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Hit the Woods and Plan Your Strategy – The Hunt Changes With Time

November 19, 2008 - I'd barely nestled into my ladder stand when sharp staccato snorts, like bursts of air escaping a nail gun, shattered the pre-dawn calm. Somewhere off to my right, a doe was blowing. I checked the wind, which was favorable.

"She shouldn't smell me," I thought. She blew several more times, then I heard the thud of rapid footfalls coming my way. In the gray light, I could just make out her ghostly shape crossing the food plot in front of me. Then she paused and looked back over her shoulder.

That's when I heard the reason for her chagrin – the unmistakable grunting of a lovesick buck. Shooting light was moments away, but the chase advanced down into the swamp behind me and out of sight too quickly.

I never saw the buck, but was encouraged just the same, and with good reason. Over the ensuing three hours, I saw almost a dozen more deer, including two young bucks chasing does, in one case on a dead run. That magical time was at hand. And the best news: All this occurred last Sunday morning.

Before you start dialing the poacher's hot line, let me qualify that I was in Ohio, one of the enlightened states that allows Sunday hunting. I was hunting with folks from Ten Point crossbows on a private farm in southeast Ohio.

Warm, wet weather plagued us most of the week, and as a result, deer movement was limited. With the weekend came cooler temps, overcast skies and some light, cold rain. The lid was about to blow off, and that shift in weather was the spark.

Good news for Mainers is that all that stuff is headed our way. This week marks the beginning of peak rut, and it's time to hit the woods in earnest.

It may also be time for a change in tactics. Early in the season, deer are still on somewhat routine behavior patterns, typically moving from feeding to bedding areas in the morning, then doing the opposite just before dark. The most effective tactic is to set up on a trail somewhere between the two, usually closer to bedding in the morning and closer to feed in the afternoon.

With the first gunshots of the regular firearms season, however, things change rapidly. Deer figure out very quickly that they're no longer alone in the woods, and they start shifting into survival mode, moving little during daylight hours.

In areas of high hunting, this shift may only take hours. In less pressured areas, it may take several days. Either way, they become harder to hunt. This is especially true of the older deer – both bucks and does. Hope lies ahead in the form of the rut – the whitetail's breeding season. By mid- to late October, bucks are opening up scrapes, scraping away the duff and urinating on the bare earth – their way of announcing they are ready, willing and able to breed. This is the time to hunt buck signs such as scrapes and rub lines.

Gradually, the bucks begin seeking out does, and in the process, moving more during daylight. Then the first does start coming into estrus, and the lid blows off. When that happens, throw your watch away, because the bucks may be on their feet at any time of day. In fact, the hours between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. are often the best. For some reason, this is when those heavy cruisers are on the prowl, moving from doe group to doe group until they find a receptive mate. This year, that may be especially true, because we're entering peak rut as the moon approaches full.

The scientific evidence is conflicting. However, in more than 30 years of chasing whitetails, I've observed a distinct pattern. During a full moon, deer move less during the traditional peak hours of dawn and dusk. They do move – although not as much – around midday. Add that to peak rut buck movement, and you could have a deadly combination.

You've got to be patient, however. Although the deer are moving more throughout the day, it's still far less movement than you'll see at peak hours under ordinary conditions. You may only see one or two deer in a four-hour sit. If you do, however, chances are very good one of them will be a buck.

Still better news is that there's also a correlation between age and rut chronology. The first to get rutty, and as a result, shot, are the young bucks – yearlings sporting their first set of real antlers. Next come the 2-year-olds. These are going to be the 140- to 160-pounders sporting six-, eight- and 10-point racks. As more does come into heat, the older bucks become bolder, letting their guard down for the first time all fall. We should be seeing that by next week.

Then things will start to quiet down, as many of the bucks are sequestered in thick cover courting receptive does. By the last week of the firearms season, many of the does will have been bred. However, those older bucks are still on their feet, and now searching in earnest. This is when many of the really old and really big bucks are taken. Knowing how deer movement changes through the rut can help, but in the end, my friend Mike Jordan offers the best advice:

"The best time to be in the woods is when the season's open."

Bob Humphrey is a freelance writer and Registered Maine Guide who lives in Pownal.
BOB HUMPHREY, Portland Press Herald, November 13, 2008


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