Forget the Bucks

You have spent the summer patterning a buck and now he is gone. Has the rut started? If it has you can pretty much forget about the pattern the buck developed during the summer and early fall. He has one thing on his mind and it's not his normal routine.

If you want to harvest a buck during the rut forget about him and look for the does. Find out what the does are doing, where they are doing it and when they are doing it. If you can pattern a doe during the rut you will also find the bucks.

Also remember that does get harassed a lot by bucks of all ages, waiting for her to go into estrus. To excape this harrassment many does will seek out the thickest cover they can find. The dominant bucks know this and if you find a doe holed up in thick cover you can bet that a visitor will appear at some point in time.