Deer Rut Archives - Page 3 of 7

6 11, 2023

Rut-Hunting Gear: Keep it Simple

Clay Hanback2023-10-24T13:32:30-04:00November 6th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, Gear Reviews, whitetail deer|Comments Off on Rut-Hunting Gear: Keep it Simple

I pack and use simple but effective gear every day that I hunt the whitetail rut: Carry a grunt call and use it every day. Hunters grunt in and shoot many giant bucks each November. Most any tube will do the job. I lay trails and set wicks with Mega-Tarsal Plus buck scent, and Special Golden Estrus doe near my stands. Make sure to use synthetic deer lure if your state requires it. You can bring in a buck with a rattle bag or box, but nothing beats real antlers. Antlers off a 130- to 140-class buck are good. They have enough mass and tines to mimic the deep thudding and grinding of two mature bucks. Most realistic.

1 11, 2023

8 Best Days to Hunt Deer In November

Clay Hanback2023-10-24T13:26:32-04:00November 1st, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, whitetail deer|Comments Off on 8 Best Days to Hunt Deer In November

November 6, 2012, Wisconsin bowhunter Dusty Gerrits (picture left) sat and waited on a 150-class buck he called Tiny. “We had pictures of Tiny on a scrape the morning before, so I set up right there,” he says. Two small bucks showed early, but no Tiny. All of a sudden and out of the blue a giant rolled in! Not Tiny but bigger! “He pushed an 8-point off the scrape, but no shot,” says Dusty. Finally, he saw his opening and fired. The buck crashed 50 yards away. The monster netted 189 and change, at the time the new state record archery typical. Regardless of weather, moon or other environmental factors, the vast majority of does in the northern two-thirds [...]

22 10, 2023

Use Tarsal Scent for Pre-Rut Bucks

Clay Hanback2023-10-22T11:17:00-04:00October 22nd, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Guns & Loads, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, Gear Reviews, whitetail deer|1 Comment

This is a true story, I swear. One morning in Virginia, I shot a 10-pointer with my muzzleloader and got on the trail. I could smell his rankness in the air and in the blood as I tracked, and when I found him I covered my nose with my sleeve and thought, Whoa, you stink. The deer’s hocks were dripping and black as motor oil. I rolled the buck over, held my breath and started gutting. Leaves popped. I peeked up and saw another 10-pointer bearing down on me, head and rack held low, hair bristling on his neck. I crouched lower behind the dead deer. A rut-crazed buck is unpredictable, and I figured staying put rather than trying to [...]

18 09, 2023

Big Deer’s 2023 Moon-Rut Hunting Guide

Clay Hanback2023-09-18T08:55:01-04:00September 18th, 2023|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Bowhunting, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut, Deer Science, whitetail deer|6 Comments

Over the past 40 years I’ve spent more than 1,000 days in deer stands across North America during the magic month of November, during every imaginable moon phase, during all the waxing and waning days. Though many scientists don’t put much stock in the moon and its effects on whitetails and the rut, my journal notes and personal observations say differently. I am convinced the various lunar phases can and do impact the movements of rutting deer, though admittedly those effects can sometimes be difficult to see and predict because of warm-weather patterns and moderate to heavy hunting pressure from region to region, Here are my 2023 moon-rut predictions. Factor them into your gameplan as you schedule your rut-hunting vacation [...]

16 11, 2022

Whitetail Buck “Excursions” In The Rut

Clay Hanback2022-11-06T09:49:53-05:00November 16th, 2022|Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Rut|Comments Off on Whitetail Buck “Excursions” In The Rut

A post on the National Deer Association website starts out like this: One thing researchers have deciphered in recent years using GPS technology is a somewhat new behavior that white-tailed deer do called an excursion, which is a brief trip or trips outside their established home range. This behavior especially occurs during the rut, and I have a personal story from the 2018 season to prove it. We have been running 2 dozen trail cameras for a decade on a 1,000-acre farm in the Virginia Piedmont where I hunt. Imagine our shock and excitement when we checked a card and saw one image of this awesome buck from November 18, obviously an older deer with a ton of character. We had never seen [...]