| White Tailed Deer Rut | | | | to roam. Virtually living solitary lives for most of |
| The temperatures at night start to graze the | | | | the year, big whitetails often select the nastiest, |
| bottom of the mercury barrel. The amount of | | | | most impenetrable piece of real estate in an area |
| available sunlight decreases on a daily basis, and | | | | to call home. These areas are normally located in |
| whitetail bucks slowly go mad with wanton desire. | | | | sections of timber where deer feel safe. |
| Rubs and scrapes appear on the edges of fields | | | | Cedar swamps, standing cornfields, briar thickets, |
| and along trails in high-interaction areas. Deer | | | | brush-choked streambeds and pine plantations are |
| activity intensifies during daylight hours as a | | | | all areas that offer protection and provide |
| sudden influx of animals crossing highways and | | | | concealed daytime movement. For this reason, |
| country roads at night increases. This stage of | | | | bucks will often establish their bedding areas -- or |
| the whitetail breeding season is commonly | | | | core areas -- nearby. Mature animals will routinely |
| referred to as the pre-rut. | | | | use this type of cover to move from one section |
| Selecting the right stand location at this time of | | | | of the woods to another. |
| year can result in a close encounter of the | | | | Although bucks tend to let down their guard |
| monster buck kind. It's an extremely exciting time | | | | during the heat of the rut, safety is still their No. 1 |
| to be in the deer woods. There simply is no | | | | concern throughout the pre-rut period. The odds |
| better time to identify, isolate and exploit the | | | | of arrowing trophy deer are excellent in places |
| common behavioral traits of mature whitetails | | | | where they feel secure. Identifying and studying |
| bucks than during the pre-rut. | | | | these areas will earn you the opportunity to |
| Although the timing of the rut fluctuates across | | | | harvest a true wall hanger. |
| North America -- the farther one travels south, | | | | Setting up over trails that link feeding and bedding |
| the later the rut occurs -- the tactics described | | | | areas can still produce good results. Bucks will |
| here will work throughout the entire range of the | | | | continue to use early-season trails, making short |
| white-tailed deer. | | | | visits at food plots and crop fields as they slowly |
| We all know what happens during the rut. Bucks | | | | extend their range into neighboring territory. |
| are running around like wild dogs in a helter-skelter | | | | These excursions focus on assessing the breeding |
| manner, chasing every hot doe that crosses their | | | | status of local doe concentrations, and storing |
| path for miles. Sure you see a lot of bucks during | | | | energy for the rigors of the upcoming rut by |
| this time of the year, but patterning those bucks | | | | quickly consuming high-energy chow. |
| and trying to close-in on one particular buck is a | | | | In most cases, trophy bucks choose to travel on |
| nightmare at best. | | | | less-defined trails that skirt heavy cover. Rarely |
| So why am I discussing pre-rut whitetail deer | | | | will you see a mature deer traveling through open |
| tactics in the middle of February you ask? | | | | timber or crossing an open field at this time. |
| Because there is no better time to be searching | | | | Keeping a low profile is standard operating |
| the woods for the sign that will lead you to a | | | | procedure, but the one weakness bucks have in |
| pre-rut stage monster buck this coming fall than | | | | sustaining an anonymous lifestyle is the |
| right now! White Tailed Deer Rut | | | | uncontrollable habit of leaving behind evidence of |
| Buck Lairs | | | | their existence. Accurately interpreting and |
| Continuously monitoring and scouting various trail | | | | processing this information can be a tremendous |
| systems can lead to areas that big bucks prefer | | | | aid in devising a plan of attack. |