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FINDING
TRANSITION BUCKS
The sun was just beginning to pour its brilliant, life-giving flow on the frozen earth as I knocked my arrow. I was not even fully ready to find my grunt call when a doe ran directly beneath my stand. As my mental computer quickly began to analyze data, I realized that there were very few reasons that she would come through that fast. Instinctively I picked my bow up out of its stand.
I hear more noise now. There are heavy hoof beats on the hard turf of the bean field. Movement, deer, antlers all crowd my mind at the same instant. A small, tight-racked, 6-point buck was on the doe's trail. He passed under me and continued on his quest, undisturbed. "Maybe in December, but not now, when the rut is just starting," I said to myself. "Not today."
The transition between pre-rut and peak-rut causes a metabolic and instinctive urge to mate. An educated hunter can play these changes to his advantage. To be able to use this information, you must first understand the reasons behind what you see happening in your hunting area.
In October, as archery season begins, deer are in a pre-rut mindset. This is not to say that deer think and reason as we do. A metabolic clock that is triggered by day length or “photo period” governs their instincts and habits. This becomes extremely important as you scout for a pre-rut hunting spot.
You must be able to recognize the signals and read the body language that deer make to become a more successful, consistent deer hunter. A sure-fire way is to watch the change in life-
style and patterns of whitetailed deer as the rut grows near.
During this time bucks and doe are usually segregated. Bucks may be staying in small bachelor groups. They begin to spar and establish their dominance. They develop a "pecking-order" that will become increasingly more important as the breeding season gets closer. As you scout for pre-rut bucks do not be fooled by lots of tracks and droppings. Look exclusively for buck sign, especially rubs on trees.
Tree rubbing marks the area with scent from the buck's fore-head glands. One buck recognizes another buck in this fashion. Since bucks and doe are not yet together for breeding, areas of dense sign may indicate the presence of many doe or young deer. Buck hunters should probably check elsewhere for buck sign. As October fades and gives way to November, you must reverse your tactics.
The feeding patterns long since established are now altered by hormones and by instinct. A group of female deer may only feed for one hour in the morning now as opposed to two or three hours a few weeks ago. Their areas for food and cover may remain the same, but their timetables will change as the breeding instincts become stronger. Bucks may not feed in their regular places or at their regular times for several days as the rut begins and reaches its apex.
Hunting feeding patterns can be very frustrating during this period. The best chance is to find newly established breeding patterns and hunt the area with fresh sign. Even though all deer are unpredictable as the rut begins, new patterns will develop and you should be versatile enough to change with them. I have harvested literally dozens of bucks by anticipating this change and moving into doe areas just ahead of them.
Being aware of a buck's habit to chase females of the species can greatly increase your chances of staying with him as he "relocates". A prime example of this change was a buck that we had seen regularly in the same location.
This buck was easy to identify because he only had antlers on one side. Throughout October he was seen once or twice a week with two other bucks of about his same size and age. They moved from their bedding area into a cut soybean field about dusk almost every evening. They had not been pressured by bowhunters because of their immaturity.
As the rut began, this same buck was seen by bowhunters over a mile from the bean field. Hunters on an adjoining farm also spotted him in early November. Because of his deformed rack, he was harvested during the firearms deer season about halfway between the bean field and the farm where he was last sighted. Except for the sightings in his feeding area, he was seen with or around doe every time. He was going through the transition from pre-rut to peak-rut.
As deer become more vulnerable to the urge to reproduce, their inhibitions about human presence are relaxed. Deer that are totally consumed by the change in hormone production become almost oblivious to other stimuli. They do not feed as often or as long as usual. They do not seem to spook as easily. This transition will most likely take place suddenly for individual deer. All female deer will not, however, come into cycle at the same time. This depends mostly on their age. If two doe were born about a month apart, their cycles are likely to be about a month apart. So, even though a doe "comes in" quickly, the entire herd may take many weeks to cycle.
A buck approaches the transitional rut in a slightly different mood. He has only one speed during this period, and that speed is "full bore". Not much else matters to a buck once he smells estrous. He may totally ignore other stimuli, except of course, other bucks. This instinct can also be manipulated in the hunters favor during the transitional period.
As bucks seek dominance in the breeding scheme, their position will not be challenged by buck they already know, but by bucks that intrude into the area, seeking doe. Rattling and grunting can be very effective as the transition period nears. A buck is quick to defend his territory and even quicker to defend doe he has already acquired. A buck can be called to within bow range by challenging his authority, as an intruding dominant, or mature buck might do.
As the peak-rut begins, taper off on rattling and concentrate on grunting. Rattling after doe and buck are together causes the buck to instinctively take his females away from the fight. He will not chance losing a doe to one of the combatants. He will, however, immediately defend his rights if a single buck threatens his harem.
I have seen this scenario played out in the field time and time again. Bucks who do not yet have a place in the "pecking order" will respond well to rattling. They must prove themselves worthy of breeding rights. A verbal challenge, later on in the transition period, seems to trigger defensive instincts quicker. Many a big buck has fallen victim to an aggressive grunt from a hunter's call. Doe, too, will respond to a grunt call. Remember, they are looking for a buck also. This transition time, I have found, is the deer's most vocal time of year.
When
bucks change their habits and move to doe infested areas, they become more
vulnerable to hunters that adapt with them. Even better is the hunter that
moves just ahead of the deer's change.Prove this by thinking back to a season when you found lots of buck sign early. Many rubs and big tracks lay along a creek or by the edge of a field. You probably thought you had that buck pegged, but as you hunted that trail, he never returned. Later on, when you found his trail of ground scrapes, they were across the field and on the other ridge a half-mile away. Of course that ridge is also where you saw three doe and five yearlings in September when you were scouting.
As the light bulb comes on over your head, you realize that the rutting buck you have been hunting is also hunting. He is hunting rutting doe. To be consistent, you must hunt the deer where they are. In pre-rut, hunt "buck only" areas. As the rut begins and the deer habits start to change, move to a "doe area".
If you move a few days early do not worry about it. It will give you time to observe this change in deer patterns. As you collect this data and apply it to your hunt, you will soon see that this is the secret to transition pre-rut bucks.
2004
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