Time To Hunt The Does If You Want A Buck

Time to hunt the does if you want a buck. The rut is just around the corner and bucks are running every where checking out every doe they come in contact with. You see them phleming or lip curling whenever they are in the presence of does. The firearm deer season is about to open in many Northern states. This is the time set up on the does. If you are a bow hunter this is the golden time of the year. If you have a food plot or a natural or agricultural feeding area, most likely it has does using it every late afternoon. Careful observation of the edges of these areas will find bucks in the adjacent cover. They set up on the trails that lead to the fields usually downwind ready to intercept any doe in esterous. A wise bow hunter will be set up in the same area. If you hunt these areas in the morning you must be set up very early and many hunters do not hunt the areas at this time of day. A dominant buck once spooked will quickly move his observation post to a more secure area.

A hunter must be early to stand and late off of it. The reward is the chance at a buck of the life time. What a great time to be in the bush. It doesn’t get any better.

Once the rut underway many bucks will lock up with does and appear to plain disappear. This can be very discouraging for the average hunter. Many times still hunting or sneaking hunting near, but not in traditional doe bedding areas can be very effective. This also the time when the landowner/manager needs to start harvesting does. This is absolutely necessary to keep the deer herd buck to doe ratio in balance. Unless your hunting area is located in the far North where winter conditions effect population levels you need to harvest enough does to protect the habitat and thereby your deer herd. Venison is venison and tastes the same whether it comes from a buck or a doe. If you are guest on a hunting property you need help the landowner in managing his or her deer herd. It is your responsibility as a hunter/wildlife manager. Hunters need to work with landowners all year and not just show up just prior to deer season. Being a land manager is a lot of work and it is appreciated when hunters show up during the off season to lend a hand. This will also assure you that you will always have a place to hunt.

Deer Hunting is a human endeavor of more than 10,000 years and still going strong.

Jim Kesel, Wildlife Biologist ret. US Fish and Wildlife Service

Jim Kesel is a Wildlife Biologist with 21 years with the US Fish and Wildlife Service http://www.brucepointpartners.com

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