Have you seen any bucks acting weird?
Published 2:50 pm Thursday, November 21, 2013
Just this week I have seen two large bucks with large antlers in my neighborhood during the daylight hours that I had not previously seen. I had been seeing some smaller bucks but now the big boys are out roaming and there is a reason for their behavior. When buck deer start acting weird, it is a good chance that the rut or mating season is about to begin or it could already be in full swing in our area right now.
To some readers who do not have a clue about what the rut entails, I will try to give a very short explanation. The rut or mating season for whitetail deer is that period during the year when female deer or does come into heat or estrus and are receptive to mating. During this time the male or buck deer will attempt to mate with those receptive does.
The rut can last several weeks but in most localities there is what is referred to as the peak of the rutting season and that period may only last 2-3 weeks. This year the rut may have been delayed somewhat due to the warm weather in our area and weather might play some small part in the actual beginning of rutting season but it never delays the rut very long.
One sure sign that the rutting season has begun is through the actions of the buck deer and more than one person has asked me recently what was going on within the deer population. Further discussion determined that those people had recently witnessed a buck deer acting weirdly.
Those questions came not from hunters but folks just driving their automobiles when they came in direct contact with a buck through a collision or observed one acting strangely while driving. I recently witnessed a very large buck during broad daylight crossing Highway 441 in Milledgeville in a largely commercial area and the buck crossed that busy highway not once but twice in the span of ten minutes.
Automobile and deer collisions occur throughout the year but increase significantly during the fall when deer are most active and increase even further during the rut. Many deer/automobile collisions in the fall involve does and fawns but many will involve bucks during the mating season. Dead bucks lying beside the highway is a good sign that the mating season is underway.
The rut causes a big change in the buck’s behavior. Bucks are normally very cautious and largely travel at night, but during the rut’s peak the bucks will travel all hours of the day in search of does ready to breed. A hunter’s opportunity to harvest a nice buck increases tremendously during this time. The seemingly very cautious buck loses his sense of caution and acts weirdly as he attempts to breed with receptive does.
Once breeding begins, scrapes and tree rub routes made by bucks are not reliable indicators because the bucks will be spending more time just following does or searching for does on doe trails. Daytime buck activity will be very high as long as does remain in estrus or heat.
During the rut, some hunters rely on grunt calls while others use various commercial products that imitate the smell of a doe in heat. Other hunters who have studied the deer, have hunted for years and know the deer’s habits will simply conceal themselves in an area frequented by does and just wait for the buck to show up.
Just about every hunter can relate a story about the weird actions of a buck that he/she has observed during the rutting period. I have several myself and most include harvesting a buck simply because the buck had lost his sense of caution and did weird things. Caution goes out the window and bucks do weird things during the rut.
A rank amateur can harvest a buck during the rut but the true test of a hunter’s ability comes before and after the rut. If you are looking for an easier opportunity to harvest a buck during this hunting season, you need to be hunt during the rutting period that is occurring in our area now. Good hunting and see you next week.
Bobby Peoples can be reached by e-mail at brpeoples@windstream.net.