Deer Rut Archives

25 03, 2025

New Moon Phase Means Hot Deer Rut

Clay Hanback2025-03-17T11:39:07-04:00March 25th, 2025|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, sportsman channel, trijicon, whitetail deer|0 Comments

Here on the blog last August, I wrote: In all my years of chasing whitetails across North America, I’ve noticed the tendency for the animals to move most in twilight is magnified during a new (dark) moon that overlaps the seeking phase of the rut, as it does this year. I went on to predict that the new moon week of November 2 through 6 would be five of the best days to hunt in 2024. Not coincidentally, we planned our annual Virginia deer camp to start on November 2, in the middle of archery season and during the first week of muzzleloader. This is typically when what I call the “hard pre-rut” occurs in the Virginia Piedmont. Weeks earlier, [...]

9 10, 2024

Tarsal Scent for Deer Hunting

Clay Hanback2024-10-09T14:48:06-04:00October 9th, 2024|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|2 Comments

One morning in early November, I smoked an 8-pointer with my muzzleloader and got on the blood trail. I could smell his rankness as I tracked, and when I found him a short way ahead, I covered my nose with my sleeve and thought, Man, you stink. The deer’s hocks were wet and black as motor oil. I rolled him over, held my breath and started gutting. Leaves popped. I peeked up and saw 10-pointer bearing down, head and rack held low, hair bristling on his neck. I crouched low behind the dead deer. A rut-crazed buck is unpredictable. I figured staying put rather than trying to wave him off was best. The intruder sidled to within 15 yards, popping [...]

30 05, 2024

Do Whitetail Does Have More Buck Fawns in Hunted Areas?

Clay Hanback2024-05-30T09:54:58-04:00May 30th, 2024|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, Deer Science, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Do Whitetail Does Have More Buck Fawns in Hunted Areas?

I just ran across a study conducted by the University of Florida years ago. It found that in areas where hunting is permitted, whitetail does give birth to more male fawns than female fawns. Researchers examined the reproductive tracts of 380 legally harvested does from four tracts across Florida. Two of the areas were off limits to general hunting, and the other two WMAs were regularly hunted. More than 90 percent of the does in all the areas were pregnant, the research found. Males comprised 56 percent of the fetuses in the hunted areas but just 39 percent in the non-hunted areas. Additionally, the researchers found 38 percent of does on hunted sites carried twins, compared with just 14 percent [...]

5 01, 2024

Rut Tactics For Southern Deer Hunters

Clay Hanback2024-01-05T09:24:16-05:00January 5th, 2024|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Rut Tactics For Southern Deer Hunters

Many Midwestern and Northern states have a loosely defined breeding period of 10 days to 3 weeks in November, but it’s more of a strung-out “trickle rut” in most Southern regions, especially the deeper in Dixie you go. Deer breeding in the South is extended because of the mild winters; does can drop fawns later in summer and the little deer can survive the next winter. From late October (Georgia, South Carolina) to mid-November (Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky) into December (Mississippi) and January and even February (Alabama), expect spotty periods of bucks pushing does for 4 to 7 weeks or longer, with many slow days in between. While there some fine managed properties in the South, most people hunt public land [...]

20 11, 2023

Tired of Sitting in a Deer Stand? Try Stalking the November Rut

Clay Hanback2023-11-20T13:53:22-05:00November 20th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Tired of Sitting in a Deer Stand? Try Stalking the November Rut

Sneak 15 yards…lean against a tree…look for movement…listen…glass ahead and to the sides with your binoculars…then slip another 20 yards…look and listen. I’ve killed quite a few rutting bucks that way with a gun, but only when conditions are right. This is NOT something you do on public land. And I “slip hunt” only on a private property with very light hunting pressure. You want to still-hunt without worry of bumping into a stranger, or driving an 8-pointer into his sights. Stalking has advantages. You cover a lot of ground, which increases your odds of encountering more bucks trolling for does if you do it right. The more you move around, the more rubs, scrapes and big tracks you’ll find [...]