Behind The Scenes: The Toll Of The Whitetail Rut

All deer suffer during the rut. Bucks lose a significant portion of their body weight as they participate in breeding activities on an empty stomach. Does strive to feed and avoid continual harassment from bucks as well as hunters until they are ready to be bred.

There’s no question that November is prime time to sit perched in a treestand waiting for a buck to cruise by. As hunters, we wait the entire year for the pre-rut and rut to increase our odds of getting a shot or two. With this focus, we sometimes forget what’s going on behind the scenes for the bucks and to a lesser extent the does, as they engage in the age-old rut in order to ensure that next spring features plenty of freshly-minted fawns.

The rut is so hard on bucks that many of them don’t make it out alive. Obvious mortality from increased daylight movement can be attributed to hunting. But, increased movement means more roads are crossed and more natural predators are encountered. In addition, peaking testosterone levels reduce individual levels of tolerance leading to fighting that is much more serious than the sparring that occurred in October. Bucks often lose eyes and suffer other injuries from fighting. All of these added perils only pale in comparison to the fact that bucks eat very little during this time of the year. 

The soybeans, corn, acorns, supplemental feeding and natural browse that they have gorged on for months leading up to November has been turned into fat reserves that they readily burn while searching for estrus does. Essentially, they fight, chase, and occasionally breed for the duration of an entire month on an empty stomach! 

This is why bucks look wore out as November comes to a close and winter starts to truly set in throughout much of the country. Hunters should remember that once hunting season is over, many states allow feeding of deer. Fall food plots will also help stimulate recovery after the rut. All of this is important because good nutrition will help boost winter survival rates. The rut-weary bucks and does that have survived will certainly appreciate it. 

Stand Time 

A lot of experts espouse the benefits of all-day stand sits during this time of year, but the reality is most people aren’t cut out for it. The weather is often cold, stands are largely uncomfortable, and patience needs to be at an all time high to pull this off. So, most hunters simply won’t do it. But, any time spent on stand this month is time well spent, so it’s important to try to sit as late as possible in the morning and to hit the woods as early as possible in the evening. Read a book, play games on your cell phone, do something to occupy your mind while waiting for the telltale footfalls of an approaching buck to break the silence.

If it’s too hard to sit all day long, try staying as long as possible during morning hunts. In the evening, head out as early as possible to maximize time spent on stand. The result will be more quality encounters that should lead to more shot opportunities.