Whitetail Rut Hunting

As you may already know, the most successful time to shoot a mature buck is in the rut. The reason for this is because the mature bucks tend to become less cautious when they’re looking for does. This is then the most successful chance to go out shooting and bag a monster whitetail.
We all enjoy hunting and wish we could have a few trophies hanging on the wall – the trouble is we don’t often get the shot opportunities that we want. Well, if you know the right time to hunt you can increase your success rate dramatically!
The rut kicks off with the mature bucks scratching the ground creating scrape marks directly below a bough of a tree widely over their patch of plain/woods. It is essentially a scrape in the forest floor that is meant to be spotted by competing mature bucks in the vicinity. This is the first step in the mating season, where each male competes to be the strongest buck. Since the first deer has made sure the scrape is heavily scented , which he does by brushing the nearby limb with his head and rump, competing bucks will likely come past and start working at the groove, making it bigger and marking the tree and the scrape with their scent too.
However, if you spot a good looking buck mark you’d in all likelihood think it ought to be the perfect location to settle in and stake out until the arrival of another mature trophy. Unfortunately, the most common behaviour is for the deer to only contribute to these marks under the cover of darkness.
Bit of a shame I know, but there we are. You could of course go hunting at night – but most of us don’t do this due to safety reasons, personal preference and local regulations.
At the start the mature bucks will strengthen their necks and shoulders by play-fighting with nature – batting their heads and antlers against things. This seemingly unusual behaviour also serves to remove the now-redundant cushioning from their antlers, in preparation of rutting. Competing mature bucks will recognise these signs, and also throughout this time they begin to take more leaks in the grooves.
You could do very well by finding a few of these scrapes, and locating the trails between them. Whitetails are naturally habitual; they tend to follow the same paths. It’s not unusual to be able to find a spot where three or more of these paths intersect and have a few mature bucks wander through them each day. Obviously, setting up an appropriate stand in a tree overhead would be very likely to yield results!
This is consequently the most successful chance to be on the ground and in the woods looking for mature deer as now their alertness level is reduced; they’re concentrated on attracting females more than being hunted or eaten.
The competing bucks will continually to pee in scrape marks and smear their unique scent here until a doe comes by and deposits her own smell in the gouge, which lets the biggest buck to know that mating can now start. Because of this, he will then check back at these grooves often.
As I said above, they do tend to do this at night but they are still very active during the day. If you can be on the ground, staking out trails and water sources, searching for droppings etc – the rutting season just means that the deer are less on their guard.
It’s therefore the best time to be out there hunting for as much as you can once the fighting starts – immediately as you begin to find scrape marks throughout your patch of land. This will better your chances of shooting a huge trophy while his guard is down. A good way to know if the rut is in progress is to check the back legs of a buck. He has specific scent sacks there (that he deliberately sprays urine on) also referred to as hawks, and they turn darker in the fighting. Of course, you actually have to find a buck to do this – but it’s worth remembering for when you do see one.
The simple reason why the fighting is the most successful chance for hunting is because the mature bucks are concerned with does, not with hunters. They are focused most importantly on attracting a mate and – with the alpha male, giving hunters a much greater chance than at other times of the season.
If, like me, you’re trying to maximize your likelihood of taking down a great big deer with an impressive rack this year, you would do well to be out on the ground (or up a tree) as long as you can manage.
We’re all busy and sometimes you can’t be out for as long as you’d like – so use your time wisely. Maybe aim to just find a couple of good shooting spots the first day (obviously have all the gear ready in case you do come across a buck though), and then stake out one of those spots the next. I have to work most days, so this is what I do, and it works well – you increase your chance of finding a buck by not trying to do everything all the time.
Also, don’t forget to keep in mind that if your goal is to take down a big buck – don’t shoot the first one you see! It sounds obvious, but many deer hunters succumb to buck fever and push their target size out of their mind. In too many cases this prevents hunters taking down a prize deer at all, this is because the more cautious bucks will usually stay hidden within cover for longer and will be spooked.
This is actually a great deer hunting tip, as a vast majority of hunters will do this. Sure, some of us will let a small buck or doe go once we’ve already got one in the bag – but if you pass over the younger ones fist, you’re much more likely to harvest a monster buck right off the bat!

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Related content that I came across : Reasons To Hunt The Rut