The year was 1989, and I was in my fifth year as a deer hunter -- barely past the novice stage and nowhere near knowledgeable about whitetail behavior. The rut was on, but I had to work half a day and wasn't able to enter the woods until past noon. No sooner had I sat down than a nice 7-pointer (that is, nice for someone of my very limited skills) came charging up to my stand site from behind.

TIM BLACK

The animal was in such a rush that by the time I turned and fired my .30/06, he was only 10 yards away. Later when I field dressed the buck, I noticed that he was wet and that he obviously had been running after does.

On that occasion, I didn't ponder at all about the time I killed my early afternoon whitetail, but as the years went by, I began to recognize certain patterns. From the time I began deer hunting, I have always recorded the date, time, distance and the location (habitat) of where I have shot every deer I have ever killed -- regardless of whether the whitetail was taken with a bow, muzzleloader, rifle or shotgun.

Moreover, one of the patterns that data has revealed is that the mid-day period is an excellent time to hunt not only during the rut but also throughout the various deer seasons. Craig Fields, a veteran hunter and good friend of mine, was the first person I heard coin the phrase "noontime stroll," but this mid-day walkabout by whitetails can take place as early as 10:30 and as late as 12:30, based on Craig's and my experience.

"The term is actually 'noon stroll' and it was passed down to me by my father, Lee Fields," Craig told me. "I confess I didn't believe him until I started tagging deer regularly during that time period. As the old man used to say: 'You warmed up? It's about time to head out for the noon stroll.' Meaning of course, the deer are strolling, not the hunters strolling.

"The noon stroll does not translate into a general wildlife movement period. In particular, grey squirrel activity doesn't noticeably increase. Really, all it happens to be is recognition of the fact that deer normally do not stay in their beds the entire time between the morning and evening movement periods. They stretch their legs after a few hours with a stroll."

In any event, I now infrequently leave a morning stand (unless work or family beckons) until 1 p.m. to make sure that I don't miss this mid-day deer movement. Let's take a look at why deer move then and how we can take advantage of this knowledge, especially during the rut.

HUNTER MOVEMENT
A non-biological reason exists concerning why deer move so frequently at mid-day: because hunters do. According to a recent Southeast Deer Study Group report, only 58 percent of hunters remain on stand into the early afternoon; the rest of them wander about still-hunting or head home to camp or a restaurant for a late breakfast or early lunch.

Dave Steffen, a research biologist supervisor for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF), states that savvy hunters should be aware of this human movement and that this knowledge can pay dividends at any time but especially during the rut. He adds that some individuals are so regular in their departure from the woods that they can be patterned by other hunters and predictably will cause deer movement.