck was facing when it made the scrape. However, these signs will not tell you the direction the buck came from, because it may have had to face a different direction than it was traveling in order to use a particular scrape. The direction of the rub route helps you determine which way the buck is traveling. In Georgia, Marchinton et al. found that bucks use sweet gum, loblolly pine, greenbriar and dogwood as scrape sites. In the Midwest bucks use pine, cedar, apple, plum, ash, red and white oak, cottonwood, box elder and maple. Many of these trees have few lower limbs, but often have one of suitable height to use as a licking branch. Individual bucks often have a preference for particular trees; a 12 point buck on one of my study sites used red oak, mulberry, ash and pine; a big 10 point used red oak almost exclusively; and one 8 point preferred apple and plum trees. Hunters often find several scrapes in a fairly small area. I have found as many as eight scrapes under two trees that were within ten yards of each other. During my research I found that numerous scrapes in the same area could be caused by different circumstances. There may be more than one buck using the area, but using several different trees, or even different branches on the same tree being used. Several scrapes may occur in a small area when a buck uses the same tree, but not always under the same branch. These scrapes may eventually be connected, creating what looks like one very large scrape. Several fresh scrapes together may only be the result of rutting urge, and they may never be used again. One of my hunters watched a buck make five scrapes in a half and hour; those scrapes were never used again. One or more dominant bucks may make several small scrapes as a threat to subdominant bucks, especially if the dominants are with a doe. Several frequently used scrapes indicate a high use area, often in a staging area near a food source, or along travel corridor. If you are interested in more deer hunting tips click on T.R.'s Hunting Tips. If you have questions about whitetails log on to the T.R.'s Hunting Tips message board. To find out when the rut begins, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart. This article is an excerpt from the Scrape Hunter's Manual ($9.95 + $5.00 s&h), by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products Catalog.
The Moon: Lunar Factors and Deer Activity
T.R. Michels with 8 pt buck There have been a number of studies and articles recently by researchers and outdoor writers who are trying to determine whether or not there is a correlation between lunar conditions and deer activity. The articles have stirred the interest of whitetail hunters who would like to be able to predict when deer will be seen during the hunting season. Interest in lunar conditions is not new however, because hunters and fisherman have been using the moon to predict game activity for years. This interest in lunar activity and game movement has led to a variety of Sun and moon related animal activity predictors/tables for hunters and fisherman, and there are more on the way.The problem with the research, theories, predictors and tables is that there are so many of them; and there are so many lunar factors that may or may not influence deer activity. To compound the problem different researchers use different lunar factors, and combinations of factors, while doing their research and making their predictions, which causes mass confusion among hunters. For example: several popular game predictor tables predict the times of day fish and game are expected to be active or feed. At least one outdoor writer claims to have found a correlation between daytime deer activity during specific times of the day and the position of the moon. One researcher claims to have found a correlation between nighttime deer activity and moon phase. Another researcher claims to have found a correlation between monthly daytime deer activity and a combination of lunar factors; which may or may not include the position, amount of light, declination, distance and gravitational pull of the moon. Some of these researchers and writers are currently trying to correlate estrus cycles of white-tailed deer and peak rut activity with moon phase. Daytime activity, nighttime activity, monthly activity, estrus cycles, peak of the rut, moon phase, moon position, declination, distance, gravity. No wonder it's confusing, and most of it is theory. Even the researchers admit that although they may find correlation's between lunar conditions and deer activity, they are not sure what the causes are. If you are interested in more deer hunting tips click on T.R.'s Hunting Tips. If you have questions about whitetails log on to the T.R.'s Hunting Tips message board. To find out when the rut begins, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart. This article is an excerpt from the Deer Addict's Manual Volume 4: Lunar Factors, The Real Truth ($9.95 + $5.00 s&h), by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products Catalog.
Does The Moon Affect Daily Deer Activity? Several popular game charts claim to be able to predict DAILY deer activity (not monthly activity, which I'll talk about later) based on the position of the moon in relation to a given spot on earth. We know that the gravitational pull of the moon is strongest when the moon is directly overhead and underfoot, with the greatest gravitational pull often occurring when the moon is directly overhead. This is evidenced by the daily tides, with the highest tide usually occurring when the moon is overhead. Because the earth revolves as it moves around the sun, the moon will be directly overhead or underfoot at different times each day. The game charts take this into account, and predict that deer will be most active/feed when the moon is either directly overhead or underfoot of the animals current position because of this gravitational pull, with predicted major times often coinciding with the overhead position of the moon and minor times coinciding with the underfoot position of the moon. The Solunar Table, Vektor Fish and Game Activity Tables, and Feeding Times and Moon Guide all rely on the position of the moon, and claim to be able to predict game movement from a half hour before and after to two hours before and after the predicted times. One of them predicts poor, fair good and best days of the month. I placed all these predictor/tables on a graph and found that, because they all rely on lunar orbit, they paralleled each other within hours. However, I noticed that many of the times that they predicted were during the hours of dawn and dusk. One of the reasons hunters report seeing deer during the times predicted is because the tables predict up to four hours each day as the best times to hunt; and they often predict morning and evening times. In November, when there are only about ten hours of daylight, the chances of seeing deer are obviously fairly high during the predicted times. Because deer are most active in the morning and evening during the fall, and these are the times when most hunters see deer, I decided to check the accuracy of the tables during the predicted midday hours. In my own efforts to correlate deer movement with weather and moon factors I kept precise daily records from October 1, 1994 through January 8, 1995. To check the accuracy of these tables I chose the month of November, which coincides with the gun season and the rut in many areas. Then I compared the tables with the deer sightings of myself, and four other hunters. Upon checking the results I found very little correlation between the predictors and deer movement other than during the normal movement times of dawn and dusk. Between 10 AM and 3 PM there was very little deer movement at the times predicted by these tables. On several occasions I watched deer lay down and get up, but could not correlate their movement with any of the tables. All the tables predicted game activity during normal morning and evening movement times on five days in November, and above normal deer activity did occur on two of those days. But, the tables were accurate only 17 percent of the time, and only when they predicted activity during normal deer movement times, in the morning and evening, when hunters see most deer anyhow. There were also four days when above normal activity occurred when it was not predicted by the tables. Overall the tables did a poor job of accurately predicting HOURLY deer movement, outside of the normal daily deer movement hours of dawn and dusk. The problem with the tables, even when they are correct, and if they work, is that they don't agree on which days or times are best to hunt. So, which table should you use? Is one better than the others? What if the select days don't coincide with the hunting season, or coincide with the days you have available to hunt? What if the select times don't coincide with the hours you can hunt? Then the tables do you no good. By the way, if you choose to use all the tables available you end up hunting almost the whole day for the entire month. The Deer Activity Index and The Moon Guide Because I did not know about the Deer Activity Index or the Moon Guide until 1995 I did not check their accuracy that year. But, when I received their 1994 predictions I decided to check their accuracy against my 1994 data. To my surprise I found both the DAI and Moon Guide to be quite accurate. But, there are obvious reasons for their accuracy. Jeff Murray's Moon Guide predicts not only the time of day, but predicts where to expect deer at that time. Deer activity during the day is fairly predictable. At dawn and dusk deer can usually be found near food sources. During early evening hours deer usually move through travel corridors (what Murray calls "transition areas") on the way to their nighttime feeding sources. During late morning hours deer usually move through those "transition areas" on the way to their daytime bedding areas. At midday deer are generally found in bedding areas. Murray's Moon Guide suggests hunting these areas at those times, which makes it quite accurate. I did find deer in the suggested areas at the times predicted on a regular basis. BUT, that's where I would expect the deer to be at those times of the day anyhow. In other words: you don't need the Moon Guide to tell you when and where to hunt. Meteorological Conditions, The Rut, Food Availability and Hunting Pressure The reason why these tables are not more accurate is because they do not take into account the other factors that affect daily deer movement: specifically daily meteorological conditions, food availability, the rut, predatory behavior, distance to and from limited/preferred food sources, and hunting pressure. Some weather conditions cause a decrease in daytime deer movement, while other weather conditions cause an increase in daytime deer movement. Abundant food sources often decrease daytime deer movement, while limited food sources often increase daytime deer movement. The rut inevitably increases daytime deer movement. Predatory behavior and hunting pressure reduces daytime deer movement. When you use lunar predictors without taking into account the other factors, which may cause an increase in daytime deer activity, you will inevitably miss some excellent hunting opportunities when above normal daytime deer activity occurs. If you don't take into account the other factors that decrease, and in some cases completely override lunar influence on daytime deer movement, you may hunt several days without seeing a deer. The purpose of a deer movement chart should be to help hunters reliably predict the days when deer will be most active, so they can hunt on those days, and then decide whether or not to hunt the days when deer are not active. And there is a way to do that. As a result of my four-year study on deer movement, I devised the Daily Deer Movement Indicator (DDMI) which predicts above normal deer movement based on the time of day, the current weather conditions, moon conditions, the rut and the available food sources. During the same 1994 deer study as mentioned above, the DDMI predicted daytime deer movement on thirty-five of sixty days. There was above normal deer movement on thirty of the thirty-five days predicted, for an accuracy rate of 86 percent. But, there were two days when above normal deer movement occurred when it was not predicted. The DDMI can also be used in conjunction with other predictors. By using the DDMI in combination with the DAI, or with my own Moon Indicator, their accuracy rate could be increased to 95 percent, almost double their individual accuracy rate. But, there were still those two days when above normal deer movement occurred when it was not predicted. This only goes to show that there will be times when none of the tables will be accurate in predicting daytime deer activity. This article is an excerpt from the Deer Addict's Manual Volume 4; Lunar Factors, The Real Truth, by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products Catalog. For more Deer Hunting Tips click here
How Seasonal Changes Affect Fall Deer Movement There are several factors that determine when and where deer move during the fall. An understanding of these factors can explain the reduced sightings of bucks during the hunting season. These factors fall into seven different categories; Comfort, Security, Predatory Behavior (natural predators and hunting), Food Availability, Travel Distance, Breeding Behavior and Lunar Forces. Fall signals an increase in white-tailed deer activity, which is brought on by changing food supplies and the rut. In study by Kammermeyer and Marchinton deer traveled greater average distances per day during the fall than they did in the summer. Deer also traveled greater distances per hour during both dawn and dusk in the fall than they did during the summer. There was also a shift in daytime deer activity: during the day in the summer the deer were most active at dusk, from 6 PM to 10 PM; during the day in the fall they were most active at dawn, from 4 AM to 10 AM, with movement continuing until noon. Overall, the deer moved more during darkness in the fall than they did in the summer. This increase in deer movement during darkness in the fall can be attributed to decreasing hours of daylight (in some areas from 14 to 8 hours), decreasing foliage as leaves fell (leaving deer more exposed during daylight hours) and changing food sources. During the summer deer can feed securely in wooded areas where there is abundant forage. In the fall deer often feed more heavily on agricultural crops, and browse in more open areas, which causes them to feed more at nigh for security reasons. The change in feeding patterns from summer wooded areas to open fall food sources forces the deer to travel farther in search of food. I refer to deer movement from bedding sites to food sources as the "Distance Factor." In most areas inhabited by whitetails fall brings significant changes in weather patterns. Barometric pressure and temperatures fluctuate more, there is more cloud cover, more precipitation and stronger winds. These changes often combine to create low temperatures, changes in dewpoint, lower wind-chill factors and storms. These meteorological changes create a reduction in plant chlorophyll production, causing some plant food sources to die or become dormant, leaves to fall, and other food sources to ripen. As fall approaches and deer begin growing their heavy winter coats the temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind, dewpoint, wind-chill, and amount of vegetation and cloud cover all have the ability to affect the comfort of the deer. I refer to these meteorological changes as "Comfort Factors." In extreme conditions meteorological changes may also affect the health of the deer, and as such they can also be considered as "Security Factors." This article is an excerpt from the Whitetail Addict's Manual ($19.95 + $5.00 s&h), by T.R. Michels. It is available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products Catalog. For more Deer Hunting Tips click here Scientifically speaking the term "The Rut" refers to the time-frame when a male deer (of any species) is capable of breeding, which is generally accepted as from the time when a male (in the northern hemisphere) sheds the velvet on its antlers in late summer or early fall, to the time it drops its antlers in winter or early spring; or as the time from when the first female comes into estrous, to the time when most of the females no longer come into estrous. In tropical areas some deer species may have males in hard antler, and be capable of breeding, throughout the entire year, because the females are capable of breeding throughout the year. In North America the white-tailed deer rut does not usually begin before August, nor does it last longer than late February or early March. The white-tailed deer rut is generally divided into several different phases, which coincide with particular activities of the breeding season. In white-tailed deer these activities include rubbing, scraping and breeding, each of which has one or more peaks throughout he breeding season. Unfortunately, the terms The Rut, Peak Rut and Peak of the Rut are often used interchangeably by both outdoor writers/speakers/authors and hunters. The truth of the matter is the term The Rut applies to the entire length of the breeding season, and the terms Peak Rut and Peak of the Rut apply only to the one-week time-frame when peak breeding actually occurs. Several different studies show that rarely are more than 30 percent of the does in any area bred during any one week. So, the majority of the does (over 50 percent) are probably bred over a three to four week time frame; this is a much longer rut than many hunters realize. Generally speaking the farther south the deer are, the earlier they can begin to breed and the later they can continue to breed, because the warmer climate allows the fawns to be born and survive throughout most of the year. Therefore, southern deer often have medium to long breeding season lengths, but the deer may not have noticeable peaks in breeding activity, because very few does are in estrous during the same weeks; and the bucks are not extremely active as they search for, chase, tend and breed the few does that are in estrous. Since there may not be a lot of does in estrous at the same time, the bucks can breed at their leisure, which results in much of the searching, chasing, tending and actual breeding occurring during the night. Consequently this may led to very few actual fights for breeding rights. The result is there is often not a noticeable rut. In contrast the farther north the deer are, the later they begin to breed, and they can't continue to breed for very long, because fawns born too late the next year would not survive the fall and winter. Therefore, northern deer generally begin breeding later than southern deer, and they have shorter breeding seasons, but often with very noticeable peak breeding activity, because a large of number does are in estrous within the same few weeks, and the bucks are actively searching, chasing, tending and breeding does, even during daylight hours. This may lead to frequent fights for breeding rights. This often leads to a very noticeable rut. The rut phases also do not coincide with particular months, because in many cases the different phases or activities of the rut, such as rubbing, scraping and breeding, overlap each other, and the different rut phases may begin during one month, and continue into the next month. But, generally speaking (which is all that these differences in the breeding seasons of white-tailed deer will allow me), we can say that particular breeding-related activities occur during particular months of the year. This is particularly true for deer above the 40th parallel. For instance, in the northern states and Canada, rubbing and scraping generally begins from the end of August to the first part of September. And peak breeding in most of these same areas occurs in November, often in mid-November. This article is an excerpt from the book Hunting The Whitetail Rut Phases, by T.R. Michels available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products catalog.
Reading Rubs and Hunting Rub Routes By T.R. Michels
T.R. Michels examining a white-tailed deer rub on a pine tree. Two of the scenarios I described in the first part of this series on rubs show that deer prefer to follow the path of least resistance. However, the preference for the path of least resistance is over- ridden by the need to travel when and where the deer feel secure. If the bucks in your area stop rubbing in particular areas try to figure out why, then start looking for them again. One of the ways to do that is to look for rubs and scrapes in areas where they haven't previously appeared that year. New rubs and scrapes in new areas tell you that a buck has recently moved into that area. Since both rubbing and scraping may diminish during the Dispersal Phase/Home Range Shift you may have to wait until peak scraping begins in your area before you find the bucks or their rub routes. Peak scraping in most areas begins about three weeks before peak breeding. When bucks move out of an area as a result of Defoliation or Disturbances look for trails, tracks, rubs and scrapes deeper into cover, higher up or lower down hills, or in areas where the bucks can move where they don't see, hear or smell humans of human activity. Reading Rubs Rubs indicate areas the bucks use because of food, cover, water, a travel lane, or because females use the area. Large rubs may indicate that there may have been a large buck in the area at some time. The number of rubs in an area can also tell you if you are in a high use area; numerous rubs in a small area often define a "dominance area" within the buck's home range, which the buck probably uses frequently. The type of habitat the rubs are in tells you when the buck travels through the area, and if you are near its bedroom. If there are many small rubs in thick brush, or in a heavily wooded area, you may be near the buck's bedroom. Rubs along a lightly used trail, leading from a buck bedroom to an area that may be used as a food source, indicate a rub route. If there are rub clusters away from the bedroom you may be in a doe staging area. Rubs in the open are made primarily at night, rubs in cover may be made by bucks during the day. Old rubs indicate previous (often traditional) use areas. Since traditional rubs are often used during the breeding phase they area they are in should be a good hunting site, especially during the breeding phase. If the area hasn't been over hunted, or the deer run off, it should be investigated for recent use. Rack Size Many whitetail experts believe that only big bucks rub on big trees. The problem is that the average hunter translates this statement to mean "trophy" bucks. Most rubs, especially those made early in the season, are made by dominant bucks 3.5 year old or older, with high testosterone levels. The high testosterone level helps make the buck dominant. But, not all older bucks carry big racks, some 3.5 year old bucks only have "respectable" eight point racks that are not trophy class. Because of the young age of the bucks in an area, or the lack of other bucks in an area, the dominant buck may be a small racked buck. I believe bucks with big racks make rubs on big trees. However, I have watched big racked bucks use trees from 1 to 6 inches in diameter. Because the rub is on a small tree does not mean a small racked buck made it. I have also watched a small racked buck work a 9 inch tree. Most 3.5 year old bucks, with an 8 point rack, scoring in the 100 range, are able to rub 5-6 inch trees. Interestingly, Woods et al. found that (to their knowledge) large rubs occurred only in areas with 3.5 year old or older bucks, which suggests that older bucks make larger rubs. But, the researchers found that younger bucks also used the large rubs. This means that large rubs indicate there may have been one or more large bucks in the area at some time. It does not mean those bucks are still there, even if the rub is fresh. When to Hunt Rub Routes During the Pre-primary Breeding/Scraping Phase, bucks feel the need to rub and scrape, and they often do it where there are does. This forces the bucks to leave their own core areas and travel to food sources and doe core areas. Although the bucks would still prefer to move at night, the rutting urge often causes them to leave their bedding areas earlier in the afternoon than normal, which makes them susceptible to hunting in the late afternoon and evening. The distance they travel to nighttime food sources often causes them to return home later than normal in the morning, which makes them susceptible to hunting in the early morning and mid-morning hours. Bucks will often continue these semi-regular travel patterns until the does come into estrous. Once the does come into estrous the bucks will often forsake traveling their rub routes (and making rubs and scrapes) to chase, follow and breed every willing doe they can find. To translate: during the fall bucks are most predictable in their daytime movements during the Pre-primary Breeding/Scraping Phase, and they are most predictable along their rub routes, especially during the late afternoon to early evening hours, and during the early morning hours. Although bucks may travel more during the day during the Primary Breeding Phase than they do in the Pre-primary Breeding/Scraping Phase, they are often unpredictable during the Primary Breeding Phase. That does not mean that hunting rub routes during the Primary Breeding Phase is a lost cause, because bucks often travel the same travel corridors leading to and from food sources and doe core areas as they did when they were traveling their rub routes during the pre-primary breeding phase. But, they don't necessarily travel those areas at the same time, or as regularly as they did during the Pre-primary Breeding/Scraping Phase. Because bucks are unpredictable during the Primary Breeding Phase you should be ready to hunt all day long, especially after other hunters have left their stands, or when they are not out spooking the deer. Because rub routes usually go through the most secure areas along the path of least resistance, bucks use those areas throughout the fall. Bucks often travel their rub routes during the Post Primary Breeding Phase as they look for any does that are not bred. They will also begin using the rub route just before and during the Late Breeding Phase. If the nighttime food sources still contain forage after the rut, the bucks may still use their rub routes as they go to feed. Where to Hunt Rub Routes Once I find a buck core area I walk the rub route and look for sites where I have a chance at the buck as it walks by in the morning or evening. I look for stand sites that are ten to twenty yards off the trail, and choose several sites, so I can play the wind and avoid thermal currents that may send my scent to the deer. Bucks often approach rubs and scrapes from 20-30 yards downwind if they can, remember this when you choose a stand site. I like to setup in some type of a bottleneck that restricts the size of the area that the buck can move through. Gullies, ravines, river and creek bottoms, low areas between two low hills, saddles at the top of hills, narrow wooded strips, and thick cover, where there are rub routes, are the places I look for. In particular, I look for rubs that have been used for two or more years. I also look for areas containing one or more frequently used scrapes. Scrapes tell me that there are probably does coming through the area, and does attract bucks. A frequently used scrape tells me one or more bucks is using the area on a regular basis. Several scrapes tell me that one or more bucks may be using the area, and that they feel comfortable spending time there. Property Lines If, like many hunters, you can't get close to the buck's core area because you don't have access to the property where it beds, you still have several options: 1. During the Pre-primary Breeding/Scraping Phase; a. hunt the rub route out of the bucks core area, as close as you can get, and hope to see the buck as it leaves in the afternoon/evening. b. hunt the rub route into the buck's core area, as close you can get, and hope to see the buck as it returns in the morning. (If you don't see the buck during the Pre-primary Breeding/Scraping Phase you may be too far from the buck's core area to see it during legal daylight hours.) 2. Hunt these areas same during the Post Primary Breeding Phase, the Late Breeding Phase, and the Post Rut, because these are the areas the bucks travels through on their way to food, and as they look for does. 3. During the Primary Breeding Phase you can hunt along the rub route; a. near doe core areas, b. near morning and evening food sources, c. near buck core areas. These are the areas where you are most likely to see bucks looking for, chasing, tending, or breeding does when the does are in estrous. You should plan to hunt all day when the does are in estrous, because you never know when or where you will see a buck. How to Hunt Rub Routes Once you've located a rub route the key to hunting it is to know where the buck beds during the day, so that you know how and where to hunt. When you hunt rub routes try to get as close to the buck's core area as you can. Since a buck spends the majority of its day in the core area, that's where you will have the best chance of seeing bucks during the day. Because there may not be any rubs leading from an open night food source back to a buck's core area, and since buck core areas are generally in secure/wooded areas, the easiest way to locate a buck core area is to walk the rub route backwards. When you follow the rub route, and see several rubs facing you as you walk, turn around and go the other way. If the route you are on leads to an open food source you are probably going in the wrong direction to locate the buck's core area. If the route leads into heavy cover you are probably going the right way. I like to go into the buck's core area before I hunt. I want to find the general bedding are of the buck, so that I can get close enough to see it during legal daylight hours without spooking it when I hunt. When I follow the trail into heavy cover, or up onto a bench that is out of the wind, and I lose the trail, or if several lightly used trails split off the main trail, I know I am getting close. This is when I start to look for rubs on 1-2 inch trees, large beds, and large clumped droppings. When I find them I know I have found one of the areas where the buck beds during the day. Because I may jump the buck on these forays into it's sanctuary I prefer to locate the core area several weeks before I hunt, so the buck has a chance to return to its normal routine. I usually go into buck bedrooms in early October, after they have moved to their fall core area, and after they begin making new rubs and scrapes in that area. The key to hunting rubs is not only which type of rubs to hunt near, but which areas to hunt, what time of the day to hunt near them, and what phase of the rut to hunt near them. Several different research studies show that most rubbing and scraping occurs at night, and that deer often move slower during the evening than they do in the morning. This means that the best time of the day to hunt near rubs is probably in the evening, with early morning a close second. Because Type 1 rubs occur in open areas, and are most frequent in September, they are usually unproductive hunting sites. Type 2 rubs on the other hand, are most frequent during the scraping phase (the last two weeks of October) and the breeding phase (the first three weeks of November), when they can be productive hunting sites. Because highly visible Type 3 rubs (that occur during peak breeding) may be important signposts, they may be the best rubs to hunt near, especially during the breeding phase. Since traditional rubs are used most frequently during the Primary Breeding Phase, and almost as frequently during the Pre-primary Breeding / Scraping Phase, traditional rubs are the rubs to hunt at those times. Because most rubs made during the day occur in secluded areas, the best place to hunt rubs is along wooded rub routes in river and ravine bottoms or other low-lying areas, and in wooded sites near staging areas, where the bucks feel secure traveling during the day. Rub routes, traditional rubs and frequently used scrapes all add up to places where you want to be during the Pre-primary Breeding/Scraping Phase, because that's when bucks are traveling rub routes and actively making scrapes in both the evening and morning hours. It's also where you want to be during the Primary Breeding Phase and the Late Breeding Phase, because it's a good bet that you will see does traveling through the area on their way to and from food sources. It's also where you will see bucks looking for, chasing, tending and following does when the does come into estrous at those times. If you are interested in more deer hunting tips click on T.R.'s Hunting Tips. If you have questions about whitetails log on to the T.R.'s Hunting Tips message board. To find out when the rut begins, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart. This article is an excerpt from the The Whitetail Addict's Manual ($24.95 + $5.00 s&h), by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products Catalog. Locating Trophy Buck Bedding Areas to Pattern a Buck I first picked up the deer trail as it came out of a finger of woods and entered a cornfield. I had seen a ten point buck come out of the finger shortly after sundown on three different occasions in the last two weeks. After the third time I decided to find out where the buck had come from. As I walked the edge of the cornfield the next day I had seen the trail that led down through the narrow finger of oaks. Thirty yards from the cornfield I found a small opening in the woods with a scrape under a low hanging red oak limb. The trail continued beyond the scrape and led deeper into the wooded hillside. At first the trail had been fairly easy to follow, I saw the occasional large tracks of a buck, grass and leaves pressed into the dirt, and a few scattered rubs. Some of the rubs were on large trees six to eight inches in diameter, but most of them were on one to two inch saplings, often with their branches broken or mangled. Now, as the trail led farther into the woods and uphill into the thick undergrowth it became harder to follow. It became more vague, and I had lost it at least twice as it traveled along a bench below the top of the hill, after a few minutes of searching I had found the trail both times. When I picked up the trail the last time it led into thick stand of saplings under a canopy of large white oaks. Twenty yards into the thick underbrush the trail seemed to split into several lightly used trails, which all seemed to disappear within a few yards. That's when I knew I was close. I squatted on my heels and closely examined the brush around me. A few yards ahead and to my left was a rub, there was another one farther along the bench, and one fifteen yards away just over the side of the bench. Within thirty yards I found what I was looking for, three large beds that appeared to have been used on different days. I also found a total of seven rubs, several large tracks with rounded toes, suggesting that a buck had made them; and near one of the beds a large clump of deer pellets, almost a sure sign that the beds were made by a buck. I began writing this article after one of my editors mentioned how many articles he had read that said the best place to hunt a buck was near its bedding area. But, he said that not many of the articles talked about how to find buck bedding areas. Before we get into how to find a buck bedding area, let's discuss why you should hunt near a buck's bedding area. Throughout the year deer travel more during the day than they do at night. But, as fall approaches this pattern begins to change and deer, especially bucks, begin to travel less during daylight hours and more during the one to two hours before and after, dawn and dusk, with continued movement throughout the night. The increasing late evening, early morning and night time movement is caused by a decreasing amount of forage in protected or wooded areas and by the defoliation of trees and shrubs. The increasing need to find food causes deer to look for food in open areas; the lack of leaves on the vegetation makes the deer feeling less secure, which causes them to move more at night, when they feel secure under the cover of darkness. Whitetails are a creature of habit, they spend most of their adult lives within a home range that may be as small as forty to fifty acres, or as large as several thousand acres, depending on the diversity and quality of habitat. The more diverse, and the better the quality, of the habitat the smaller the home range needs to be. Whitetail home ranges in mixed agricultural/hardwood forests, where there are alfalfa, soybean, wheat, oat and corn fields intermixed with hardwoods providing acorns, maple leaves and seeds, hazelnuts, berries, and honeysuckle, can be small because there is a variety of to eat. Home ranges in areas where the habitat is not as diverse, such as mature northern evergreen forests; western river bottoms where there are scattered cottonwoods cedar and prairie; or Midwest agricultural fields, where there are few wooded areas, may be as large as several thousand acres. Within this home range the deer will have a core area, a place where it can feed, water and bed without moving too far. This is where the deer will spend most of the spring, summer and early fall. They may or may not have also have a winter range. Within the core area the deer will have preferred bedding areas where they can find security and shelter. Depending on the habitat, terrain, weather and time of day used, there may be one or many bedding sites. Reading Bedding Areas When you find deer beds at the edge of fields, or in thickets near food sources they were probably made at night, deer often bed in open areas or near feeding sites during the night. When you find beds in woods they were probably made at night, or used during severe weather. When you see several beds in an area they were probably made by a doe group, bucks usually prefer to bed alone, especially during the fall. Deer often bed on the downwind side of the hills or woods, or in low-lying protected areas, to get out of cold winds. They may bed on open shaded benches with cooling breezes, or low-lying damp areas when the weather is hot. On mild, cloudless winter days I have seen deer bed on an open hill, where they are out of the wind but receive warmth from the sun. When you see one large bed with several smaller beds nearby they were probably made by a doe and her fawns. When you see numerous beds of different sizes in the same area they may have been made by several doe/fawn groups, or they may have been made by one doe and her fawns on different nights. Yearling and doe beds of most northern deer are less than 40 inches in length, northern adult buck beds are generally longer, 45 inches or more. If you find one single bed longer than 40 inches, it was probably made by an adult buck. If you find several beds over 40 inches they were probably made by one buck on different days; you have more than likely found a buck bedding area. Buck Beds Adult bucks usually choose the most inaccessible portions of their core area for bedding sites, often with the wind at their back and a clear view in front of or below them. In the midwest, where the wind blows primarily out of the northwest during the fall rut, I often find buck beds on the east side of a hill on wooded benches full of undergrowth and dead leaves, where I can't move without alerting the buck by the sound I make. I've kicked bucks out of tall grass, cane and cornfields in the middle of the day because they heard me coming while I was several yards away. I've found buck beds in plum and alder thickets so dense I had to get down on my hands and knees to get through them, often tearing my skin and clothes in the process. How the bucks get through with a rack on their heads I don't know. I've seen bucks bed on high spots in cattail sloughs and tamarack swamps, where they couldn't be approached without them hearing the splash of water. I've also seen bucks bed down in the middle of a CRP field or prairie, where they could either smell me, see me or hear me long before I could get close enough for a shot. These are some of the places bucks choose as daytime bedding sites, and where they spend the majority of the day until the rut begins. Because these areas are so inaccessible the bucks often uses the same general area, but not necessarily the same bed, on a regular basis. Buck Sign To be sure that you are in a buck bedding area look for buck sign. Large beds of uniform size in a small area indicate that a large deer, possibly a buck, has used the site on several occasions. Several small rubbed trees or saplings near the bedding area are a good indication of buck use. Large rounded front hooves as a result of the buck scraping are an indication of a dominant buck. Rear hoof tracks that land ahead of or in the track of the front hoof indicate a buck; because of the wider pelvis of a doe its rear tracks often land outside of or behind the front tracks. Tracks wider than 1.25 inches in width when the deer is walking on hard ground (not running or walking on soft ground) indicate a buck. Drag marks in the dirt or snow usually indicate buck tracks. A concentrated urine stream stain near the middle of the bed indicates a buck; doe urine stains often splash the ground and appear at the back of the bed. Large, cylindrical clumped deer droppings an inch or two in length indicate a buck. I often find this type of dropping in buck bedding areas and at scrapes. Travel/Rub Routes The best times to look for buck bedding areas by walking a rub route are; during the fall, when new rubs and scrapes begin to appear; right after the hunting season, when the bucks may still be traveling their rub routes and leaving fresh tracks in wet ground or snow; in the early spring, when rubs, scrapes, and trails are still visible; any time it has rained or snowed in the last twelve hours, when fresh tracks are easy to see. To keep tabs on the buck and it's movement you check it's scrape line once or twice a week between the hours of ten in the morning and two in the afternoon, to see which scrapes it is currently using. Bucks may have more than one rub route. When you follow a rub route to a bedding area check to see if other routes lead in different directions. As the rut approaches bucks begin to move outside their core areas, traveling their rub routes, making scrapes, and searching for does. Most of their movement, and the activities of rubbing and scraping, occur from an hour before sunset, through the night, to an hour after sunrise. During the day the bucks generally limit their movement to the core area, the bedding site, and surrounding areas that provide secure cover and feeding sites. Depending on the quality of the habitat, the core area may be as small as a few acres to larger than two hundred acres; the better the habitat the smaller the core area. Since most of the activity of the buck occurs after dark (even during the rut) the best place to see the buck during the day on a regular basis is in or near its bedding area. That's why so many articles suggest getting close to the bedding area when you hunt bucks. Although a buck's rub route may be a mile or more in length, the buck may use as little as a few hundred yards of the route during legal shooting hours as it leaves it's bedding area in the evening. It may also use a few hundred yards of it's route during legal shooting hours before it gets back to it's bedding area in the morning. This means that your best chance of seeing the buck during legal hours is along it's travel/rub route at dusk as the buck leaves it's bedding area; and along it's travel/rub route in the morning as it returns to it's bedding area. The bedding area is where the buck may spend up to seventy-five percent of it's time during daylight hours. Patterning Deer & Locating Buck Bedding Areas Now that we have established why you should hunt near a buck bedding areas let's discuss how to pattern a deer and locate buck bedding areas. The incident mentioned above shows two of the best ways to locate a bedding area. The technique most talked about for patterning deer is back-tracking a rub route. Most rub routes are oblong in nature; long narrow routes offer the advantage of covering the greatest possible area, while minimizing the distance traveled. The travel route of a deer generally follows the path of least resistance, but it is governed by the need for security. Daytime deer trails wind through wooded areas, along overgrown roads, parallel river and creek beds, along benches just off the top or bottom of a hill and through low-lying areas. Because older bucks are more concerned with security than does they seldom travel heavily used doe trails, preferring to use their own trails in deeper cover, higher or lower on the side of a hill, or they wait until dawn and dusk before moving. You should also realize that a rub route may be traveled by one deer, in one direction, one time a day. When you come across a heavily used deer trail look farther up or down the hill or into deeper cover for a lightly used trail that a buck might use. Then look for buck tracks, drag marks, rubs, and scrapes to confirm it is a buck route. The rub route generally leads from the bedding site, through several doe use areas, and ends up at a food source, where the buck may find several does during the night. The buck may spend the night and bed down near the food source and the does until early morning, when it begins to make it's way back to it's bedding area. Because the buck is now traveling under cover of darkness it does not feel the need for security cover and often walks across open fields, meadows and clearings. If there are no trees in these areas there are no rubs, which makes it difficult to determine the route the buck uses on it's return trip to it's bedding area. The buck usually tries to make it back to cover within an hour of sunrise, and if the route travels through wooded areas it may be marked with rubs that can lead you to it's bedding area. You can follow a rub route in the direction the buck was traveling by walking down the trail and looking for rubs. This may eventually lead you to a food source and back to the bedding area. But, because the route back to the bedding area may not be marked by you may lose the trail. For this reason the best way to walk a rub route is backwards. When you find a rub, or series of rubs, along a trail, all facing in one direction, turn around and walk down the trail with the visible portion of the rub at your back. When you come across a rub route and are trying to determine where the bedding area is remember that the rub route generally leads from a secure area (woods, thick brush, swamp, the middle of a fallow field) to a food source (agricultural field, mast site) If the route comes out of a wooded area and heads to an open area containing a food source, the bedding site is usually in the secure area, where the buck can find security from predators, and protection from the elements. When a lightly used deer trail comes from or leads into a secure area and the trail splits into several less used trails, or the trails seem to disappear, you are probably entering a bedding area, start looking for buck sign. If you are down on your hands and knees, trying to get into thicket where you swear a buck couldn't go, that's probably where he's at. Observing/Glassing A variation on backtracking the rub route is to watch for deer in the evening. I picked up this technique when I first began guiding for elk in New Mexico. I would go out in the evening, choose a spot on a mountain where I could watch several different openings in the forest, and wait for the elk to come out to feed. When I saw a bull I would either try to get to it that evening or I wait and come back the next morning, hoping the bull would spend the night feeding in the area and return to the bedding area the next morning. When I use this technique on whitetails I may watch a field from a road, or sit on a hill or in a treestand, where I can overlook one or more open areas where the bucks travel or feed. The advantages to this technique are that whitetail bucks often use the same bedding area day after day, and they don't move very far from their bedding area during daylight hours. If you see a buck within an hour of sundown it's a good bet the bedding area is not far away along the buck's back trail. When I see a buck come out of the woods in the same area, cross the same road, or step out of the corn, several nights at about the same time I begin looking for it's tracks, trail or rub route. Then I back track the buck until I get into a secure area. When I find rubs on several small trees, large tracks with rounded front hooves, large beds, and large cylindrical clumps of deer droppings I know I have found a buck bedding area. Hunting Strategies When you enter a buck bedding area during the day you will more than likely spook the buck. As long as you do it long enough before the hunting season; do it after the hunting season; or do it only once or twice during the hunting season, the buck should return within a day or two. Once you have found the bedding area, you should enter it only as a last resort to hunt the buck, or to confirm that the buck is not using it and has moved elsewhere. If you feel you need to scout near the bedding area do it infrequently, stay as far away as you can while still learning something of the area, and try to stay downwind and out of sight of the buck. Remember, there is no good time to scout a buck bedding area, because the buck should be in it all day. The only time you can be fairly sure the buck is not there is at night, and when it is with an estrus doe. The two best places to set up are along the buck's route as it leaves the bedding area in the evening and along the route as it comes back in the morning. In many cases the buck will use the same route when entering and leaving the bedding area. Try to get as close as you can without alerting the buck. The closer you are the better you chances of seeing the buck during legal hunting hours. When I setup along a known evening travel route I like to get between the bedding area and the first large opening the buck has to cross, because the buck is probably traveling through the opening after dark. If there is a scrape in semi-open woods not far from the bedding area I setup ten to twenty yards down wind of the scrape; bucks often check their scrapes from downwind before working them. I don't like to setup near scrapes in open areas because they are used primarily during the night. I try to get to my evening stand two to three hours before sunset, so the area has a chance to settle down, and just in case the buck comes out early. When you are hunting near buck bedding areas in the afternoon, the chances are the buck is still there. Approach the area quietly from downwind, and stay out of sight. When I setup along known morning travel routes near buck bedding areas I try to get there well before daylight, and before the buck gets back. Bucks often return to their bedding areas after sunrise when they are actively scraping, or when they have been looking for or been chasing does at night. I wait until the wind is blowing toward the bedding area, then setup along the travel route and hope the buck comes by. During the scraping phase and peak rut I often stay in the stand all day, because the bucks may return home at any time. This article is an excerpt from the Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual on computer readable CD ($49.95 + $5.00 S&H), by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products catalog.
T.R. Michels' photo using a Photo Hunter camera by Trail Timer After seven years of whitetail deer scrape research I have to admit that I'm a firm believe in using scrapes to determine which rut phase the deer are in, to determine where the bucks are most active throughout the day and night, and to determine what time of the day the bucks are most active. Once I have determined which rut phase the bucks are in (so I know how active they may be during daylight hours) determined that scrapes in particular areas are getting hit on a regular basis; and determined which scrapes are getting hit most often during daylight hours, I have a pretty good idea of where I should setup to hunt for bucks. One of the best times to hunt bucks is during the scraping phase (which often occurs from mid to late October in states above the 40th parallel), because it is when buck are often most active and predictable in where and when they move during daylight hours. But, you can use the information you gain from checking scrapes regularly to hunt bucks during the entire hunting season. Hunting the different Rut Phases Bucks begin traveling their rub routes, working licking branches, and using some scrapes during the Pre-Rut/Rubbing and Dispersal Phases, as much as two months before peak breeding. Even though these Pre-Rut/Rubbing and Dispersal Phase scrapes may not be used regularly they can be productive as hunting sites when they first appear in September or October. If these early scrapes are traditional they may also be used during the Primary Breeding Phase, and again during the Post Primary Breeding Phase of the rut. The best time to see bucks at scrapes is during the Pre-Primary Breeding/Scraping Phase, the two to three weeks just before peak breeding activity. Because of their strong rutting urge buck's leave their beds earlier than normal at this time, and they may check the scrapes near their bedding area before sunset as they make their nightly rounds. They may also return to their beds later than normal in the morning after looking for does all night, and they may check the scrapes along their route near their bedding area after sunrise. Although bucks may not regularly visit scrapes during the Primary Breeding Phase they often travel the areas where both traditional and non-traditional scrapes occur (in travel corridors leading to and from bedding areas and food sources; in staging areas near food sources; and near doe core areas), as they look for or tend does. This is why you should pay close attention to all scrapes, especially those near food sources and doe areas. During the Post Primary Breeding Phase the dominant bucks that are not worn out, and some aggressive subdominants, may start traveling rub routes and making new scrapes, or re-using previous scrapes. Most of this scraping activity will occur near doe use areas, and at staging areas near food sources. When the bucks no longer find evidence of estrous does they usually return to the security of their core areas to rest and put on weight for the remainder of the rut and the winter. During the six years of my study I seldom saw dominant bucks outside their core areas in daylight hours during the Rest Phase. Does that were not bred (or did not conceive) during the Primary Breeding Phase may come into another estrous about a month later. Older does, and some yearling and unhealthy does, may come into their first estrous at this time. This is when bucks start traveling rub routes and making scrapes again as they search for these estrous does. The bucks are not as aggressive during this late breeding phase as they were earlier, and they may travel together to and from food sources. I often see bucks moving during the early evening and late morning hours at this time, especially when there is cold weather and cloud cover. Hunting Secluded Areas Although bucks start to move more during daylight hours as the rut progresses, they are still security conscious. As I noted in an earlier chapter, the scrapes made in September and early October were often in open areas where the deer feed at night. Obviously, many of these open area/field edge scrapes are unproductive hunting sites, because the bucks usually visit them at night. But, as scraping activity increased in the last two weeks of October, more scrapes opened up in wooded areas, in brushy ravines, along creek and river bottoms, along over grown logging roads, and on wooded benches on the sides of hills; places where the bucks could move during the day, but where they felt safe. As the rut progressed more of these secluded area scrapes were used, and fewer of the open area scrapes were used. Many of these secluded area scrapes occurred along rub routes. This suggests that the best scrapes to hunt are those that are in secluded areas, where there is a rub route that the buck uses at it moves during the day. Which scrapes should you hunt? That depends on when and why the scrapes are used. Scrapes made early in the season may be made simply out of rutting urge, and they may not be used again. Scrapes made near early seasonal food sources may not be used after the food is gone and the does stop using the food source; this often occurs after the breeding period. Recently used scrapes made after the breeding period may be the scrapes of subdominants that begin scraping because the older bucks have quit checking their scrapes and exerting dominance over the younger bucks; the older bucks are busy chasing does. Once you have found a secluded area scrape that looks like it is recently used try to determine whether or not it is being used frequently. The best way to do that is to check it daily, and if you have the opportunity you might as well hunt it while you are checking it. Frequently used scrapes that do not show recent use should be noted because they may be traditional scrapes, used at specific times during the season. Try to figure out why the scrape was used and when, then use the information to hunt the area next year. If a scrape is near an all season food source (browse, clover) and a more preferred food source (acorns, corn) becomes available, the deer may abandon the area. A scrape in this area may be re-opened later if the food source is still there. Frequently used scrapes showing recent use should be watched closely and hunted. Frequently used scrapes of any type are often traditional; used year after year; used by subsequent dominant bucks; used by numerous bucks; and are possibly checked by all bucks in the area. Frequently used traditional scrapes in secluded areas may be used during the day and often occur in travel corridors and near doe use areas. It is difficult to predict which scrapes to hunt, and when to hunt them; because most scraping occurs at night; because bucks begin to scrape more in the day during the Pre-Primary Breeding/Scraping Phase and Primary Breeding Phase; and because scraping by individual bucks does not occur on a regular schedule. Since there is no reliable way of predicting when or how often a buck will scrape, the best thing to do is choose the right area and hunt it when the conditions are right. Although hunting individual scrapes can be productive, you may be better off hunting near areas where numerous scrapes occur; areas referred to as scrape lines, especially if the area contains several traditional scrapes. Scrape lines often occur in travel corridors connecting daytime bedding areas and nighttime food sources that are used by both does and bucks. These travel corridors may contain several traditional scrapes. Scrape lines may also occur in staging areas, often downwind of food sources. Scrape lines containing more than one traditional scrape should be your first choice as a hunting site. Remember, because of their semi-open location, many traditional scrapes are used at night, but they are likely to be used during the day in the Pre-Primary Breeding Phase. Groups of scrapes often occur in staging areas that are near food sources. Although these may seem like good areas to hunt, they may not be. Bucks often scent check scrapes from downwind before they approach the scrape, and they may not even approach the scrape. This means that bucks are extremely wary near scrapes, particularly where there are numerous scrapes that numerous bucks may be using. The best way to hunt scrape lines and staging areas is to find the rub routes the bucks use as they approach the scrapes, and then set up crosswind or downwind of where you expect the bucks to check the scrapes from. The farther a scrape is from the buck's bedding area, the more likely it is that the scrape is used during the night. This means that the scrapes that are most likely to be used during the day are: those in wooded or otherwise secludes areas; those near the buck's bedding site; those along its route as it leaves its bed in the afternoon; and those along its route as it returns to its bed in the morning. The best place and time to hunt scrape lines is during the Pre-Primary Breeding Phase in the morning and evening, as close to the bedding area as you can get without alarming the buck. You can also hunt scrapes during the Primary Breeding Phase and Post Primary Breeding Phase, because the bucks may travel all day in search of estrous does, and they often cruise scrape lines throughout the day; which is when you should be prepared to hunt all day. If you are interested in more deer hunting tips click on T.R.'s Hunting Tips. If you have questions about whitetails log on to the T.R.'s Huntin | |
