Mystery of the Late Rut

If the best gifts are the ones that surprise you the most, my buddy Tad Brown had sent me a whopper. The gift was the deep, booming roar from the Thompson/Center Encore he carried. As the echoes of that shot faded into the thick cedars lining the Platte River, I smiled and stretched in my stand, confident my friend had scored.

We were on the first day of a December muzzleloader deer hunt in central Nebraska, sitting only a half-mile apart on a frigid evening. Like most hunters visiting new territory, I assumed it would take us a few days of scouting and unsuccessful setups before we dialed in our deer. But Tad had other ideas. After a slow morning hunt, he sprung the trap on a dandy Platte River bottoms 10-point--and gave me an unexpected Christmas present in the process. I've hunted with my friend long enough that I get as much joy out of his success as I do my own.

Any mature whitetail is a trophy, but Tad's buck was special. My buddy had been sitting in a stand overlooking a small clearing on the property of Larry "Doc" Dearking. Doc had seen a nice buck hanging in this area just prior to our hunt, and like all good guides, he paid attention to the time and place of the sightings to help unravel the deer's patterns. When Tad and I set up the first day, we were in high hopes that one of us would see this fine Cornhusker buck.

The whitetail showed up in the evening, and unlike many late-season bucks, he didn't skulk into view. Instead, he bombed into a small clearing full of does and young bucks, scattering them like quail. Though the primary rut was long past, this buck was still kicking butt and taking names. He wanted every young buck in that river bottom to know he was boss. And should any does be ready for his services, he was up for the task. Tad saw the buck well before dusk and smiled at the aggressive behavior of the whitetail. It seems the only time some mature bucks are vulnerable is when they're acting macho.

The buck's aggressive behavior was no accident, of course. Though the primary rut was over a month ago, a secondary rut had kicked in, and the chocolate-racked buck was obviously buzzed on its effects. As many hunters know, any does left unbred during the peak rut will enter an estrous cycle 28 days later. In addition, some early born doe fawns may also enter the first estrous cycle of their lives in the weeks following peak rut. This additional shot of hot does gives bucks a second chance at breeding, creating what many hunters have called a "secondary" rut or "pickup" breeding.

Though whitetail hunters adore rut activity, secondary breeding will never rival the main rut for showiness, intensity or excitement. For starters, only a small percentage of the doe herd will be cycling again. Also, bucks are tired from near-constant travel and activity during the weeks before and after the main rut--meaning they won't be laying down sign, cruising night and day and coming on a rope to every call and sound they hear. As a final kicker, most firearms seasons have just ended, meaning that December (and January) deer are even more paranoid about the human presence in their world.

This list of negatives has led many hunters to conclude that the secondary rut is so minuscule that it's not worth pursuing. I strongly disagree.