Prime Time Trophies

Late season hunting can be productive,
if you understand the rules of the game

by Russell Tinsley

The deer season is winding down, and while some hunters are apprehensive about their chances of seeing, much less shooting a decent buck, those familiar with the ways of the white-tailed deer aren't getting antsy yet. There is plenty of time. In fact, late-season is a prime period for bushwhacking a show-and-tell buck, particularly in South Texas where there is rutting activity and even an old veteran can be seduced by a female with big brown eyes. Catch him in a mistake and he can be yours.

But, if you make the mistake, the memory can be bittersweet. Even a mature buck on the trail of a doe has remarkable survival instincts. He's been through this before. The rut is misunderstood by many hunters. They expect to see bucks chasing does everywhere in South Texas this time of year, the ritual bringing deer out of hiding where they will be roaming around in the daytime. Unfortunately, it is not quite this simple. If there is a high density of deer and there is a lopsided doe:buck ratio, the bucks won't have to move around much to satisfy the mating urge. A hunter has to be hunting in a place where a buck lives, in the deer's range, if he hopes to get a shot at the animal, whether the strategy is horn-rattling or ambush hunting from a stand.

Bucks are likely to make mistakes prior to and after the rut. Before the main event, the bucks are physiologically able to breed before the does are. A buck is ready to go before the rut, but he doesn't have a willing partner. After the rut, his hormones are still pumping. Either time, pre-rut or post-rut, he is not as wary as he normally is. But during the rut, he is preoccupied and he won't be traveling about in the daylight unless he goes where the doe goes. And, and he won't stray far from his territory.

If you've picked the right place to hunt, however, you might see the buck and get a shot. You don't hunt a buck per se; you hunt a spot to shoot a deer. You need to scout and find places with deer activity such as rubs and scrapes along or not far from established trails. If need be, put a portable tripod stand where you can watch such a spot (older bucks learn to avoid most kinds of established stands, research has shown). Then spend a lot of time in that stand waiting and watching.

While bucks rub their antlers to rid them of velvet after they have hardened, they also use the rubs as "signposts" to establish their territories. A dominant buck is telling other bucks to keep out, but he'd better be ready to protect that piece of ground with brute force because he is going to be challenged. While most of the rubs are made in early-fall, the buck will continue to add rubs right up to the rut, as a reminder of his presence. And yes, you can get some idea of a buck's size by the size of his rubs. The larger the sapling and the higher up the rub is, the larger the buck. A quality buck will make rubs on trees 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Juvenile bucks rub finger-sized saplings.

The same is true with scrapes, which are typically established along the brushy edge of clearings and washes. According to noted hunter Bob Ramsey of Real County, a scrape always will be situated in a place where a buck has overhanging branches he can reach to nibble. The bigger the scrape, the larger the buck. A mature buck will paw out a depression 15 to 18 inches across. The buck will urinate in the scrape and check it regularly, waiting for a doe in estrus to come along and also urinate in the scrape, telling the buck she is ready. The buck puts his nose to the ground and takes after her, and if you are hunting the area, hunting the fresh scrape, you might get a shot at him. This is a good place to hide and watch. But, Ramsey said, a buck doesn't always check his scrape every day. It depends on how far he has roamed from his home area. "He might also check it at night," Ramsey added. "Also, more than one buck might check it for activity. I've had as many as 9 bucks of bucks of varying sizes come along and check a single scrape in a day's time."

During the rut, a buck might make an appearance at any time of day. Dr. Steve Damarais said the rut disrupts a buck's activity pattern and he stays active all day long. This is why late-season is prime time.

Damarais, a Texas Tech researcher, and South Texas biologist Bob Zaiglin, who contributes regularly to this magazine, conducted a 4-year study of whitetail deer behavior in the brush country. They found, among other things, that with the arrival of a norther, deer become more active and movement was significantly greater than before the weather change. "We have long known this," Damarais said. "But what we found in the study was, the day after a front is just as good for hunting as the day the front arrived."

The study also found that deer movements are influenced by the moon phase. All ruminants (cud chewers) get up with moon and go to bed with the moon. But it also revealed that old South Texas bucks are individuals, each with his own habits and behavior, doing things his own way, not always going along with the crowd, which makes him such an elusive and challenging target. As a generalization, though, Damarais said deer activity typically is centered around a 24-hour clock with two peaks of activity, one around sunrise, the other around sunset, or what researchers call the crepuscular. When there was one-quarter to three-quarters moon, buck activity most closely matched this crepuscular pattern. The greatest variations came when comparing the full moon phase with the less than one-quarter moon or moonless phase. During the moonless phase, movements took place throughout the daylight hours. On the other hand, with a full moon, movements were intensified during the crepuscular pattern, and the movements were maintained through the night. "Thus, your best bet is during the dark of the moon, the moonless phase." Damarais said, adding that movements can vary greatly with different South Texas trophy bucks. Each season, some of the bigger bucks are shot around midday.

To succeed, however, you have to be disciplined to spend long hours in a stand. Simply being patient isn't enough. You have to remain alert and observant. A buck can walk in and out of the picture in the blink of an eye, especially in the thick South Texas thornbrush. No matter how and where you hunt, though, wind is a critical factor - the most critical, actually. Human odor is a danger signal even a love-struck buck doesn't ignore. You can carry a portable stand into the area you choose to hunt, tuck it among the mesquites, and wear camouflage, but concealment is wasted effort unless you manage the wind to avoid carrying human scent into the area you are watching.

There is something else about wind, too. When a norther first hits, tree branches and brush are waving and rattling. This compromises a buck's defense, which is sight-and sound oriented. Deer movement increases when there is little or no breeze. Well-known hunter Murry Burnham said a prime time to hunt is right after a norther, when there is a lull before the prevailing winds turn back to the southeast. Also, if moisture-laden clouds roll over the cold air, this often results in a misty condition, which deer like. "Even rutting bucks are more predictable in their behavior when there is little or no wind," Murry said. "If at all possible, follow a norther south and be in the woods when the breeze turns around. That's when you are likely to see that buck of your dreams."


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