Enlarge Photo

Related Articles

No Related Info

Tags

• Rut

From the timberlands of Maine to the mountains of northern Georgia to the river valleys of the West, a big opportunity is being squandered. The bucks that survived November in the Northern and Central states are about to lose their cool again, but many hunters think the second rut-a time when does that weren't impregnated in the first go-round come into estrus again-is a mild affair. Not so, says Dr. Steve Demarais, the biologist who oversees Mississippi State University's whitetail research program. There are fewer bucks running rampant, but deer are concentrated on a much smaller percentage of available land and bucks are still searching for estrous does. Here's how to pinpoint second-rut action.

Closing In on Second-Rut Action
According to Dr. Demarais, areas with far more does than bucks (read: public land) have some of the best second-rut action. This is because there are too few bucks in these areas to breed all of the does during the major estrus cycle in November. So, 28 days after the peak of the rut, does that were missed in November and the yearlings that weren't ready to come into estrus then give bucks one more chance. A similar situation occurs in big timberlands: Bucks are often unable to cover all of the real estate that separates doe groups in these areas in time to breed all of the does in November.

Mature bucks can still be had. In fact, Dr. Demarais notes that studies have found that most of the breeding during the second rut is done by bucks that are at least 2½ years old. At the end of deer season, most young bucks are either in cold storage or too worn out to continue searching for estrous does. "The older bucks are worn out too," says Demarais, "but they've learned to pace themselves a little better than the juveniles. They also know from experience that some does will come into estrus one more time."

Here's another clue to help you find the hottest second-rut action: Research by Dr. Demarais has shown that orphaned yearling does enter estrus in significantly higher percentages than non-orphaned yearlings. By concentrating on areas with high doe harvests, hunters can put themselves in places where a lot of yearling does will come into estrus. And when yearling does are pursued by amorous bucks, they are much more likely than older does to run into areas that offer little or no protective cover. Because bucks will follow estrous does wherever they go, they become more vulnerable during this period. 

These encouraging facts aside, after locating an area that probably has a good number of does that haven't been bred, you have to pinpoint the right cover within the terrain to find the most intense second-rut activity. After months of pressure, whitetails spend their days on a smaller percentage of available land than at any other time of the year; as a result, deer are actually easier to locate now than they were last month.