Southern Indiana Whitetail: The Rut is Coming

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The Rut is Coming

The debate for the last several decades over the timing of the rut has basically been, does it peak because of the moon phase, time of year, or the weather. My simple response is all three play a part.

However, I give quite a bit of credence to the moon phase. It goes without question that the moon phase affects the movement of many different types of wildlife. I believe this to be especially true for whitetails. Some hunters give special attention to the "rut" moon (the second full moon after September 21). I believe in that to an extent, but I also believe that deer move much more during any full moon than during the other phases of the moon.

This year the "rut" moon falls on November 22nd which is very late. (Last year it was November 3rd.) Thus my hypothesis is that the first full moon after September 21st will provide some fantastic rut hunting. That full moon falls on October 25th. I do not expect that does will be ready to breed yet. But the pre-rut stage for bucks should be heating up big time. Such a scenario may be better than the actual "rut" moon as bucks will be especially desperate to find a ready doe. Get your Tink69 or whatever other doe-in-heat attractant you use out for the 24th-26th cause the bucks should be on their feet and looking. This may also be a prime time to rattle (which I have had little to no success with), and don't forget the grunt call. It's almost rut time!

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Properties

My only property in the Cincinnati area right now is a 50 acre tract on the Great Miami River that I call "The Sanctuary". 50 acres does not sound like much, but the setting of this property is what makes it great. Sitting adjacent to a park, it is protected from hunting pressure and receives deer traffic from the vast amoun of wildlife habitat in the park. The 50 acres is about 1/3 native grass field and 2/3 wooded area and thick burr patch. My first year hunting this property was 2008. Though I filled my tag on Thanksgiving morning on a different property, I saw a good amount of mature buck activity on this property that fall. Having worked hard all summer to get ready for the 2009 season, I was able to arrow a mature buck on Halloween.

The Dream 80 is an 80 acre tract in southern Orange county that is surrounded mostly by Hoosier National Forestry. We started our lease at the beginning of December, 2010. Dad had lusted after this property for many years, so it is now called The Dream 80 and referred to as TD-80. At this point (12/12/2010) we are just beginning to make plans for TD-80. We are beginning to map out sanctuaries and food plots that we will break ground on early in the spring (map seen here http://siwhitetail.blogspot.com/2010/12/preliminary-plans-for-td-80.html). The innitial goal for this property is to make it home to two mature bucks a year. That seems like a realistic goal that will push us to want more out of the property. If this property produces one mature buck (four of us will hunt it with bow only) per year, I will consider it a major success.