Rut Research

Research is only valuable to a hunter if he's able to translate the findings into hunting methods that will help him shoot more or bigger bucks. In this article, I have taken some of the most significant research on the rut and demystified it so you can put it to good use this fall.

The First Hot Doe

The Research: According to biologists R. Larry Marchinton and Karl Miller from the University of Georgia, mature bucks don't have exclusive breeding rights, only first choice. As a doe starts to come into estrus, bucks of all ages chase her for roughly a day, during which time she spreads her scent over a large enough area to attract the attention of the most dominant buck. Further, according to trail camera data collected during the past three years by Mark Drury on his 2,000 acre farm, mature bucks don't become active until two to three days before the does start to come into estrus.

Applying It: All the intensity and all the preparation for the rut culminates with the first hot doe. She's the first and only show in town and even the mature bucks can't resist acting the fool in trying to find her.

I'll hunt nearly every day of the season from late October through early January. Being out there every day for several years gives me a frame of reference, and I have seen a definite trend develop: The biggest bucks are most vulnerable just before the first doe comes into estrus. Here are some examples of this behavior.

I shot one of my biggest bucks on November 7, 1995. Three days before that, I saw him cruising the area alone. On the morning of the seventh, he came through at first light trailing a doe and defending her from another buck. It was obvious the doe was just coming into estrus.

I shot another buck from the same stand November 4, 1998. He was an old, bull-stud of a buck. Again, at first light he was chasing a doe around the small five-acre clover field that borders the narrow draw in which the stand hangs. When he stopped for a nap, the doe snuck off, and when he woke back up he literally tore the place apart looking for her. He went past seven times before he was in bow range.

My friends and I had an amazing first week of November in 2002. We shot four bucks between November 2 and November 5 with an average gross score over 170 inches. Each one of the bucks was glued to the tail of a doe. But the action cooled down to a literal standstill on November 6, when it was obvious that most of the does were in estrus.