Hunting the rut can help to keep bucks constantly on the move, increasing a hunter’s chance of snagging their trophy. Despite the intrusion of hunters during the whitetail deer breeding season, the rut doesn’t seem to have a negative effect on the population of deer either.
What Affects the Rut in Texas?
The conditions of their habitat have the most effect on the breeding season—poor conditions can lead to malnutrition or injury and can affect the timing of breeding.
If a doe is hurt or hungry, it could also delay breeding until later in the season.
Now it’s time to put your knowledge to the test and take on the rut in Texas.
Here are a few quick tips for hunting the rut:
- Follow the does but hunt the bucks
- Bucks are more responsive during the rut, so increase your calling
- Look for clues like dirt scrapes and twisted overhanging limbs
- Use mock-scrape and estrous-doe scents to attract curious bucks
- If at first you don’t succeed, hunt the “second rut”
Early & Late Ruts
Often hunters talk about seeing an early or late rut, but usually that is based on misconceptions. For example, if a doe is in heat and does not come across a buck in that same time-period, she will try again in one of her later cycles. When a hunter sees this, it could be misconstrued for a late rut, just as random breeding activity spotted early in the season could make it seem like the entire rut is early. And in Texas, the whitetail deer breeding season is fairly easy to predict throughout each region.
The Hunter vs. the Rut
Every hunter perceives the rut differently, usually being swayed by the cooler weather. Just like hunters, whitetail bucks will increase their movement in cooler temperatures. This increases their chances of finding a doe, it’s true, and from a distance, could look like the rut. However, deer breed in tropical climates as well, so the theory that cold weather triggers the rut is, just like that, debunked!
Interested in hunting during the whitetail deer rut this year?
Plan your visit to Schmidt Double T Ranches! Give us a call at 325-347-2613 today to learn more about our whitetail deer hunts.