A Magical Time in the Woods
If you are a fanatical whitetail hunter, it is that time of year. The rut is kicking in and if you are a bowhunter, you had better be in the woods any chance that you get. Last Saturday, I had a shooter chasing a hot doe all over the woods. She just happened to take him over the ridge and out of bow range. I tried grunting and bleating him in, but he would not leave her. Later in the morning, I had a small buck cruising the woods looking for does.
Sunday was one of those magical mornings. It did not produce any big buck sightings, but the whitetail rut played out around my stand for 3 hours. I saw a total of 7 does and 4 small bucks. All the bucks were grunting and chasing does everywhere. The does did their best to escape and hide, but the little bucks would find them and chase them hard. I had multiple shot opportunities on these deer, but I just sat back and enjoyed the show. I was hoping my shooter would show back up, but I had a feeling he was already locked up with that hot doe he was trailing on Saturday.
Days like these get your blood pumping. I am anxious to get back after that big boy. Success in the woods should never be measured by the kill. I left the woods both days satisfied with the time I spent outdoors. I may or may not kill that big buck this year. It will not be for lack of trying. However, I will enjoy and savor every minute I get to spend in the woods getting after him. It is a time for me to slow down and enjoy one of my passions. Get out, hunt hard, but more than anything, enjoy it.
It is not always bad being in a Rut
I have not been sleeping much here lately. I get these uncontrollable urges to roam around at all hours of the day and night. My wife, kids, and neighbors are really getting nervous. I don’t understand why I am freaking them out so much. I think I am acting perfectly normal. I mean, what is wrong with-
*marking my property with surveyor’s tape every 3 feet. (I tried rubbing some trees in my yard and lost most of my hair. I still have scabs all over the top of my head. Surveying tape is cheaper than ER visits.)
*urinating in the travel corridors of my neighbor’s house and mine. (OK, bad idea. The police did not like that much either.)
*running up and down the aisles of the local Wal-Mart and Kroger, sniffing the air each time a woman walks by. (I’m sure the Alpha Doe at home will not like reading this one.)
*snort-wheezing at my neighbor for talking to my wife. (He had better stay in his own yard, if he knows what is best for him.)
Besides the swelling in my neck, I think I am as normal as any other territorial, testosterone-laced, mature buck. There is just something about late October-Early November that does this to me each year. I think that everyone else…. HEY! YOU BETTER GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF MY YARD RIGHT NOW! GET AWAY FROM MY WIFE! YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH ME LITTLE BOY?
The Whitetail Rut is finally upon us. For everyone who is a fanatic about hunting whitetail deer, you will relate to this blog very well. For everyone else, I’m really not crazy. If I was really acting this way, I am sure they would write about me in a Psychiatric Journal somewhere. Good luck and safe hunting this year. We hope to have a link for you to post pictures of your successful hunts this year. Stay tuned for more updates on this. Check out our website and our line of Turkey Calls and Strikers.
