I first heard about the buck two years earlier, and even though I had been researching deer in the area for two years, that was the first time I had seen him. The neighboring farmer had seen him on the opening day of the gun season during the first year of my research project. The buck ran out of the woods as a bunch of hunters went to their stands across the road from the farmer's house. The buck went through the farmer's pasture, and into the woods on the far side. The buck was not seen again that year, but he was seen again on the opening day of the gun season the following year. As the same group of hunters went to their stands the buck came out of the woods and trotted east across another farmers hayfield before entering a wooded ravine.
While I was doing scrape research in that same ravine, I’d seen rubs on four large cedars. I’d also noticed some very large tracks in the scrapes I was watching. The size of the rubs, and the large tracks, led me to believe there was a big buck in the area, probably the big 10 pointer. I never really tried to find the buck however, because I was primarily interested in my research project. But, now that I had seen the buck, I was determined to try to figure out where he bedded, where he fed, which does he visited during the rut, and which travel routes he used.

Rutting Buck Behavior
No matter which phase of the rut you hunt, or what type of weapon you hunt with, the key to seeing bucks on a regular basis is to know where they bed, where they feed, which doe home ranges they visit, and how they get there. Throughout the fall bucks move primarily in secure areas of heavy cover during the day, and in less secure open areas at night. However, this movement pattern changes as the breeding phase approaches. As the first does come into estrus the bucks start leaving their bedding areas before sunset to travel to individual doe home ranges, and they may not return to their bedding areas until after sunrise. Then, as more does come into estrous, and the breeding urge overcomes the bucks, they begin leaving their bedding areas earlier in the afternoon and returning later in the mooring as they travel through several doe home ranges in search of estrous does. In areas where numerous does are in estrus at the same time, the bucks may continue to move all day and all night.
When bucks find estrous does they usually stay with them for up to three days, and they may not return to their bedding areas during that time. But, because the bucks are stilll security conscious they usually move through travel corridors where they don’t normally come in contact with sights, scents or sounds that alarm them during daylight hours. These daylight travel corridors include woods, brushy areas, swamps or open areas in secluded locations. When the bucks move in areas where they may be seen they prefer to move in protected bottlenecks such as wooded or brushy fingers, gullies, ravines, river or stream beds, fence rows etc. These are the areas you need to locate in order to hunt bucks during the rut.

Scouting
I start looking for bucks in September by driving around to favored deer food sources; freshly dropped acorns, soybean fields, and especially hay fields with alfalfa or red clover. Once I see bucks in a particular area I watch it for a day or two to determine where the bucks come from as they enter the field, and where they go when they leave. Then I back track the bucks to locate their bedding areas. This tells me where the bucks spend the majority of the day during the pre-rut. Then I follow the trail to see where the bucks go after they leave the area. This gives me an idea of where the bucks travel as they look for does during the rut. Once I find evidence that the bucks are traveling through a particular area I look for a place to setup.

I continued to watch the same alfalfa field all summer long, and I‘d seen several does and fawns and two small bucks feeding in the field. But, I hadn’t seen the 10 pointer, and I was beginning to wonder if he made it through the winter. Then I spotted him one night during the first week of September, sparring with a big 8 point buck just after sunset. Over the course of the next week I saw him three more times, in two different fields, and then I lost him.

Dispersal Phase and Fall Home Range Shift
In most areas buck groups breakup between mid-September and mid-October. This is also the time when the individual bucks move from their summer home ranges to their fall home ranges, and when they begin to establish rub routes and scrape lines. As a result of this buck dispersal and home range shift, the best way to find out where the bucks will be in November (the rut) is to look for the bucks, and their rubs and scrapes, during the last two weeks of October (7-14 days preceding the rut).

After three weeks of not seeing the buck, I gave up looking and concentrated on my scrape research. Then, in mid-October I began seeing fresh rubs and new scrapes in the ravine. Because I felt that the 10 pointer was the buck making the rubs and scrapes, I decided to sit on the top of a nearby hill where I could watch the area and see which bucks were traveling the area. I was rewarded during the last week of October when I saw the 10 pointer walking east along a path in a wooded cow pasture at 4:34 PM. Since it was early for the buck to be traveling I was fairly sure he had just come from his bedding area. To see if I was right I went to the far side of the pasture the next morning and followed the trail the buck had used. As I walked through the woods I saw several large tracks, and two recent rubs. I continued to follow the trail until it ended near the south end of a mile long cornfield that was surrounded on all four sides by woods. I knew that this was where the buck fed and looked for does at night.
To find out where the buck had come from, I followed his trail back toward the ravine where I’d seen the rubbed cedar trees. I followed the trail up a hill into a heavily wooded area, and as I cut across the top end of a brushy gully, I heard a loud crashing below me. I looked just in time to see the 10 pointer run down the ravine. When the buck was out of sight I walked to the spot where I thought it had had gotten up. Within minutes I found an old bed under a thick cedar tree, and a fresh bed under another cedar. I had found the buck’s bedding area, and although I had spooked the buck, I knew that as long as I stayed out he area for the next week the bucks would probably return. After a couple more weeks of scouting and watching the area I knew where the doe core areas and feeding sites were, and where the buck bedded. I also knew where the travel corridors and rub routes of the buck were. As a bonus, I’d also seen the big 8 point buck walking a rub route that led to the soybean field. Now all I had to do was decide which buck I wanted to go after, and where to setup.

Home Ranges, Core Areas and Bedding Sites
Research has shown that the home range of a whitetail is often elongated, and from two to five times longer than it is wide. One end of the home range usually consists of a wooded or otherwise secure area (referred to as the core area) where the deer spends much of the day. The other end of the home range is usually a more open area used as a nighttime food source. Within the core area the deer may have one or more preferred bedding sites they use during the day. These daytime bedding sites are often in cover on the downwind side of a hill, where the deer lay with their backs to the wind, so that they can see and hear downwind/below/in front of them, and smell and hear upwind/behind them.

High Use Areas
During the breeding phase (peak rut) most whitetail buck activity centers around three main areas; buck core areas, doe core areas, and doe feeding sites. And these are the areas where I want to setup during the rut. But, since these areas may have deer in them while I’m going to my stand, I don’t want to get too close to them. Depending on what time of the day it is I setup along the travel routes between where I think the buck will be coming from, and where I expect the bucks to be going to. When I hunt in the afternoon/evening I get between the buck core areas and the doe core areas and feeding sites. If I don’t know where the buck core areas are I look for afternoon setup sites along buck travel corridors or rub routes leading to doe core areas, staging areas or food sites.
When I hunt in the morning I avoid walking across open feeding sites, especially in the dark. If I’ve chosen the right area to hunt there should be deer in the area as I go to my stand. Walking across open feeding areas in the dark is a sure way of alerting every deer in the area that there is hunter present. No matter when I am hunting I like to get to my stand at least an hour and a half before I plan to hunt. Getting to my stand early gives the area a chance to settle down before I plan to hunt.

Stand Location
When I choose a hunting site I take into account the amount of sign I see. The more rubs and scrapes there are in a particular area, the more likely it is that one or more bucks spends a significant amount of time in that area. However, I want to be sure that the area is being used at the time that I am hunting. The best way to determine that is to regularly check the area for fresh or recent sign. When I find recently made scrapes and rubs, from a week to a day before the breeding phase, I’m fairly sure the bucks will still be using the area once the does come into estrous.
Before I hang a stand or put out a blind I take into account the surrounding cover. Knowing that bucks usually scent check an area before they go into it, I like to setup downwind of rubs and scrapes, and especially doe core areas and bedding sites. Next I look for the cover the bucks may use as they come in, then I choose a setup site crosswind or downwind of the cover. I like to give the bucks the cover they want, while I wait in the area they won't use, and where I won't be detected. If you have to setup upwind of the buck's approach take extreme precautions to avoid detection. Be sure you are scent free, and don't put your stand in a direct line with the buck's travel route, you may be seen. Choose a stand site a comfortable distance from the trail; far enough away to avoid detection, but close enough for a shot.

Although I knew where the buck bedded, I couldn’t setup near his bedding area without him seeing or hearing me. There was no place to setup between the bedding area and the pasture, and I couldn’t hunt in the pasture. There was no sense setting up on the south side of the cornfield either, because by the time the buck got there it was after dark. I decided the best thing to do was try to intercept the buck on the north end of the cornfield as he came through on his way back to the ravine in the morning. I hung one stand in the woods near the northeast corner of the cornfield, and another one fifty yards east of the northwest corner of the field. They weren’t the best spots, because the wind usually came out of the west or northwest, but, they’d have to do. I’d just have to wait for a south or east wind before I used either stand. My chance came during the middle of the week, when the wind was blowing out of the southeast.

I walked through the woods and up the hill toward the cornfield an hour and a half before sunrise. When I got to my stand I hung two drippers south of the stand, then climbed into the tree. I waited until a half before sunrise to let things settle down, then grabbed my rattling racks and tickled the ends of the tines together. I didn’t want to start loud just in case there was a deer nearby. I rattled for about a minute, stopped, and listened. Nothing. I waited another ten minutes and slammed the racks together as hard as I could, and kept it up for about a three minutes.
Twenty minutes later I saw the buck come out of the stand of young box elders east of me and step into the picked cornfield. After a few steps the buck stopped and stood at the edge of the field, his high wide antlers clearly visible against the sky. Then he walked fifteen yards and ducked into the trees within ten yards of my stand. A minute later I heard him walking through the plum thicket behind me, and then he was gone.
As I had done several times over the past few years I said to my self, “Big fella, you’re lucky I’m not hunting. I just wanted to see how close I could get.” It may sound crazy but I never carry a weapon while I’m doing research, because if I kill a buck it ruins the research project. The nice thing about it is that I get to come back and do it all over again, and I did. I watched the buck breed a doe on the south side of the cornfield at 5:03 PM on Friday night, and I saw him again with another doe at 10:37 AM near my northwest stand the following Wednesday.

T.R.'s Tips: Breeding Phase Scent Setups
When you use scents to attract bucks remember that adult bucks generally try to stay in cover and come in downwind to check the scent and to detect danger. To lure bucks in I place several scent dispensers or drippers, spread ten to fifteen yards apart, upwind of where I expect the bucks to be traveling. Since bucks are looking for does and are trying to protect their breeding rights both territorial/dominance scents (buck urine, buck in rut and forehead scent) and sexual attraction (doe urine and doe in estrus) lures may work to attract bucks. But, don’t limit yourself to scents designed primarily to attract bucks. Interdigital, tarsal and food scents may attract does to your area, and the does may attract the bucks.

T.R.’s Tips: Mock Rubs and Scrapes
Mock rubs and scrapes are a good way to attract bucks, especially if you make them in areas used by the bucks. After you have located an area containing numerous rubs or scrapes, make a mock rub or scrape where it will be found by the bucks. To make a mock rub remove the bark from the tree with a wood rasp, then drip forehead scent or urine on the rub. To make a mock scrape choose a tree with an overhanging branch in a buck travel corridor. Then, break the tip of the overhanging branch with your gloved hands, and drip forehead or other scent on the branch. Next, use a stick to create a scrape by raking the ground to remove the vegetation and expose fresh dirt. Then place several drops of interdigital, tarsal or urine scent in the scrape. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and boots while you are doing this so you don't contaminate the area. When you are done making your mock rub or scrape drip a line of interdigital or urine scent from the trail the buck uses to the mock rub or scrape.

T.R.'s Tips: What Call For Which Deer
Using a call is a good way to bring in a buck, or to get it to stop long enough for a shot. Determining what deer sound to imitate is not a matter of which rut phase you are hunting, but which sex and age class of deer you want to attract. Does respond to fawn and distress calls primarily out of maternal instinct. Most bucks will respond to any call which may lead them to an estrus doe; a long Social Grunt (some people refer to this as an estrous bleat) or soft Low Grunt. Dominant bucks may respond to aggressive calls such as a low buck grunt, a grunt-snort, a grunt-snort-wheeze, a tending grunt, or a flehmen sniff, out of the desire to exert dominance. Subdominant bucks may respond to these same calls prior to the breeding phase, but may not respond to them during the breeding phase, because they are afraid of encountering a dominant. If you are hunting for any legal buck it may best not to use aggressive buck calls.
There are four different techniques for calling deer that can be used anytime during the rut. The fourth technique is not as effective during the Rest Phase (between the primary and late breeding phases) or the Post Rut (after breeding is done) because the bucks are exhausted, not as aggressive, and not as interested in breeding.

1. Distress Call or Fawn Bawl for does and young bucks.
2. Social or Low Grunt for any deer.
3. Social/Low/Tending Grunt for all bucks.
4. Social/Low/Tending Grunt or Grunt Snort for dominant bucks.

Rattling Research
In a comprehensive three year study by researchers from the University of Georgia and Texas A&M Kingsville, bucks responded in 65 percent of 171 rattling sessions. In 73 percent of the responses bucks came to loud, long rattling. Loud, long rattling worked best in the pre-rut; loud, short rattling worked best during the peak rut; long quiet rattling worked best in post rut, when slightly more mature (3.5+ year old) bucks responded.
The highest number of responses occurred during peak rut, when most bucks were active. Middle aged 3.5 4.5 year old bucks responded best for the entire rut. During the prerut 1.5 2.5 year old bucks responded best. Older bucks responded equally well during the pre-rut and post-rut, but, less during peak rut (probably because they were with or searching for does). Bucks responded more deliberately and slowly during post-rut. Bucks usually responded during the first of three 10 minute rattling sessions.
The best responses occurred when wind speed was lowest; responses decreased as wind speed increased. The highest response rates also occurred when cloud cover was about 75 percent; lowest rates occurred when skies were clear. Two thirds of the bucks were first spotted downwind. Morning sessions produced the highest number of responses, but older bucks responded more in the afternoon.
My own studies show that the security factors of wind speed and available amount of light have a lot to with buck movement and response to rattling, calling and scents. My studies also show that throughout the rut more dominant bucks were seen in the evening than in the morning. The results of these studies suggests that the best time to rattle for any age bucks may be in the morning, but older bucks may respond best in the evening.

T.R.’s Tips: Rattling
Prior to and during the rut bucks rub on trees, thrash brush and participate in sparring to establish dominance. Dominant bucks encountering each other, especially if an estrus doe is near, may fight for breeding rights. The sounds of any of these activities (rubbing, thrashing, sparring, fighting) may attract other bucks in the area, particularly dominants. Subdominants that have previously been beaten in a fight may immediately leave the area.
I have rattled bucks from as far away as a half mile using loud, long sequences. It took the bucks an average of twenty minutes to come in from downwind. I have also had bucks forty yards away run all the way to my stand when I rattled, and I brought the bucks back by rattling again when they started to leave. However, I found that if a buck doesn't find a deer when it responds to rattling it may not respond to rattling in the same location more than twice. Don't rattle the same buck from the same stand twice on successive days. If he comes in but you didn't get him wait three to four days before trying again. I also found that if a buck doesn’t see a deer (or a decoy) when it responds to rattling, it probably won’t come in more than three times. For that reason I suggest you use a decoy when you are rattling and after a particular buck.

T.R.’s Tips: Total Attraction
Once you have decided where to setup you can use scents, calls and rattling to attract bucks. Calls and rattling may bring in deer from as far as a half mile. Scents may bring deer in from several hundred yards, especially if you leave a scent trail to your stand. After deer have been attracted to your position they may hang up because they detect you, or they hear and smell a deer, but they don't see one. Because decoys add a visual sense of security, they can bring deer in close and position them for a shot. By using a combination of sight, scent and sound to attract deer you can convince them there is a real deer near you.

T.R.’s Tips: Decoying Deer
Although decoys are used most often by archery hunters, they can provide the final needed stimulus to bring a buck into range for a hunter using any weapon.

1. For safety use a decoy with blaze orange, hang fluorescent tape nearby, or hunt from an elevated stand.
2. Don't get human or unnatural scent on the decoy. Use gloves when carrying and positioning the decoy, then spray it with cover-up scent.
3. Place the decoy in a high use area; near trails, rubs, scrapes, bedding, staging or feeding areas with nearby cover.
4. Don't place bedded decoys directly on trails. Deer don't usually bed on trails.
5. Place decoys upwind of where you expect the deer to appear. Bucks like to approach downwind from cover if they can.
6. Place decoys within your personal shooting distance in a clear shooting lane.
7. Place a doe decoy with it's rump toward you. Bucks often approach does from the rear or side, presenting you with a shot.
8. Place a buck decoy with it's head toward you for a shot. Bucks generally approach another buck cautiously from the front.
9. Don't place the decoy in a direct line between you and where you expect the deer to come from, the deer may see you. Place the decoy off to one side of your stand to distract the deer's attention from your position.
10. To get the buck’s attention on the decoy, tape a small piece of white plastic to the tail area, so that it can blow in the wind, or use one of the new tail motion decoys.
11. To keep the bucks attention focused on the decoy place a few drops of deer urine on it, doe in estrus for doe decoys, buck in rut for buck decoys.
12. Use buck or doe scents, and calling or rattling to create the illusion of another deer in the area, and to initially attract bucks to the decoy.

When you are hunting during the breeding phase (peak rut) remember that the bucks may be traveling anywhere and anytime in search of does. Because the bucks are unpredictable during this phase you should spend as much time hunting as possible. When bucks are with estrus does they may stay with te does for up to three days, and they may not return to their normal activities until the does are out of estrous. If you quit hunting the area after two or three days, you may miss the bucks when they return to their normal behavior. When you think an area looks good, hunt it at least three days in a row, but, don’t use the same stand site every time you hunt. Use two or more stands so you can hunt according to the wind, and use different stands in the morning and evening. In order to keep from over hunting I suggest you hunt no more than three days in succession in each stand.

Open Area Scrapes
Hunters often wonder why they don't see bucks at rubs or scrapes in agricultural fields or meadows during the breeding phase. Throughout the fall bucks are security conscious; they usually travel through and frequent open areas only under the cover of darkness, between the hours of sunset and sunrise. Because of this travel pattern rubs and scrapes in open areas (used during darkness) are not good hunting sites. Although you may see a buck in these areas before the rut, once the hunting season opens most of the bucks will avoid these open areas during daylight hours. To see bucks during the day you should look for, and hunt near, rubs and scrapes in heavy cover along travel lanes and rub routes, and near doe core areas and feeding areas.

If you are interested in more white-tailed deer hunting tips, or more deer biology and behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about deer log on to the T.R.'s Tips message board. To find out when the rut starts, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart.

This article is an excerpt from the Whitetail Addict's Manual ($19.95 + $5.00 S&H), by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products catalog.

T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products are Hunting the Whitetail Rut Phases, the Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2005 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2005 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a catalog of books and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors, E-mail: TRMichels@yahoo.com, Web Site: www.TRMichels.com