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By Zack Azar

Hunting the rut is what all of us who pursue the whitetail look forward to. You would think that it would be easy to explain what makes this part of the deer season so special. “Action” might be the best word. 

The whitetail rut is a wild spectacle, or at least it has the potential to be. This month, when giant bucks should be thinking of breeding first and survival second, you can sit in a killer stand all day and see nothing. And then, the next day, the biggest buck you’ve ever seen steps into an opening 20 yards away. That’s how the rut goes, and that’s what makes it so exciting.

Biologists refer to the rut as that period when actual breeding takes place. Based on this, the “rut” is not the best time to hunt bucks, especially mature bucks because during this time, the doe controls everything. 

Now, if you happen to be lucky enough to have a doe in heat near your stand, you’ll probably get plenty of action. Because of this, the “chase phase” is the time to concentrate your efforts on taking a big buck. The chase phase is consistently the 2–3-week period prior to the peak of the breeding. In the central part of Alabama, the chase phase is the first 15 to 20 days of January. One of the beauties of the chase phase is that bucks stay active most of the day. They bed very little, so you want to try and hunt as many hours as possible during this time. If you have a week of vacation to dedicate to deer, this would be the time to take it.

A popular and effective strategy for early season buck hunting is to set up near food sources. When the chase phase kicks in, bachelor buck groups break up and bucks change their feeding habit. In some cases, they’ll nearly quit eating as their system becomes overwhelmed with the urge to breed. 

I still hunt food sources, but now I’m hunting over food sources, looking for does. If I can find does, the bucks won’t be far behind. This is crucial to chase phase success. You have to be hunting where the does are. 

During this period, I’m laying down a scent trail every time I go to my stand. This is done by putting scent on a drag rag when I’m within 100 yards of my stand. I make a trail where I want the deer to walk, and I continue walking until I’m about 75 yards past my stand. Then, I’ll hang the drag on a branch or bush about 4 feet off of the ground and retrace my tracks back to the stand. Over the years, I have had quite a few bucks follow this scent trail right to my stand.

If you are going to use a decoy, there are a few things that you need to remember. To kill any human odor, thoroughly spray the decoy with a good scent eliminator after setting it up. Just bear in mind that decoys are no guarantee for success. Every buck has a different personality, and all will react differently to a decoy. A few may even become alarmed when they encounter a decoy. Finally, using decoys can be dangerous during gun season, so wear blaze orange and use common sense. 

Grunting can be equally as effective on rutting whitetails. If I see a buck walking, I’ll try to stop him with a low grunt. If he doesn’t stop, I’ll grunt louder. If he stops, I’ll grunt one more time so that he can pinpoint the sound and, hopefully, start walking to me. As soon as he heads my way, I’ll shut up and let him try to find me. An estrus bleat can also be very effective. I like using a bleat “can”, and I bleat three times, every 20 minutes or so. I have had bucks run in and I’ve had them sneak in, so be alert at all times.

Just remember to be safe in the woods, wear a safety harness if you’ll be in a tree stand and be sure of your target. And as always, take a young person hunting, if you get the chance. I wish all of you a healthy, prosperous and blessed New Year.

Zack Azar is a retired businessman and columnist who spent many years volunteering in a high school press box. He wrote monthly columns for the Alabama Gazette for seven years and has four grandchildren involved in sports at Lowndes Academy.