Bill Marchel: Whitetail rut is waning, but not opportunities

BRAINERD -- Muzzleloader hunters and late-season archers seeking whitetails have their work cut out for them. By now deer have become extremely wary after eluding hunters for the past few months.

The main breeding season for whitetails has passed. Most does were bred during the mid-November peak of the rut, but not all of them. A few unbred does will come into estrus in the following weeks. However, rutting activity will be spotty and difficult to pinpoint. By hunting near doe concentrations, a late-season hunter hoping for a big buck can occasionally find a "hot" area where a local doe has come into heat.

That's just what I did last week while photographing whitetails. When attempting to capture images of whitetails I often employ the same tactics used by hunters.

I spent one cold but sunny morning slowly meandering with a tripod mounted camera over my shoulder along an oak studded ridge where I knew a bumper crop of acorns would attract hungry does. My plan was to stop occasionally and use rattling antlers in an attempt to attract a buck still looking for estrus does.

On my first attempt at banging the antlers together I lured in a young buck that sported six-point antlers. I took a number of photographs of the buck as he passed my location. Soon I realized by his demeanor that he had procreation on his mind. With his nose to the slight south breeze, he ambled away with the high-legged trot displayed by bucks as they track a doe.

I watched the buck top a ridge and then stalked in that direction.

When I peeked over the ridge, in the distance I saw a huge-bodied buck chasing the youngster. As I spun the focus ring on my telephoto lens, I noted the buck also sported a huge set of antlers, the kind worthy of the cover of a hunting magazine.

The buck was busy guarding a doe. The air was nearly calm and the leaves dry and crunchy, but the rigors of the rut kept the buck preoccupied. That allowed me to slip closer. When the buck moved, I moved. The doe was busy feeding, sometimes on goldenrod leaves, sometimes on acorns.

When I had approached to within camera range I began shooting pictures. It was exciting to have a ringside seat to such an interesting display of whitetail biology.

Eventually the little buck tired of being chased and left. A third buck however then appeared from downwind of the doe. This buck was large and carried antlers with 10 points, but he wanted nothing to do with the doe's original suitor. He left in hurry when the initial buck rushed toward him.

As if to show his dominance, the No. 1 buck walked over to a tiny sapling and proceeded to rub his immense antlers on the tender bark. The sapling, only the diameter of my thumb, swayed back and forth. He stopped often to sniff his work. It seemed odd such a huge animal would take time to rub such a tiny tree, but I've seen that behavior before. He also freshened a scrape and spent some time rubbing his face in a branch overhanging the scrape.

Eventually, the doe fed at a point downwind of me. When she got my scent she bolted for the next ridge top, the monster buck in tow.

While hunting deer during the next few weeks, if you are fortunate enough to locate a "hot" doe, hunt the spot immediately. A doe is in estrus for only a day or so. With just a few does in breeding condition every buck in the area will "home in" on the scent left by the doe.

Hunters should not count on rutting activity in late November, instead be prepared to take advantage of it should the opportunity arise.

Bill Marchel, an outdoors photographer and columnist, lives near Brainerd.