The mysticism of the rut

In the world of the white-tailed deer hunter, the question “Is the rut on yet?” evokes visions of frosty morn­ings and the muffled crunch of hooves on frozen leaves. Deer hunt­ers dwell on the rut more than any other aspect of hunting. Many hunters, perhaps the majority, believe when the rut is on that hunting is easy; to hunt then is to have the magic bullet. If only it were that simple. Most hunters envision the rut to be a brief period, perhaps lasting a couple of weeks, when bucks are pursuing and breed­ing does. Where seasons are short or when they have only set aside a few days to hunt, hunters, especially gun hunters, worry the rut might not have begun or will already be over when they’re in the field. The truth is, though, the rut is a complex set of behaviours that usually begins in August and lasts up to four months. This means the rut is definitely on during any and all gun hunts in Ontario. However, there is a caveat. The chase Chasing behaviour, one aspect of the rut, (but the one most hunters think of when day-dreaming about deer hunting), does indeed have a short, intense peak of activity when bucks start travelling to look for and chase does. This behaviour is believed to be trig­gered by an increase in male hormone pro­duction or a change in the scent of does as they come into heat, or both. Some bucks might begin to chase does as early as September, and a few will still be running around looking for a hot date after Christmas, but research has uncovered what hunters have long known. The peak of the chase occurs over a short time span, and there might be but a single day when the woods are full of running deer. That one day has no equal. Many a story in deer camps originate on one of those enchanted days during the peak of the chase. In Ontario, the chase almost always occurs in November, with the exact date varying across the province and shifting slightly from year to year. It’s this mystical, magical moment that hunters fret about missing. The downside of the rut While hunters long to be in the woods then, in many ways it’s really not the best time to plan to kill a specific big buck. When bucks are chasing,