Phasing Your Way Through the Iowa Rut

Phasing Your Way Through the Iowa Rut

By Aaron Stonehocker

November is a magical time for Iowa bowhunters. The early season buck routines are fading into an all-out crap shoot of big buck activity, where their focus is more about interactions with the does in an area and less on surviving their travels from bedding areas to food sources. The rut is straight forward: put in your time and a big buck just might wander under your stand. However, there are things you can do through each phase of the rut (pre-rut, rut, post-rut) that can swing the odds more heavily in your favor.

Pre-Rut:
This phase of the rut is when the bachelor groups are starting to break away, and everyone is figuring out who is the biggest, baddest, buck in the woods. You will start to notice smaller groups of bucks hanging out together, trees will start having their bark forcefully removed from their lower trunks, and the smell of fresh turned dirt will be abundant on heavily trafficked deer trails. There won’t be much chasing going on unless it is a big buck chasing off a lesser opponent after some clashing of antlers.

Dates: October 20-30
Tactics:
• Pay close attention to doe bedding areas: While they may not be chasing a hot doe, as the bucks establish their territory, they will be cruising the downwind trails near doe bedding areas hoping to catch that first whiff of sweet doe estrus.

• Hunt first and last light: Bucks will start to run a 24-hour clock as they establish and work scrape and rub lines. Establishing their territories is the most important thing during this time. They will likely be working those locations early in the morning or late in the evening on the way to or from their bedding area.

• Use buck scents to supercharge natural scrapes: During the pre-rut, bucks want to know who is in their area so they can establish dominance. The smell of a new buck in an area might just be what it takes to bring the big boy out for a mid-day stroll on his scrape line.

Peak Rut:
During the peak of the rut, anything goes. You will notice all day deer movement typically involving erratic behavior by both does and bucks. Buck activity will be at an all-time high and expect several unexpected visitors as bucks cruise rapidly over long distances in search of the next hot doe.

Dates: November 3-10
Tactics:
• Hunt the travel corridors: During this time, bedding and feeding areas become less reliable places to find bucks. Bucks will be cruising along downwind trails that allow them to scent check scrape lines efficiently. They will typically be on the move all day, every day, until they find the hot doe in their area to court. Does will run the scrape lines letting the bucks know who is hot and who is not.

• Plan to hunt all day: You never know when that hot doe will move through your area but when she does, you will want to be there. Bucks will be on their feet traveling through their territories during the day. When that local doe goes into heat, you won’t want to miss a minute of the non-stop buck action as all the bucks within sniffing distance come in to try and get the jump on breeding her.

• Use estrous scents and bleat calls: Estrous scents and calls work on does as well as bucks. I have had several occasions where dominant does come in looking for the strange new doe that is smelling up her territory. A lot of times this results in bringing in her love-struck boyfriend as well who otherwise you would have never seen because he is stuck to her hip. Bucks also respond to estrous bleats and scents and often come running in with lips curled and wild eyes as they frantically try to pick up the trail.

Post-Rut:
After most of the does have been bred, things tend to slow down. That doesn’t mean they come to a stop. After the peak of the rut is over, doe activity trends towards daily routines and you will see more activity around the best food sources still available in the last few hours of daylight. Expect to see the occasional buck with his nose to the ground still checking scrape lines or nosing does around the fields. More mature bucks who have done most of the breeding will become more reclusive as they lick their battle scars and try to put on some holiday weight before heading into another cold Iowa winter.

Dates: November 15 – January 1.
Tactics:
• Hunt the food sources: The rut is as stressful on deer as it is fun for them. All that constant running around chasing women leaves little time for storing up on calories. Finding the best food source in your area is a surefire bet to find the deer as they gorge themselves on leftover greens, grain, or alfalfa plots during the last hour or so of daylight and throughout the night.

• Hunt between bedding areas and food sources: During the post-rut, travel routes become a means of efficiently getting from priority “A” (food) to priority “B” (bedding). Mature bucks will become more secretive and use less traveled routes than younger bucks and doe populations use. Plan your ambush set up over the lesser used trails between where the deer are eating and bedding. Early morning or late evening will be your best bet to catch a buck taking his time getting to and from food as he waits for the cover of darkness to expose himself in the field with the rest of the deer.

• Play the wind: Your scent can make or break you any time of year, but especially during the post rut when survival is the pinnacle of the buck’s priority list. He will be sensitive to his senses, of which his best one is his nose. Play the downwind card on any set up you plan to hunt and the odds of catching him off guard will be in your favor.