Water sources greatly influence the movements and bedding habits of pre-rut bucks. Keep that in mind as you scout for places to hang a stand. (Photo courtesy of © Thomas Torget/Dreamstime)
October 02, 2024
By Nate Skinner
It was quite crisp for an October morning in the South. I could see my breath in the dark, and the temperature had dropped just enough to produce the slightest bit of moisture on the ground. The dew point was fairly low for the season and the air temperature was close to it. As I stealthily made my way toward my stand, I had the feeling that things were lining up for a magical experience at dawn.
After managing to slip into the stand undetected, I got my gear and pack situated, loaded a round into my rifle’s chamber and set it to the side in a safe position before settling in to wait for the darkness to turn into gray light.
As legal shooting time approached, I began to hear the unmistakable sound of antlers knocking together. It didn’t sound like the full-on fight one would expect to hear once the rut kicked off in the upcoming weeks. It was more like the tickling of tines, as two bachelor bucks tested out their newly-hardened head gear in a playful sparring session. The group I was hoping to encounter was near.
A moment later, I could finally see the silhouettes of several deer to my right. By then, dawn was approaching and I quickly recognized a couple of the younger bucks milling around at about 120 yards. According to my trail camera intel, they had been frequenting a plot with the deer I was really after, so I sat on the edge of my seat, anxiously hoping it would soon show.
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Just as the sun peeked over the horizon, my long-awaited target stepped into the clearing. My instincts then took over and I immediately found myself looking at the big buck through the scope of my rifle with the safety clicked off. This was my chance to bag a trophy before it disappeared in the midst of the rut.
PRE-RUT MISCONCEPTIONS The big buzz among deer hunters mainly centers on the rut. In the more northerly Southern states, the rut usually begins sometime in November or early December, while it occurs as late as January and even early February in parts of the Deep South, providing plenty of opportunity for hunters to put in time in the woods during the pre-rut period.
Bucks will work rubs again and again during the pre-rut. A trail cam placed nearby will reveal the quality of the deer responsible. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock) Undoubtedly, the rut is an exciting period, as you just never know what might happen and who might show up. But the pre-rut can also be both thrilling and productive, yet many hunters tend to overlook and underutilize this early-season time.
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Frankly, the pre-rut gets a bad rap. The common thought is that deer movement then is not as great as it is during the rut. Folks consider October unworthy of much effort mostly due to the remaining mild to warm conditions and the abundance of food sources available to deer.
EARLY-SEASON BENEFITS
Bucks are definitely going to put more miles under their hooves during the rut, but their movements during the pre-rut period are often much easier to predict. Deer hunters willing to put in the time can take advantage of that predictability by devising a game plan with a high probability of success. In fact, there’s no better time to hunt mature bucks that have not yet been heavily pressured.
According to Blaise Korzekwa, the Texas Parks and Wildlife White-tailed Deer Program leader, a whitetail buck is biologically ready to breed from the moment it strips its velvet and the antlers harden. But the rut actually gets going when the majority of does in a given region come into estrus. Therefore, the bucks’ focus won’t shift until the estrus period for the does in the area draws near, and neither will their patterns.
“A buck’s home range will essentially increase with each passing day of the season,” Korzekwa says. “So the sooner hunters are able to get out into the woods, the better their chances of finding the deer adhering to an early-season [predictable] pattern.”
Speaking of a buck’s core home range, the area it encompasses during the pre-rut period can be fairly limited if the key requirements of water, food and shelter are all available nearby.
Prior to the rut, many whitetail bucks utilize the same bedding, feeding and watering areas, making them somewhat easier to pattern than during the rut. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock) Korzekwa adds that the pre-rut period can be a special time for hunters dedicated to their scouting because most bucks will form bachelor groups and typically frequent the same areas to feed, drink water and bed.
That lets hunters concentrate on small swaths of terrain with the aforementioned essentials and stumble upon real gems, often with less effort and trial-and-error than during the rut.
PRE-RUT PATTERNING During the pre-rut, deer habits remain largely based on comfort and convenience. Hydrating and feeding—on mast, early-fall food plots, natural browse and other sources of nourishment—often dictate their choices of bedding location and travel lanes.
Trail cameras are tremendously helpful tools for scouting and patterning. Placing some overlooking food and water sources, as well as heavily-used travel corridors and game trails, can supply invaluable intel about the movements and habits of bucks on the tract you are hunting. When strategically placed, just a few cams can enable you to distinguish a particular buck and identify the pre-rut patterns that afford you the opportunity to target it with confidence.
Whitetail bucks will work and rework scrapes well before the rut begins. Placing trail cameras over scrapes will reveal what caliber of bucks are frequenting an area and help you decide whether to design a plan to hunt one in particular or try elsewhere.
Early-season bucks are likely to spar with each other, though not with the intensity exhibited during the rut. And with more bucks beginning to test out their head gear with each passing day, a set of rattling antlers can come in handy during pre-rut outings. Hunters, nevertheless, should be mindful of the early-season behavior of the bucks they are chasing and opt for lighter and less intense rattling sequences.
CRITICAL DO’S AND DON’TS As you make plans to slip into a stand to hopefully take down a specific buck you’ve patterned during the pre-rut period, pinpoint the least intrusive path possible to minimize chances of being detected before the hunt even begins. That means staying well clear of food and water sources, bedding areas and well-traveled game trails.
While not as heated as later in the season, skirmishes between bucks are common during the pre-rut as they test their new headgear. Go light on rattling sequences. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock) If there’s no regular truck or ATV traffic near the area that you are hunting, it’s best to walk to your stand from a considerable distance (a mile or more) rather than drive close to it or get dropped off by a buddy.
Since the goal is to get into the stand undetected and not disrupt the pattern of the deer you are pursuing, take the wind direction into account (best to keep the wind in your face) during your approach and avoid walking on gravel, dry leaves and twigs as much as possible.
When choosing your hunting gear and attire, remember that it’s common to encounter warm conditions during pre-rut hunts in the South, so minimize your carrying load howrever possible. Select lightweight clothing and simply add a layer or two to keep you comfortable during the cooler hours.
Don’t wait until the rut begins to hit the woods. Get out there now, when deer are easier to pattern and the hunting pressure hasn’t yet ramped up. Remember that as the rut nears and then peaks, the movements and habits of that special buck you’ve been dreaming about will become increasingly less predictable. Your target trophy may break off inches from his antlers in a fight, or he could simply vanish.
While the rut can’t start until does come into estrus, a buck is ready to breed once he sheds his velvet and will continuously expand his range until does are ready. (Shuttetstock image) If you thoroughly scout the area you plan to hunt, rely on your woodsmanship and hunting savvy and get at least a smirk from Lady Luck, your efforts this pre-rut period could be handsomely rewarded with the buck of a lifetime.
PRE-RUT GEAR MUSTS A successful hunt is never guaranteed, but these items can help. Scouting electronically vastly increases one’s bank of deer intel prior to the hunt. Once in the stand, calling can draw bucks within range and increase chances of success. Meanwhile, attire designed for early-season forays will help keep you comfy and focused during extended periods in balmy conditions. Don’t overlook the following options when targeting pre-rut whitetails.
CELLULAR CAMS Photo courtesy of Spypoint For decades, trail cameras have enabled hunters to surveil deer movements and identify and pattern mature bucks to target. With cellular trail cams, our bag of tricks and our chances to claim a trophy grow exponentially.
Spypoint, a leader in cellular trail cams, recently introduced the FLEX-M , the latest addition to its innovative FLEX series. The camera offers 28 MP resolution, 720p video with sound and a detection range of 90 feet. The top features include Dual SIM technology for cross-carrier coverage on major cellular networks, mobile activation, on-camera buttons for simple formatting of the required microSD card and four capture modes (Multi-Shot, Continuous, Time-Lapse, Time-Lapse+). The FLEX-M also boasts a responsive trigger with a speed of 0.4 second that automatically optimizes settings for each photo. (For a full review of the FLEX-M, as well as the FLEX-PLUS cell cam, see our Field Test on page 84.)
Meanwhile, the Spypoint app offers easy camera activation, customizable maps, weather information and Buck Tracker technology that employs AI image recognition to scan images with species filters. The app also affords remote firmware updates and settings management. ($79.99 spypoint.com)
LIGHTWEIGHT CLOTHING (Photo courtesy of KUIU ) Hunters often have to deal with warm weather during the pre-rut. Remaining comfortable on the stand starts with the appropriate clothing and outerwear that conceal you while also keeping you cool. Kuiu ’s Peloton and Tiburon lines include some superb lightweight, performance options (kuiu.com). Other top brands like Scentlock (scentlock.com), Blocker Outdoors (blockeroutdoors.com) and King’s (kingscamo.com) also have what you need for early-season hunts.
DEER CALLS (Photo courtesy of ESH Custom Calls) Bucks tend to respond to sounds even during the pre-rut portion of the season, and a grunt tube paired with a rattling device can help create some great shot opportunities. ESH Custom Calls offers a Rattle Bag & Grunt Call Combo ($70.04; eshcustomcalls.com), while Hunters Specialties has the True Talker OG Combo with Rattle Bag ($27.99 hunterspec.com). Also look to Illusion Systems (illusionsystems.com), Primos (primos.com), Outdoor Hunting Lab (outdoorhuntinglab.com), Knight & Hale (knightandhale.com) and others for your deer calling needs.
This article was featured in the October 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .
