From First Light…

Technically, or physiologically, a whitetail buck is “in rut” from the instant his antler velvet is shed until he sheds his antlers in late winter/early spring. 

“O. K., then;  enough already on the technical stuff, get on to the meat and ‘taters:  when is the PEAK?”

We can’t go there yet.  The primary controlling factor of the rut in bucks, and more importantly, the estrus in does is a process known as “photoperiodism”.  Put as simply as possible, this is the angle of the sun’s rays striking the deer’s retina, causing the pineal gland to trigger testosterone release in bucks, and estrogen release in does.  As the sun sinks further into the south, after the Autumnal Equinox, the reduced light, and increased ( or is that “decreased?) angle of the solar rays begins to trigger the rut/estrus phenomenon. Whatever.  The shorter days of Fall and early Winter cause the hormone release in both sexes. 

There are, though, other “mitigating factors”.  (“NOW:  he’s gone  off on the disclaimers”)  Keerect!

Mitigating Factors

Climate  Temperature-may be mean average temp, protracted warm or cold spell-relative number of bright days to cloudy, rain, wind.

Genetics  Here in Mississippi, and many areas of the South, deer from other areas, even far northern deer, were brought in for stocking in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.  These introduced outsiders’ offspring, though long ago interbred into the then few native deer, retain much of their genes.  The imigrant, stocked-in northern deer may have come into estrus/rut as early as late October.  What is the net effect on present day deer?  I have no idea, and neither does anyone else!

Nutrition  Pretty well self-explanatory, but nutritional quality or quality food availability can vary from property to adjacent property.

Sex Ratio  It is speculated that a low buck-to-doe ratio, within a given “herd” (more on this “herd” thing later) makes for delayed onset of the rut/estrus.  Fewer bucks around to breed, the fewer does get bred in any given estrus cycle.  An unbred doe will continue to cycle into estrus for some undetermined period, every 28 days or so, until late winter/early spring, making a long, protracted cycling in of several months.  Hence:  no real “peak” of rut/estrus.

Hunting Pressure.  Heavily, regularly, or often hunted deer tend to reduce their activity.  Often this results in the deer going completely nocturnal.  They are still there, still cycling into rut/estrus, just not moving around much until after dark.

Moon Phase.  This may have been listed as a “controlling factor”, rather than a “mitigating” one.  Whether or not the onset of estrus/rut is CONTROLLED by the moon’s phases, or just COINCIDENTAL to them, is still somewhat controversial.  Pretty good data, though, exists that north of the 37th degree of latitude (roughly north of the Kentucky-Tennessee border) the peak of estrus/rut occurs on/near/just after (?) the second full moon following the Autumnal Equinox.  South of there, my experience here in Central and North Mississippi-and a bit in deep South Mississippi-indicates this peak occurring on/near/just after the THIRD full moon after the Equinox.  This Full Moon usually happens the first week in December.  This year, it goes full on December 2nd.  “South of the 37th parallell” is a BIIIGGG area.  Mississippi is a long-north to south area, too.  Biloxi, on the coast, sits at 30.25 degrees, and Olive Branch, near the Tennessee border is on 35.3 degrees.  One degree of latitude is 68.833 miles.  “Experts” say that one degree latitude difference can affect rut/estrus onset by a week to ten days!

Herd Age & Physical Condition.   What defines a deer “herd”?  Let’s go with the deer population within a given area.  What is a “given area”?  It may be several hundred acres to several thousand acres.  Natural and man-made boundaries (rivers, lakes, relative forest and mast bearing tree density/availability, a major highway, high fences, agricultural usage, CRP areas) can “make” a herd boundary.  A “herd’s” age depends on hunting pressure, at what age deer are taken off a given area (older does come in earlier than younger and yearling does).   We’re back to the sex ratio, too.  In one area, under a strict DMAP (Deer Management Assistance Program) or, say,  QDMA (Quality Deer Management Association) guidelines, or a landowner or lease holder that ascribes to “let the big old does and the genetically superior bucks walk”, and takes out smaller does and bucks deemed to have little trophy potential (“whew! that’s some long sentence”), and an adjacent property that just shoots deer with no regard for herd management, –well, a herd is so nebulous, so undefinable, that only YOU know what the limits of your “herd” may be. 

Confusing?  Yeah, me too! 

Consensus of most biologists and knowledgeable deer managers say that from about 10 days before the designated full moon to about 2 weeks after SHOULD be the “peak of the rut/estrus”.  But, this same consensus allows that “mitigating factors” can affect this timing by as much as twenty days! 

So, here it is, FINALLY!  The how, when and where to hunt the peak of the rut-in THIS area.  Get out, and stay in the woods “from first light till last dark” from about the week before Thanksgiving (tomorrow!), until the week after New Year’s. 

My advice?  Find the does.  Then, stay away from them until the time-frame recommended.  Don’t spook ‘em, hunt in or around ‘em.  When the “time is right” (?), get near the area, and watch the does.  A doe “smells good” to a buck beginning about a week before her actual estrus cycle, when she will accept buck-a short, 24 to 36 hour period.   After, she continues to smell “hot” for another week or so, and still attracts wooing bucks. 

SOOOOOO:  find the does.  Watch’em.  Get out and stay out as much as possible from now till early 2010.  You (and I) will hunt the Peak of the Rut; GUARANTEED!

More information on the Mississipppi Deer Management Assistance

Program (DMAP) can be found at www.mdwfp.com/deer

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• “The Devil’s in the Details”: Tips on Tactics

"A trophy is in the experience, and in the memories"

Often-all too often-overlooking or disregarding the most minute factor, the tiniest little detail, makes the difference in success or failure in the deer woods.  The more we take care of the potential for mistakes or errors, that much more often we can look forward to having the chore of dragging out a fresh kill, even that once-in-a-lifetime trophy.  I THINK I’ve learned from some do’s and don’ts, mostly the mistakes I’ve made in my over 50 years of stand-perching, “easing and slipping”, and stump-sitting.

Skirt the Stand   Many commercially available treestands, be they ladders, hang-ons or climbers have a rail around the front 3/4’s of them.  Hanging a cloth curtain or skirt in a flat-finished, dull-colored material will hide the hunter from view, or at least, partially obscure visibility from the ground.  Inexpensive burlap, camo netting, even a cut-to-fit old bedsheet hung from the armrest/shooting rail will do.  A bit of ingenuity with some galvanized, semi-stiff wire, and the material, for the stands without the rail may make all the difference in being seen, or staying hidden.

Put Out the Welcome Mat  A mat on the footrest or floor of a stand will deaden sounds from feet shifting, standing to get a better look, or to take a shot.  It also makes the footrest less slippery when damp from dew, frost or rain.  A rubber or vinyl mat makes a good sound deadener, but can be as slippery when wet/damp as the metal mesh so often used by stand manufacturers.  I use a cocoa fiber mat, the fuzzy, kinda strawish type readily available in home supply or variety stores.  

Face and Hands  When I’ve walked up on someone in the woods, the first things I see is the stark contrast of his exposed face and hands.  In cold weather, a face mask and gloves are pretty standard attire.  In warmer weather, tho, cheap brown matte jersey gloves and a net or “bug-out” face mask won’t cost an arm and a leg, and help hide the hunter from intruding, prying eyes.  Helps, too, to ward off skeeters and gnats so we don’t have to swat and shake while we sit and wait.

Old, Faded Camo  It’s been washed so many times that it has gotten a whitish cast, almost a glow.  Don’t throw it away and spend the hundred bucks or so for a new set until you try refreshing it with dye.  Use black-that’s right, BLACK-dye, but only use a small amount from the packet.  Follow the instructions for dying fabrics, or use a 5-gallon bucket outside, if the boss of the house objects to using the washer.  Trial and error on how much dye to use in the soak solution, the time to soak, may renew the tint.  If not, only the fractional cost of the dye and thirty minutes of time spent trying is all we’ve lost.  Remember:  we were about to throw it away anyway.

Short Shots  Wrap ladder stand rungs, or steps, with pipe insulation.  Deadens sound, and makes less slippery.

Hang outer layer clothing outside overnight or between hunts.  Keeps them from absorbing household odors.  If damp from dew or mositure condensation, go on, take’em in long enough to dry a few minutes in the dryer.

As leaves and sticks accumulate on your stand trail, rake ‘em off.  Takes only a few minutes and makes for a quieter trek to and from the stand.

Use one of the squeeze bottles filled with white dust-again, readily available and inexpensive-to detect thermal movement and wind/breeze drift.  This is especially important in calm or relative calm, when the wind is not blowing steadily.

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