JustNorth Kids Articles

Rutting behavior
Whitetail deer breed only in the late fall and early winter and the breeding season is called the rut. To use canine terminology, does come in heat in fall; this is called a doe’s estrous period. During this time, the doe is receptive to breeding and the solitary bucks actively seek does. Each doe is in heat for about thirty hours. If she has not mated with a buck during that time, she will be in heat again twenty-eight days later. While most does become pregnant in their first or second heat period, occasionally some do not breed until their third or fourth. This explains why some fawns still have their spots late in the season. Does will usually produce a fawn every season until they are nine years old and sometimes twin fawns are born.

The time that the rut occurs depend first upon the geographic location of the deer herd as well as the species of whitetails in the area. In northern areas, the rut can occur as early as September and in southern areas, it can occur as late as February.

SECRET: Check with your local game warden, conservation officer, or state department of fish and wildlife to find out when the rut occurs in your area. Since bucks are actively pursuing does rather than hiding, during the rut is the peak time for hunting for bucks.

The length of the breeding period also varies with climate and location where warmer locations have a longer rut. The rut in Alabama lasts longer than the rut in Wisconsin, for example, and whitetail deer near the equator breed all year long.

By nature, bucks anticipate the annual rut and engage in territorial behavior during the pre-rut period. The breeding season for the buck begins when his antlers begin to shed their velvet in response to changes in testosterone levels. Testosterone levels continue to increase until they peak at the pre-rut period. Bucks begin to be more active and visible during the pre-rut period as they venture out to survey and mark their territory with scrapes and rubs. They scrape the ground with their antlers and hooves and rub on saplings to mark the territory. Scrapes are a general communication area among deer and both bucks and does will urinate in scrape areas to announce their presence.

SECRET: During the pre-rut period, bucks are still residing within their core areas; bucks relate very strongly to rub lines and scrapes; and bucks are more active in the daylight. Hunters can use this information effectively. Since bucks are still in their home territory, hunters have the advantage of any scouting that they did earlier in the season will be applicable to finding a buck. Hunting around scrapes is a viable approach to locating a buck at this time when bucks are naturally less elusive.

During the pre-rut period bucks are interested in establishing dominance as well. Bucks will respond to calls that they believe are coming from another buck in their territory. It is at this time of year that bucks will engage in antler battles for dominance. However, generally a younger buck will concede readily to a mature or dominant buck without a fight based simply on the dominant calls or sheer physical size of the opponent. The amount of fighting that bucks engage in is related to the number of does in the area. There is simply more competition among bucks when there are fewer does.

Whitetail deer to not engage in exciting head butting battles like we’ve seen in wildlife videos featuring elk or sheep. Whitetail bucks will charge each other only once and engage in something of a wrestling match by locking antlers until a victor emerges.

During the peak of the rut bucks are completely occupied with finding does in heat. Bucks are active around the clock in their search for does and seldom stop even for food. Besides opening day of hunting season, many hunters prefer to hunt for their trophy buck during the rut when the animals are active and less elusive. However, since the bucks are so active at this time, they will not be observing their usual patterns and may have wandered from their home territory in search of does. The bucks may not be where the hunter may expect based on scouting earlier in the season.

Once the rut is over, it’s over and post-rut behavior immediately kicks in. The buck’s energy is depleted after several weeks of pre-rut and peak rut activities. He has lost weight that he must regain before winter weather sets in. It would be accurate to say that mature bucks become reclusive once the rut is over. The buck returns to his nocturnal habits for feeding and spends his days bedded down and resting. Post-rut bucks are notorious for waiting until the last light of the day before leaving their bedding areas to feed. For these reasons many hunters choose not to hunt for bucks after the rut is over.

Click to view Deer Hunting Secrets and Whitetail Deer Hunting Tactics - Part 1

Click to view Deer Hunting Secrets and Whitetail Deer Hunting Tactics - Part 2

We have only touched on a small amount of the information that is available in the book. If you truly want to master the art of deer hunting, read the book.

Wishing You Your Very Best Season.

Sincerely,
Joe Pineland

Deer Hunting Secrets. Discover The Closely Guarded True Secrets Of Master Hunters.

P.S. Don’t wait. If you want it, order now, either you love it or you keep it for free, check it out for yourself. The testimonials speak for themselves and it proves that this is high quality material. Get it today. I will have to double the price soon, so get it while it is practically free.