The Pre-Rut / Rubbing Phase and Transition Phase

In September all of the deer are bulking up for the rut and winter; feeding on alfalfa, clover, green forbes, ripening soybeans and corn in some areas, and mast (acorns, beechnuts). Put out mineral licks and deer attractants in areas where you want deer to come to during the hunting season.

Early in the month the bucks should be shedding velvet, and creating rubs and scrapes near late summer nighttime food sources. They may be still traveling together, and may begin sparring at this time. Later in the month both the bucks and does may move to fall home ranges. With their testosterone levels rising the bucks are less tolerant of each other, fighting may begin, and the buck groups break up as the bucks begin to establish breeding ranges.

Scout to find out where the deer currently are; watch food sources for feeding deer and sparring bucks to determine what the bucks look like. Continue clearing deer trails, and shooting lanes. Hang portable stands for the archery season.

Antler Growth

If you want to see more large racked bucks in your area the first thing you have to do is use a little restraint. You must let the young bucks go so they can grow. I often hear hunters complain that they see nothing but small racked bucks in their area. These hunters often wait patiently through the season for a big racked buck to appear. Then, instead of going home empty handed they end up taking a small racked buck. If this pattern continues year after year those hunters will see nothing but young, small racked bucks, because the young deer never live long enough to grow large racks.

Age and Antler Size

Deer experts used to believe it took 4 ½; years for a whitetail buck to develop a trophy rack. it is now believed that a whitetail doesn’t achieve full body size until it is about 7 ½; years old. Until that time much of the food and mineral a buck takes in is used to develop bone and muscle mass.

Once the buck is fully mature excess food and mineral can be used to develop antler mass, and many hunters equate antler mass with a high score. A close look at any scoring chart will reveal that it is the number and length of tines that makes up the majority of inches needed for the rack to score high enough to enter the record books. The difference between a massive rack and a thin rack might only add 10 inches, which is 1/14 of a 140 class buck, not enough to really matter.

Milo Hanson’s world record whitetail has several tines with extremely long points and main beams, with a good spread, but it is not massive. The length of the tines is what made it the new world record. Game officials aged the buck at 4 ½;. Obviously it had superior genetics, and it lived until it was 4 ½; years old. It is conceivable that a 3 ½; year old buck could make the archery record book, but, most trophy bucks are over 4 ½; years of age.

In many areas bucks don’t make it past their first year, and the chances of a 2 ½; year old buck making the book are slim. If you want to see more trophy bucks you have to let the 1 ½; to 3 ½; year old bucks go, so they can grow. By letting the young bucks grow, and taking does, you not only keep the herd below carrying capacity, you increase the buck to doe ratio in favor of bucks. Eventually you will have more older bucks, which may translate into more trophy deer.

Does the moon and weather affect deer movement? Or the rut?

Outdoorsman have been trying to figure out how to predict deer activity for years. Hunters want to know how meteorological conditions affect deer so they can apply tree things: I. when deer are most active; 2. where to find deer, and 3. when the rut occurs. There are several game activity tables on the market that predict daily deer movement based on the gravitational forces and position of the moon in relation to the earth’s latitude and longitude. There are other tables that predict when deer should be most active each month based on the amount of light, the position, and other factors of the moon. There are also a number of writers and deer researchers using the moon to predict when the rut should occur. Their predictions are based on the belief that the amount of light from the moon affects the estrus cycles of white-tailed deer.

Deer Research

I have spent the last eight years researching deer activity, meteorological conditions and lunar factors in an effort to find out if the moon really does affect deer activity. During the study I recorded the daily temperature, dewpoint, windchill, barometric pressure, wind speed, wind direction, cloud cover and type and amount of precipitation. I took note of several lunar factors, including the position, amount of light, speed and gravitational pull of the moon. I also recorded the number of deer I saw on an hourly basis, where I saw them and what they were doing. I also recorded when rubbing, scraping and breeding occurred. Then I checked the results of my studies against the findings of several well known deer biologists.

Daily Deer Activity

After I had recorded all my data every year, I looked for a correlation between the various meteorological and lunar factors and deer activity. Then I compared findings with several daily game activity tables. What I found was that many of tables predicted approximately the same days and times, but because they didn’t take into account the daily meteorological conditions, there were times when no deer were seen at the times predicted. But that was to be expected, because I knew the weather would affect daily deer activity. Many of the tables were ineffective, because they didn’t take into account all of the lunar factors that affect when and where deer are most likely to be active. In order to properly predict deer movement on an hourly basis you can’t rely on just the position and gravitational pull of the moon.

Monthly Deer Activity

Next I checked my findings against the predictions of the monthly game activity tables. Because these monthly tables take into account more than the phase and gravitational pull of the moon, I found that they were effective at predicting when deer were most active each month. However, I found that meteorological conditions — the amount of light, temperature, windchill, wind speed and precipitation — often override any affect the moon might has on deer. I also found that food availability, the rut and hunting pressure can override any affect the moon might have on deer.

Rut Activity

To find out if the deer researchers and outdoor writers were right about when the rut should occur I compared their predictions against the breeding dates of over 1,600 wild deer. Over the course of eight years, there was no correlation between the breeding dates of the wild deer and the dates predicted. I also asked several deer breeders if they thought the moon influenced when their does were bred. The deer breeders all told me that their deer bred at approximately the same time each year, and that there was no correlation with peak breeding and the phase of the moon. In the spring of 2001 Dr. Karl Miller and several other researchers presented the results of their study on peak breeding dates at the Southeast Deer Study Group. After checking the breeding dates of approximately 2,500 whitetail does, in eleven different states in both the northern and southern United States, they found no correlation with peak breeding and the phase of the moon. This leads me to believe that the moon has very little influence on the timing of the peak of the rut each year.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t predict when the rut will occur, because you can.

Biologists in most states have conducted studies to determine when peak breeding occurs in their state. What they have found is that whitetail breeding dates are dependent on the weather and the length of the summer growing season. The arrival of warm weather and spring rains often determines how early fawns can be born; the arrival of cold weather and fall rain/snow often determines how late fawns can be born. The age and size of the fawns during the fall often determines how many of them survive, which in turn determines when peak breeding should occur. Because much of the whitetail range is in the north, where spring comes late and the growing season is short, the breeding season is short, with the result that peak breeding must occur at the appropriate time. In general, peak breeding of white-tailed deer above the 4Oth parallel occurs during the second week of November — every year. But, the farther south the deer live, the longer the summers are, and the more difficult it is to predict exactly when peak breeding occurs. For example peak breeding for deer between the 36th and 40th parallel may occur anytime from mid-November to mid-December.

Because climatic differences like seasonal rains, floods and droughts, and warm coastal weathern affect growing seasons, breeding dates vary in different regions.

Breeding of deer in much of the southeast United States occurs during November and December.

However, there are several exceptions. Peak breeding of deer along the lower Mississippi basin in Arkansas and Louisiana may occur in December and January, so that their fawns are born later, after the spring floods. In southwest Louisiana peak breeding occurs from mid-September to late October. Along the Mississippi River Delta, in the Atchafalaya River Basin, and in the parishes of southeast Louisiana peak breeding occurs in December and January. Peak breeding in norhthwest and central Louisiana occurs from mid-October to Mid-November. Deer along the Gulf Coast in Alabama may breed from December to February. Deer in Florida may breed from July through February, depending on which geographical region they are in. Deer along the Atlantic coast in South Carolina and Georgia may breed earlier than deer farther inland, because coastal areas warm up earlier. Peak breeding of deer in eastern Texas may occur at the same time as the peak breeding of deer above the 40th parallel; mid-November to mid-December. Peak breeding of deer in the southwest United States and northern Mexico, including deer in northern, southern and western Texas, may breed from mid-November through January.

Conclusions

The best scientific data I have suggests that the phase of the moon does not influence when peak breeding of white-tailed deer occurs, because peak breeding is dependent on the climate. This suggests that peak breeding is triggered by the amount of sunlight, not moonlight. To help hunters determine when peak breeding occurs in their area I compiled the Rut Dates Chart, which gives both the breeding season length and peak breeding dates in most states where whitetails are found.

During my studies I did find a correlation between several different lunar factors, and peak monthly deer activity, and peak scraping activity. As a result of this I devised the Moon Indicator, which predicts which days hunters are most likely to see deer each month; when scraping activity is most likely to peak each month; and when hunters are most likely to see daytime breeding activity during the rut.

My studies, and the studies of several other researchers, clearly show that weather is one of the primary influences on daily deer activity, and that when it’s too hot, too cold, too windy or too wet, the deer probably won’t do what they would normally do. After four years of studying how the weather affects daily deer activity I devised the Daily Deer Movement Indicator, which predicts the best times and places to hunt deer each day based on the weather conditions that day.

• Most hunters use scents to attract bucks. Remember that adult bucks responding to scent invariably try to get downwind to check the scent and to detect danger.
• Also remember that adult bucks try to remain in cover. You can setup in the cover if you are sure the buck won’t detect you.
• Try to position yourself crosswind of the buck’s travel route to avoid detection.
• If there is nearby cover the buck will use, and a more open area crosswind of the cover, setup in the open area. Give the buck the cover while you wait in the area it won’t use, and where you won’t be detected.
• You can also setup downwind of the buck’s approach while luring the buck to a position upwind of you.
• If you are archery hunting be sure to place the scent close enough for a shot.
• If you have to setup upwind of the buck’s approach take extreme precautions to avoid detection.
• Don’t put your stand in a direct line with the buck’s line of travel; you may be seen.
• For the same reason you should keep your stand site a comfortable distance from the trail itself; far enough away to avoid detection, but close enough for a shot.

Supplemental Winter Feeding

Late January to late February are months when temperatures/wind-chills are often low, when there may be deep snow in some areas, when natural food sources begin to get scarce, and when deer begin to tap in to their fat reserves. They have to begin using their fat so they can maintain body heat and have enough energy to move through heavy snow or travel long distances to locate food. It is also a time when fetuses are growing in the does, and when bucks are beginning to grow new antlers. If you have ever thought about supplemental feeding January through March are a good time.

One of the goals of supplemental feeding during the winter should be to keep the deer from using so much fat that they begin to deplete muscle tissue in order to survive.

What the deer need during the winter is carbohydrate rich foods like corn or other grains. From late December to early January the protein content of the food should total about 12 %. With corn this can be achieved by adding 1 part 30% protein pellets to 3-4 parts of corn. From Late January through February the protein content of the fee should be increased to 15%-16%, by mixing 1 part 30% protein pellets to 1-2 parts corn. From March till greenup the protein content should be 20%-30%. This is achieved by mixing 1 part 30% protein to 1 part corn. Along with the feed you should also supply minerals which will help the does and their growing fetuses, and the antler regeneration of the bucks. Don’t use mineral blocks, deer can’t chew on blocks, use granular mineral on the ground where it is protected from overhead precipitation and runoff, or place it in a covered feeder. Make sure the mineral is high in phosphorus and Calcium , and Vitamins A and D. Salt is used basically as an attractant and should not exceed 35% of the mineral.

I know it’s easy to have just one food pile when you are feeding in the winter, but studies in northern Minnesota show that when deer congregate around a supplemental food source, they tend to remain near the food source, and eat nearby natural foods. This leads to destruction of the habitat, and in cases where there are numerous deer it can lead to social stress, and the spread of disease. When you feed deer in the winter try to spread the food sources out so that you have 2-3 feeding sites per 40 acres. This will keep the deer from overcrowding one area. You should also place the food sites in areas where the deer don’t have to expose themselves to precipitation or cold winds for very long. Keep the food sources in or near sheltered areas, preferably on the down wind side of a hill or in a low-lying area. Don’t make the deer travel to far to get the food, and don’t make them expose themselves.

If you haven’t already started a nutrition program now is a good time to start.

Getting A Head Start On Nurtrition

If you want to increase the overall health of the deer in your area you should improve year round nutrition by providing food plots, adequate browse, supplemental feeding in the winter, and minerals. One of the best times to start thinking about deer health and nutrition is in mid-winter, because it gives you time to start planning for late winter and spring, which is when the deer are most stressed. If you haven’t already started a nutrition program now is a good time to start.

Late winter means a reduction in food sources for animals, while their nutrition needs increase. In northern climates cold weather, high wind chills, and damp weather cause heat loss in the animals. In order to maintain a high metabolism to keep warm deer have to burn calories, and they must either find carbohydrate and fat rich food, or utilize their own existing fat reserves. Walking through heavy snow and ranging long distances in search of foods in the winter also burns calories, which means the deer must find food to maintain fat reserves and body heat.

In order for the bucks to get a jump start on good antler growth they should come through the winter in good health. But, because they use up so much energy during the rut, and lose so much fat reserve during the winter, they come into the spring in poor shape, which hinders antler growth. To help the bucks grow better racks, and come through the winter in better shape, provide them with supplemental feeding. High carbohydrate foods like corn and soybeans are beneficial to both bucks and does in early winter. The protein content of the food at this time should be around 12 percent. As February comes around more protein in the form of pellets should be added to the deer feed. As natural food sources are depleted through the winter the protein content of the deer feed should be increased by about two percent each month until spring, when it should reach about 20 percent.

Minerals

With the coming of spring, minerals are needed by both bucks and does as the bucks develop new racks and the does continue fetus growth. To adequately provide mineral for all the deer you should have one mineral lick for each forty acres of land. The licks should be placed in high use areas with adequate cover so that the animals readily find and use them. Minerals are most easily utilized by deer in granular form like Antler King, Rack and others. The minerals can be supplied on the ground in a sheltered area where they won’t be washed away, or in a covered bin.

Food Plots

Once spring arrives the deer will begin to seek out new green growth which you can supply through a food plot of fescue and clover. If you don’t have a food plot early April to early May is when you can start one by planting clovers, wildlife mixtures and agricultural crops (corn, soybeans) food plots. You can also plant pumpkins and squash, as long as you have a way to keep the deer out until you are ready to hunt. Many of the available wildlife mixtures contain three or more plant types that mature at different times of the year to provide nutrition from spring to winter; choose a brand that is designed for your area.

Water

There is one factor that contributes greatly to the growth of the buck’s rack that you can’t control, water. Available ground water, whether through rain, snow pack or irrigation is required for plant growth and the assimilation of vital nutrients for the plants. Too little rain means poor forage conditions for the animals, and poor growth conditions for racks. There isn’t much you can do about inadequate moisture in your area. You can provide more watering sources on your property by damning creeks and gullies to collect runoff water, and by digging wildlife ponds and wells. Make sure that existing or new water sources have sufficient and easy access for the game. Clean them out regularly to provide good water.

How does what the deer eat affect their behavior?

It’s not often talked about, but researchers have discovered that poor nutrition can affect not only the timing of the rut, but also the activities of the rut. During a study by Dr. Karl Miller and Dr. Larry Marchinton in Georgia it was found that the number of rubs in an area were related to the mast (acorn) abundance, and that during years of little mast production rub densities were reduced by 30 to 60 sixty percent. It was also found that rubs were less common in pine and mixed pine-oak stands than in oak or primarily oak and pine stands.

The researchers thought that the presence of rubs in mast producing areas was due to the type of food in the area, not necessarily the type of trees in the area. Regeneration areas and thick hardwood types were avoided as rub sites on all of the Georgia study areas; and old fields were highly favored as rub sites.

I find this to be true in the upper Midwest too; bucks rub more near oaks when they are dropping acorns, and they rub more near agricultural and old field edges than they do in dense hardwood forests. However, I have seen numerous rubs near old clear cuts and old fields that have begun to regenerate with saplings. I suspect that rubbing in agricultural areas may be dependent not only on the amount of acorns available, but also on the type and amount of other preferred food sources in the fall, such as alfalfa, soybeans and corn. Because the condition of the deer in the Georgia study was highly dependent on acorns, and their physical condition was poor because of low acorn production, it resulted in a less intense rut. Either the deer were simply not healthy enough to be as active as they would normally be during the rut, or they spent more time looking for any remaining mast than they did in making rubs.

If the deer in your area suffer from poor nutrition, because acorn or other mast production is down, or because agricultural crop production is low, you may see less rubbing (and possibly scraping) than normal. Poor nutrition may also result in less daytime trolling, chasing and breeding activity, resulting in a longer than normal breeding phase.

There is also evidence that poor nutrition and health may cause does to come into a later than normal first estrous, or not come into estrous at all. Poor nutrition can affect late born doe fawns (which might breed during their first year if they are healthy), older does, and does that bred late the year before. Does that breed late, give birth late and wean their fawns late are often nutritionally stressed during the fall. Any doe that nurses is stressed, and the more fawns the doe has the more stressed it is. Studies of over 1,600 does in Minnesota show that 15-20 percent of the adult and yearling does may be bred after the third week of November, and that up to 50 percent of the yearling does may breed after December first.

It is also believed that poor doe nutrition can result in later development of the does fawns, and of her fawn’s eventual offspring. This means that the timing of the rut, the health of the deer in the winter, the reproduction rates of the does, and fawn survival are dependent on good herd nutrition and health. If the deer are nutritionally stressed, during any single year, it may affect breeding activity and survival rates for the next few years, and for the next few generations of deer. To avoid this you scan take steps to see that the number of deer in the herd does not exceed the carrying capacity of the habitat, take steps to improve the habitat, and provide minerals and supplemental food sources (food plots and feed sites) in the winter.

A low position in the breeding hierarchy results in less reproductive behavior and lower weight loss. The young bucks that do not breed grow to greater body size before they become dominant. This soon results in an overall increase in the number of older dominant bucks which leads to earlier fawning dates and heavier body sizes of yearling bucks … and this leads to higher survival rates and eventually to increased buck numbers.

It’s June

Bucks and does should be on their summer home ranges, and the does should be fawning.

How Social Status Affects Deer Health and The Rut

As a result of a deer management study by Dr. Larry Marchinton between 1981 and 1986, it is now believed that the peak of the rut, or peak breeding period, of white-tailed deer should normally occur from mid-October to late November in many areas. It is also believed that it is the current management and hunting practices in many areas (which result in lower than normal buck:doe ratios) that are the cause of the rut being delayed until late November, and continuing into January and even February in many northern states. During Marchinton’s study (with the emphasis on quality management) the average number of fetuses per does over the age of 2 ½; years increased from 1.6 in 1985 to 1.9 in 1986, and pregnancy in doe fawns was detected in 1985.

Fetal male:female sex ratios shifted from 64:36 during 1981-83, to a more balanced 47:53 during 1984-86. The average weights of yearling bucks increased from 90 pounds in 1982 to 110.5 pounds during the 1983-86 portion of the study. There was a significant weight increase in the 3.5 year and older bucks in a similar study by McKelvy. The positive results of these studies were credited to the increased age structure of the bucks.

An increase in the number of older dominant bucks also has a direct suppressing effect on the testosterone levels of younger bucks, which reduces their aggressiveness and competition for breeding privileges. Since a low position in the breeding hierarchy results in less reproductive behavior and lower weight loss, those young bucks that do not breed grow to greater body size before they become dominant. This results in an overall increase in the number of older dominant bucks which leads to earlier fawning dates and heavier body sizes of yearling bucks, and this leads to higher survival rates and eventually to increased buck numbers.

If both game managers and hunters can agree to reduce the number of does and let the younger bucks grow, while still keeping the herds balanced and within the carrying capacity of the habitat, there will be an increase in the number of older bucks. There is also a good probability that the younger non-breeding bucks, because they are not stressed by breeding activity, will produce larger racks. The increased number of older bucks may also shorten the length of the rut and make it occur earlier. This could mean that hunters who prefer to hunt during the rut might be forced to hunt a month earlier, and they might be forced to take up archery hunting, or game managers might be forced to change the timing of some hunts. But, the end result of an increased number of older bucks will create a healthier more balanced deer herd, and increase the odds of hunters seeing more, and bigger, bucks.

Reading whitetail deer trails helps you determine which areas the deer are using and when they are using them. Determining when the deer use particular areas is the key to knowing where to setup during the hunting season.

Trails

One of the most visible big game signs are trails, and being able to interpret trails can tell you where and when to find game. While most hunters know that big game animals prefer to travel into the wind they don’t take wind into account when reading sign. If the game prefers to travel into the wind, their trails should reflect the prevailing wind direction.

Trail Direction

I have kept a daily record of wind direction and speed from September through December. Looking at the data I found that out of 102 sightings of deer or deer groups, 64 percent of the movement was into the wind, with 60 percent of the movement in a westerly direction. That may not sound like much until you realize that 84 percent of the total movement was either westerly, or into the wind. In my area the wind is primarily out of the west during the fall. In the particular area of this study, the food sources were west of most of the deer core areas; therefore much of the movement I saw was in a westerly direction.

But, at what time of day did the deer move? My data shows that the deer traveled west 79 percent of the time in the evening, and east 67 percent of the time in the morning; they moved west to food sources in the evening and east to their core areas in the morning. When you are reading sign remember that the availability of preferred food has a strong influence on game movement and should be taken into account. The pattern I saw may not occur in other areas. But, if you keep a journal of deer movement in your area, the local patterns will become evident.

Thermal Currents

In hilly or mountainous regions deer, elk and other animals take advantage of thermal currents. Thermals rise in the morning and fall in the evening. By bedding high during the day they can catch uphill scents, by moving down hill in the evening they move into the thermals that are still rising. Game animals often bed low at night where they catch any falling scent with the changing thermals. When they move uphill to beds in the morning, they move into thermals that are still falling. When you are scouting and observing, and see trails, tracks, droppings, rubs, scrapes and beds in certain areas, and understand how the animals react to the wind and thermal currents, you are better able to interpret sign correctly, which helps cut down on the time needed to locate the game.

Purpose, Preference, Location and Use Area

The purpose of a trail is to get the animals from one “high use” area to another.

The preference of the animals is to travel through the areas of least resistance, so they expend the least amount of energy. That preference is overridden by the need for security.

Security to a prey species is being in a place where it cannot see, smell or hear a predator. With sight a primary means of detection, deer prefer to move when and where they cannot be seen, or they cannot see predators.

Trails used at night, when animals feel secure under the cover of darkness, are often located in open fields, hilltops and meadows. These are areas the animals wouldn’t use during the day because of the exposure.

Daytime trails are usually located in woods, brush, heavy cover, ravines, gullies or low lying routes, where visibility is limited. Traveling in low routes has other advantages. Winds are not as strong in low areas as they are at higher elevations, which result in less noise. Scents may gather in low areas where they are not easily dispersed by winds. Traveling in low-lying routes allows animals be relatively unseen, to smell any scents left by predators, and to hear better than in more exposed areas.

Groups and Hubs

Groups of trails and trail hubs, or intersections, are found in high use areas; bottlenecks adjacent to preferred travel routes, crossings, staging areas, food sources, bedding sites and watering areas. The amount of cover dictates when these areas are used.

Groups of trails that join in wooded areas usually indicate daytime staging or core areas, or food and water sources. Groups of trails that join in open areas indicate nighttime bedding sites or food and water sources. Groups of trails may mean regular use by both does and bucks on different trails. They may also indicate areas where the game moves deeper into cover once vegetation is gone.

Hubs, several trails that cross near each other, are usually found where different groups of animals travel from one high use area to another. Groups of trails and hubs in secure areas, where the animals feel comfortable during daylight hours, are excellent hunting sites.

Frequency and Time of Use

Tracks: The frequency of use of the trail can be judged by the amount of vegetation or snow in the trail, or the relative number of tracks on the trail. The less vegetation or snow, and the more tracks, the more the trail is used.

I check a trail after it has rained or snowed to find out how many tracks there are, and to see if it has been recently used. I often kick dirt, leaves or snow over the existing tracks and then check the trail later. I also use a Trail Timer to see how many animals use the trail, and when they use it.

Types Of Trails: Traditional, Buck, Rub Route, Doe and Escape

Frequent use of the trail can tell you how often (and sometimes how many) animals use the trail, but may not indicate the type or importance of the trail. Traditional trails (those that are used year after year) may show little use during certain seasons. Trails leading to Fall ripening agricultural crops may only be used in the Fall and Winter.

Less frequently used trails may be used only at certain times of the year, certain times of the day, or used for escape; they may also be used by only one doe group, or one buck.

Infrequently used trails that parallel more heavily used trails, or are in heavier cover, when used by only one animal, indicate a buck trail.

The presence of other sex related sign (tracks, drag marks, clumped droppings of whitetails) should be looked for to confirm that it is a buck trail. If you find rubs and scrapes, you have found a whitetail rub route.

Hunter Use

Locating frequently used trails is the key to locating the “high use areas” of the animals and setting up in the right spot at the right time for hunting. If you find the does you will find the bucks during the rut. Locating whitetail buck trails, especially rub routes, is the key to locating the buck’s “high use” areas, which is the key to hunting whitetail bucks.

This article is an excerpt from the Whitetail Addict’s Manual, by T.R. Michels.

What’s up with the deer now? Are spikes inferior? How hard is it to manage deer for larger racks? Does the doe harvest affect your areas deer herd.

Late Summer

Whitetail fawns are growing and they should be following the does back and forth to food sources, and all the deer should be feeding on preferred foods. The buck’s antlers should be peaking by now. This is a good time to scout, looking for bucks in velvet near their favorite feeding sites.

Genetics

For a number of years deer experts believed that spike yearling bucks possessed inferior genetics and would never produce respectable or trophy racks. Because of this belief game managers and hunters alike have promoted the idea of culling spike bucks to improve the overall genetics of deer herds. The feeling now is that many spikes may be late born fawns that just don’t have time to produce larger racks their first year, and that spike bucks should be allowed to ream in the herd and grow.

A buck’s rack doesn’t keep growing until it reaches a certain size and then stop. It grows until lengthening daylight hours increase hormone levels, which cause the rack to stop growing and harden. Because the rise in hormone level stops the growth of the rack within a few weeks of each other, those bucks that were born a month or so later have less rack growth their first year. During their third and fourth years, late born bucks usually have the same rack growing time as other bucks, and they may produce normal sized racks.

In one study, when bucks were given supplemental feed and minerals, most of the bucks produced four to ten point racks during their first year. But there was one buck with a spike rack. With continued supplemental feeding and mineral all of the bucks produced bigger racks each year, including the spike. In fact, during the fourth year the spike produced the largest rack of all. This goes to show that the only way to find how big of a rack a buck will produce is to let it grow until it is 4-7 years old.

A few years ago I had a conversation with a deer breeder who is producing Boone and Crockett racks on 2-3 year old bucks. He tells me he can accomplish this because he carefully selects fast growing bucks with good antler genetics and breeds them to does with good antler genetics. The deer are also provided with minerals and receive supplemental feed throughout the year. The breeder says that producing bucks of this quality is difficult with wild deer, because they don’t receive the same nutrition, and it’s hard to keep track of genetics.

I also asked the breeder whether he thought the high wide 8 point bucks on my property would ever grow 10 point racks. I had suspected for years that these older 8 point bucks would never grow a 10 point rack. The breeder confirmed my suspicions and said that, in his experience, 8 point bucks over 4 years of age rarely produce 10 point racks. Because of this conversation I have decided to take out all the bucks on my property that don’t grow 10 point or better racks, in an effort to increase trophy quality. I know that not all areas produce 10 point or better racks, but if you see older bucks with racks smaller than the average in your area I suggest you harvest them, so they don’t contribute to the genetic pool of the herd.

Doe Harvest

An easy way to improve genetics is to harvest older does. The faster you turnover the doe population, the faster genetics can be improved. A buck gets half it’s genetics from its mother, so if older does continue to produce fawns, the same genetics (which may be inferior) are passed on. In a herd with the right age structure 50 to 60 percent of the does that are taken each year should be 2 ½; years old or younger.

This will produce a doe herd with an average age of 2 ½; to 3 ½; years, which will cause the entire doe herd, and the genetics, to turnover in about 3 ½; years. When you turnover the doe herd, and protect the better bucks, genetics in the deer herd can change quickly.

Deer lures (scents) have become one of the most popular methods of attracting white-tailed deer. But what can you expect and how do you use them?

I’d been waiting in the predawn darkness for about an hour when I saw the buck walking down the rub route. As I watched, the buck stopped to test the wind, and continued down the faint trail. When the buck reached the spot where I had begun leaving drops of interdigital scent on the forest floor it lowered its nose to the ground. Then it followed my drip line of scent to the overhanging limb where I’d placed forehead several drops of scent. I’d also poured a half ounce of Active Scrape, a combination of buck in rut and doe in heat lure into the scrape, and then poured the remainder of the lure into a dripper, which I hung over the scrape. The buck kept following the drip line, then stopped to smell the Golden Estrous doe in heat lure I’d poured on the ground five yards from the scrape. The buck raised its head and curled its lip, then walked to the scrape, where it began to rub its head on the overhanging branch.

For hunters, deer lures (scents) have become one of the most popular methods of attracting white-tailed deer. Manufacturers have responded to the demand for deer lures by producing urine based scents, pheromone based scents, food scents, curiosity scents and blocking scents. While food, curiosity and blocking scents can be used throughout the rut, urine and pheromone based scents may be more effective during particular phases of the rut.

Pheromones

The scents associated with the pheromones produced by deer glands are used to relay information to another deer. The interdigital glands between the deer’s hooves produce a scent that allows deer to track each other. This scent is present all year long and can be used to lay down a drip or drag line to attract a deer to a specific location.

The tarsal glands appear as a tuft of erect hairs on the inside of the back leg. The scent produced by these glands is so specific that it is believed that other deer can determine the age and sex of the deer leaving the scent. The strong smell of these glands is caused by the deposit of urine on the glands when the deer rub-urinates on itself. The pheromone from this gland is the primary recognition scent of whitetails, is present all year long, and can be used all year long in a real or mock scrape. It can also be used to lay down a drip or drag line to attract deer to a specific location.

Strictly speaking, the metatarsal glands, which are light tan colored circles of hair about 1 2/3 inches in length located on the outside of the back leg are not true glands, they have no duct or opening. It has been suggested that black-tailed deer open these glands when alarmed to express danger; these glands are not totally understood in whitetails, but I have seen the metatarsals flared when two whitetail bucks fight. If these glands are used to express danger they are probably used all year long. Because this scent may be associated with danger it should not be used to attract deer. In areas where there are several different trails, you can cause the deer to use specific trails by placing metatarsal scent on the trails you don’t want them to use.

The forehead glands are located between the top of the eyes and the antlers, and are most active during the rut. The activity of these glands has been positively correlated with age and probable social status; they are most active in older, dominant bucks. The glands produce an oily substance making the hair appear dark. The oil is transferred to rubbed trees and the overhanging branch at scrapes when the head of the buck comes in contact with the tree; and is used by dominant bucks to advertise their presence to both sexes. The scent from the forehead glands may also serve as a priming pheromone to bring does into estrus, and to synchronize the timing of the rut between bucks and does. Since this scent is most evident when bucks rub and scrape it should be used during the rubbing and scraping phases of the rut. Because this scent is associated with dominance it may work best to attract dominants, and it may scare off smaller bucks.

The pre-orbital glands are located in front of the eyes. These glands are under muscular control and may be opened by rutting bucks to signal aggressive behavior. Females open this gland when tending fawns. It was previously thought these glands were rubbed on the overhanging branch at scrapes, but deer researchers are no longer sure if that is true. The salivary glands are located inside the mouth. These glands produce saliva, which contains enzymes to help in digestion. The enzymes in the saliva may contribute to the scent left on the overhanging branch at scrapes and rubbed trees when a deer licks or chews the branch or tree. The nasal glands are two almond shaped glands located inside the nostrils, and they are probably used to lubricate the deer’s nose. Scent from the nasal glands may also be left on overhanging branches at scrapes. Scents from these last three types of glands are not readily available on the market, and they may have no useful purpose as a deer attractant.

Urine

Urine is present all year long and the presence of non estrous-urine and non-testosterone urine in an area signifies that deer are using the area, which implies that the area is safe. Urine without hormones can be used all year to attract any age and sex of deer.

Testosterone

It has been shown that a buck’s testosterone level rises in the fall, and that dominant bucks have higher testosterone levels than subdominant bucks. Researchers have suggested that does can smell testosterone and protein levels in a buck’s urine, and are able to determine the health of the buck by the smell; which allows the does to choose a healthy dominant buck to breed with. If this is true, urine from a healthy dominant buck should attract does, which may in turn attract bucks.

Prior to the rut bucks often travel in bachelor groups and groom each other’s head/neck region. As a result of this the bucks learn to know the smell of each other by their forehead, tarsal, metatarsal and interdigital scents. Throughout the year older bucks exert dominance over subdominants by threats; kicking with the foreleg and attacking with the antlers. When bucks begin sparring in the fall each buck knows which of the other bucks are dominant and stronger. They also know which buck used a rub, overhanging branch and scrape by the smell left behind. This eliminates much of the fighting between bucks that might otherwise occur.

Since testosterone levels rise when the bucks begin to shed their velvet and make rubs and scrapes, and remains high as long as does remain in estrous, urine with testosterone can be used throughout the rut. A buck in rut is curious about which other bucks are in its area, and may be compelled to check out any new buck scent in the area. However, because high levels of testosterone are associated with dominance, buck in rut urine may attract dominant bucks, but it may scare off subdominants.

Estrogen

Once the does come into heat they produce vaginal secretions (including estrogen) that the bucks are able to smell. These vaginal secretions may be detected on the doe, or in the urine the doe passes and leaves behind. Some researchers believe that bucks may come into breeding readiness when they perform the flehmen sniff and detect estrogen from a doe; and that this detection may ensure that both the bucks and does are ready to breed at the same time. This suggests that bucks may respond to estrous secretions or estrous urine as long as their testosterone levels are high, which may be as early as late August or early September, until after most of the does have been bred.

One of the problems hunters have is determining which scent or scents to use during the different rut phases. To determine how bucks responded to different attractants a group of researchers used several different substances; urine before a doe was in estrous, urine while a doe was in estrous, urine after a doe was in estrous, buck urine, a commercial deer lure and saline solution. The researchers found that peak responses to the lures occurred in mid-November, when peak rutting activity occurred.

They also found that a high proportion of the responses to all the substances occurred during the first part of the study. It was believed that lower responses later on in the study were a result of the deer becoming accustomed to the substances. This suggests that hunters can expect the best responses the first few times they use scents. It also suggests that if scents are left out for a long period of time, the deer may not respond, because they get used to the scents.

Interestingly, throughout the study, from 8 weeks before peak breeding to 10 weeks after, the researchers felt that adult bucks (as opposed to does and younger bucks) were more interested in and responded best to buck urine. On two different study sites both buck urine and doe estrous urine received the highest responses 3 to 4 weeks prior to peak rut activity. This suggests that both buck urine and doe-in-estrous urine may attract older bucks during the 2-3 weeks prior to peak breeding; about the time the bucks begin regularly making and using scrapes.

In another study the researchers used two does, one treated with one of four different substances:

• estrous urine,
• midcycle estrous urine,
• estrous vaginal secretions
• mid-cycle vaginal secretions

The other doe had been sterilized and was not treated with any substance. The vaginal secretions were collected by wiping the vagina of the doe with a tampon, and the researchers were careful not to contaminate the tampon with urine. A buck was then introduced to the two does, and its number of approaches and time spent with each doe was noted. There were no significant differences in the buck’s responses when estrous urine, mid-cycle urine and mid-cycle vaginal secretion were used. But, when estrous vaginal secretions were tested, the buck approached the treated doe more often, and spent more time near the treated doe. This suggests that the best substance for a lure is the vaginal secretion collected from a doe in estrous. But, since this is hard to collect, the next best alternative for hunters is to use doe-in-heat urine.

During my own studies over the last seven years I found that bucks responded well to commercial deer lures during the first few days that I used them, and that they responded less the longer the scents were left out. I also found that older bucks responded best to buck-in-rut lures during what I refer to as the scraping phase, the 2-3 weeks prior to peak breeding. In many northern states the scraping phase occurs during the last two weeks of October and the first week of November.

I found that older bucks responded well to doe estrous lures from the time the bucks shed velvet in early September through December. But, they responded best to doe estrous lures during the week before peak breeding. Peak breeding occurs during the second week of November in most northern and mid-state areas, so I use doe estrous lures during the first week of November. I believe that commercial doe estrous lures are less effective during peak breeding because many of the does are in estrous; it’s hard to compete with the real thing. But, since bucks are searching for estrous does, estrous urine is probably the best attractant you can use during peak breeding.

I’ve also found that the liberal use of doe urine in an area may cause the area to be used more often. I believe the reason for this is that all the deer are curious about which other deer are using the area, and they come in to investigate. This in turn attracts more deer to the area, including bucks, and the area becomes productive as a hunting site. You should be careful not to over use urine however. In some cases highly used areas may turn into bedding sites, and if you have placed a stand in the area you can’t get to it without spooking the deer.