Whitetails Only Nation

All fall we have been using every tool available to us to track the 2009 rut.  The three Buckeye cameras have been pounding away twenty-four seven recording thousands of pics.  If you were watching closely you should have noticed an increase in buck activity as the deer closed in on the breeding phase of the rut.  The Buckeye cameras played out live on the WOW site giving users a chance to see first hand the changes in deer behavior associated with the rut.  A second NY farm also was laced with cameras to capture note only buck movement but behavior.  At this point, north of 30,000 photos have been recoded painting a clear picture of this years rut.  The pictures have been an important tool in tracking behavior but equally important has been your comments and feedback about what your seeing in the woods.  Keep up the good work this fall.

So where are we in regards to the rut?  According to our observations and camera sightings our NY deer started to breed around the third of November.  Personally our hunting camp kicked off the 2009 breeding season by witnessed one breeding party.  A breeding party s where one hot doe has collected four or five bucks that are trying to breed her.  And one tending doe chaise.  Both events happened on the morning of November 3^rd.  Similar reports came in from across the north as hunters witnessed aggressive breeding behavior.

The breeding period typically lasts around two weeks with the majority of the breeding taking place during a seven day window within the middle of the breeding period.  Ever wonder what the breeding period looks like on camera?

This nice nine point was tending a doe last night on camera.  Based on the pics I would say she was either coming into or coming out of heat.  From the pics the buck was focused on the doe concentrating on “cutting” her away from her fawns.  The overall breeding process typically takes a couple of days.  The fist day is spent “cutting” the doe as the buck tries to isolate her from her fawns and other bucks.  With over 250K pics taken over the last couple years I have never documented a buck licking flanks or mounting a doe on or near a food plot.  Based on the photo data, or lack there of, I would have to hypothesize that bucks drive the does to less public areas.  Side hills, thickets or open goldenrod fields are likely place for a buck to breed.  The doe will stand for the buck and allow him to breed her for 12 to 24 hours.  Many times buck and doe movement is at a minimum.  A good friend of mine often times observes bucks taking does out into a large goldenrod field.  The breeding “bedroom” can be as small as fifty acres during the 12 to 24 hours the buck breeds the doe.  The buck will often remain with the doe for a period of hours after she refuses to stand for him.  All said and done a buck will typically stay with a doe for a couple of days when she is in heat.

Again, so where are we in the rut.  We are solidly stuck in the breeding stage of the rut.  Based on your comments most hunters are experiencing fest of famine in the woods.  Big bucks are otherwise occupied and seldom coming to visit food plots.  One day you may see five or six deer including a couple of bucks and the next nothing.  A few days ago I hunted one of my best stands.  I only can hunt the stand a day or two per year.  The wind was just right and I knew I would run into a good buck.  I slipped in quietly, rubs scrapes and deer trails were beaten into the mud.  As I climbed into the stand I was silently thinking I should have brought more arrows, based on the sign I was going to be covered up with deer.  Long story shortened, I sat for the entire afternoon and never saw a deer.  I walked back to the truck only to hear a buck running the feet off a doe right next to the truck.  So goes the breeding phase of the rut.

So what’s the hunting strategy this week and weekend?  Bucks will continue to clean up the last estrous does over the rest of the week.  Every hour you are in the stand could be a good one.  On the back side of the breeding phase bucks will need a rest.  Every property is different, but some within the next seven days bucks will start for form lose bachelor groups.  Bucks will lie down and try to repair their battered bodies.  For most of us starting around November 20^th bucks will be noticeably absent.  They will be bedded down near fat building food sources and limiting their movement.  Yes, they still will search for girls but movement will be curtailed to a fraction of what it has been over the past couple of weeks.  Younger bucks will be visible in food plots feeding in lose bachelor groups.  Older bucks will also be visiting fields but mostly after dark.  Your best bet is to hunt in the transition zones between bedding cover and food sources.  Thick cover is the key but be careful, don’t push your bucks out of their bedding cover.  Also watch your pics.  Often times I will photograph an older buck hanging with younger bucks.  This bachelor group can often remain intact for the next couple of weeks.  These younger bucks can often times be more visible during daylight hours.  If you see the younger bucks stay put their older brother might just be around the corner.

Let us know what your seeing, blog on the WOW site once you start to see bucks reforming bachelor groups.

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