Have Your Best Rut Week Ever

The rut has finally arrived. Stay in tune with the phase of the breeding season to maximize your odds on stand. Photo by Bill Konway.

I know you’re excited to hit the woods, but take a few minutes to think about and analyze the deer behavior, sign, weather, moon phase and other conditions that will occur during the week you’ll take off this month. From pre-rut to seeking to the peak, the stages of the whitetail rut vary a bit throughout November, requiring you to tweak your tactics to have the best chance to kill a big buck.

NOV. 2 TO 9

Deer behavior: Although some of the local bucks you scouted will stay in your woods, others will begin to expand their range by a mile or two as they search for the first estrous does. You might “lose” a few bucks you got on camera earlier, but be on the lookout for “new” bucks moving into your area. Bucks will come and go all month. Most adult does are a week or so out from estrus and continue to move on a bed-to-feed pattern.

Critical sign: Big shredded rubs and fresh scrapes. Well-used doe trails.

Moon: The new moon on Nov. 2 will stay on the dark side as it waxes crescent through to Nov. 7. Deer should be most active in the morning each day.

Best weather: The Farmer’s Almanac predicts a cool, crisp high-pressure week for mid-Atlantic states. If it pans out, morning deer movement will even better in this region.

Top stand: A strip of timber flanked by a crop field on one or two sides and with heavy cover nearby is a killer morning spot. Does will trickle back from feeding to bed at dawn. Some bucks will cruise the cover checking them. Get on stand early, and hang tough until at least 10 a.m.

Hot tactics: Set cams at various sets of scrapes. The minute you get an image of a shooter walking in daylight, move into that spot and hunt him immediately.

Hang wicks soaked with tarsal near your stand. A brawler buck might smell it and circle in to your stinky challenge. Grunt loud and deep every 30 minutes or so in hopes of reeling in a cruising buck.

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NOV. 10 TO 16

Deer behavior: Seeking, chasing and breeding phases roll into one. You’re apt to see a buck trolling nose to the ground like a vacuum cleaner, or trailing a doe, or chasing one — or even mounting one. But if you suddenly stop seeing bucks toward the end of the week, especially if you hunt the Midwest, lockdown has commenced. Mature bucks herd receptive does away from competing bucks and into secluded areas where they’ll shack up for a couple of days.

Critical sign: Rubs and scrapes; trampled doe trails.

Moon: A moon study found that whitetails don’t move well under a first-quarter moon (Nov. 9 this year), but forget that. The power of the rut and a buck’s desire to breed will override that. As the moon gets brighter each day, deer activity will pick up.

Best weather: The almanac predicts cooler-than-normal weather for the Midwest, notably Nov. 12 through 15. If this proves true, the cold front will usher in great deer movement and fantastic hunting.

Top stand: Hang a stand where two or three hills and adjacent thick-cover draws converge and peter out into a creek bottom. The terrain and edges create a dumping ground for deer. You might spot a doe prancing down a ridge with an 8-pointer lapping her heels. Or out of the blue, a shooter might pop out of a draw. Glass thickets for a bedded doe with a buck standing guard. You never know what you’ll see, but it might be big and good.

Hot tactics: Lay a hot-doe scent trail into a stand, and hang two wicks doused with more estrus lure on limbs 6 feet high. Keep grunting and start rattling. Studies show the peak of the rut is the best time to rattle in the most bucks.

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NOV. 17 TO 23

Deer behavior: Breeding is continuing. Depending on location and whether your peak rut seems early or late, you might see bucks wandering alone or chasing does. Some big deer will be locked down. Firearms seasons are opening in many states, so work pressure into your plan.

Critical sign: Primary doe trails, large buck tracks, and rubs and scrapes near thick cover.

Moon: You might have checked the calendar and thought, “Don’t want to take off this week, it’s a full moon.” You’d be wrong. With the orb waxing to full Nov. 15, I believe the stars are aligning for those of us who hunt in the northern two-thirds of America. The midmorning and midday buck movement should be especially strong. In the Midwest, bucks will start coming out of lockdown and seeking does again.

Best weather: The almanac predicts snow or a wintry mix in Northeastern states. If so, the snow, cool air and a bright moon would meld for the best hunting of the year in this region.

Top stand: The ridge stand overlooking the draws and a creek that you hunted the previous week remains a good bet. The thicker the cover the better. You might encounter a rutting buck on natural movement, or you might get a crack at a big deer pushed back in there by gun hunters. Those draws and edges are great escape cover for bucks.

Hot tactics: If you can hack it, sit all day. With the moon bright, a good buck might show at 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. You never know. Hunting pressure might push a buck to you any time.

If you hunt land with little human pressure, keep rattling. Keep grunting. Keep dragging and hanging doe-in-heat wicks to reel in a buck looking for a last hot doe.

No matter your rut week, good luck. If you kill a big one, let us know so we can feature you in Realtree’s Rack Report.