Grow the Hunt

Battle at Crescent Ridge

-By Randy Cooper

Over the course of the deer season here in Ga. I’ve had 3 Moultrie trail cameras out giving me information and insight as to what is using the areas that I hunt. One of these cameras is in a remote area on private land. I call this place Crescent Ridge. I named it so because my stand is located on the edge of a steep, crescent-shaped ravine overlooking a beautiful river bottom. I found this place through intense scouting and a little luck. Last year I was caught in a sudden rainstorm while hunting. I bailed out and took the straightest way I knew out of the woods to the truck. On the way, I topped a ridge that literally flattened out like an old road bed had once been there.

As I stood there in the rain looking around I started seeing buck signs you only dream about. There were horned trees the size of your calf, but what really got my attention were the worn down trails that crisscrossed the area. I took a few more steps and it all became clear why: I was standing on top of a ridge that dropped away at a very steep angle right into a beautiful river bottom in dense hardwoods. I was in a natural funnel for all the deer in the area. Because deer are creatures that travel the path of least resistance, they were coming around the rim of the crescent-shaped ridgeline rather than coming up the steep hill to it.

Along with all the other signs, I found three huge scrapes that measured four feet across. Every one of them was on a different trail that came through the area. The ridge was also a transition zone where dense pines made up a great deal of the area on top of the ridge then gently changed to mostly hardwoods, especially white oak trees, my favorite food source to hunt around. I took out some surveyor ribbon and marked the scrapes and a tree that looked like just the right place for a stand overlooking everything. The season was almost over and I vowed to hunt that stand near the rut the next year.

This year I placed a trail camera over one of the massive scrapes that I had flagged in 2006. I’d like to say right now that I’m glad I did flag those areas. When the trees are full of leaves in July and August, the woods look totally different.

I had seen good bucks in the area, but none close enough for a shot. I knew it was just a matter of time before everything would come together. In November I got a series of nighttime pictures of two really good 8-pointers visiting one of the scrapes. I knew there was a bigger buck in the area because of the size of the trees that were torn up and the sightings I’d had while on the stand. I changed the location of the trail camera to another scrape that seemed to be getting more attention than the others. I also placed a Moultrie Scent Boss scent dispenser over the scrape to see what would happen. I filled it with Code Blue Doe in Estrous.

About a week after getting everything set up I got sick and didn’t get to go to the area for weeks. I wanted to see what kind of pictures I was getting but to add insult to injury, I had to have surgery on my knee that set me back even further. I know that you can relate to what I’m saying when I say that I was SICK about not being able to go to the woods. About ten days after the surgery, I was told to do as much walking as I could to build strength back in my knee. I HAD to go and check on my stand, camera and the area that I so desperately wanted to hunt. Man, was I in for a surprise!

I first noticed that the woods were torn up with new horned trees. The scrapes that were cold the last time I was there were now cleaned out and not a leaf in them. You could plainly see drag marks and wet spots in them. I got a tingling feeling up my spine like I’ve never had before. At that point all I could do was look up in my stand and wish I could climb the stick ladder to get in it. I checked the camera and found the batteries were very low. I pulled the SD card and swapped the batteries out. When I got home and put the SD card in the reader, I saw that I had 48 pictures, of those there were seven that took my breath.

The camera was aimed at the scrape that I had put the scent dispenser over. The seven frames showed two bucks having it out right by the scrape. On the last two, the flash went off and captured both bucks locked up on one and shows one of the bucks walking off alone on the other. When I zoomed in on the pics I saw more detail, including the lone buck’s bloody forehead.

After seeing the pictures I went back the next day and looked for blood and hair that I’ve found before at the scene of a buck fight. I didn’t find any blood or hair, but the floor of the woods was a mess where the fight took place. They fought from out of the sight of the camera and ended up right in front of it where it ended. It only lasted about three minutes. Take a look at this rare footage.  I feel so fortunate to have caught it on camera. If it were not for the Moultrie trail cameras I wouldn’t have witnessed something so rare. The date was Jan. 2nd. These bucks were responding to does that had come into estrous again for a third rut. I believe that smelling the estrous scent at the scrape provided by the scent dispenser added to the bucks’ aggression and may have caused the fight.

This is the culmination of what can happen when you find a great potential place to hunt and employ the use of fantastic aids like the trail cameras and scent dispenser made by Moultrie. It has opened up a completely new way to view everything I do all year long regarding deer and the way I go about hunting them. I now have more information than ever before and can make better decisions about what strategy to use. I wanted to share this with everyone. Try these cameras and other aids. You too can have more information and something fun to look forward to. Who knows, you may even capture your own picture of a lifetime when you least expect it.

Did you know...

Creating a mock scrape in front of your camera is a great way to pattern bucks on your land. Deer are naturally curious about other deer, so mock scrapes get a lot of attention. The problem comes in keeping the scrape fresh. Moultrie’s Scent Boss is a great solution. This battery-operated scent dispenser holds enough scent for up to two months so you won’t have to disturb the scrape as often. Dispensing deer scents in a controlled manner allows the hunter to set up the trail properly by dispensing only what you need at the time you need it. Visit the scrape and don’t disturb it again until it is time to refill. To create a mock scrape, clear a tire-sized area under your scent dispenser with a stick. Use a doe estrous scent during the peak breeding phase of the rut. Buck urine can be used all year. Even hang two scent dispensers across each other over your mock scrape - fill one with doe urine and the other with buck urine. You’ll be amazed at the bucks that will investigate.

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"Notice the Scent Boss in the foreground, bucks hit these scrape with the scent boss from the day I put it up in early September until late November last season. Pictures were taken with a Moultrie Game Spy camera, awesome user-friendly product."

Thomas E.
Batesburg, SC

A Different Aspect of the Rut

-By Randy Cooper

While hunting this morning, a familiar big doe and her two fawns came down a trail near me. The fawns are now about half the size of their mother and have lost their spots. I’ve been privileged this year to witness almost the entire process of the fawns coming into this world. Through trail camera observations, I’ve seen the doe go from being normal-sized to getting so big I thought she was going to pop. She and most of her doe group ate at my feeder almost every day and night.

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Around the mid-June, the doe quit coming to the feeder as often. There is a drainage area surrounded by dense brush close to my feeder. I started seeing her come to the feeder from that area mostly at night. Then, after a short stay, she would go back to the drainage and disappear. I believe she gave birth to her two fawns in that cover and that’s where they spent the first 8 weeks or so being nursed by their mother.

Many times in the past while hunting, I’ve often seen small spotted fawns even into mid-October. I used to wonder if these late births were a genetic imprint from the stocking programs that started back in the 1960’s, but after studying deer for many years and keeping my nose between the pages of deer hunting magazines, I’ve found out why we see the spotted fawns well into the hunting season.

A doe’s gestation period is 7 months, or about 210 days, from the time of conception. When a doe goes into estrous and conceives during the first days of November she will give birth to one or two fawns around the middle of June the following year.

Here is where you need to listen up because what follows could have a huge impact on hunting the rut this year.

If a doe DOES NOT conceive the first time she’s bred then she will come into estrous again 28 days later. If she does not conceive during the second rut, she will enter another estrous period 28 days after the second one. I’ve seen scrapes that were dead as a door nail become active again as late as January 1st, the last day of the season. The reason they once again became active is because a buck in the area had picked up on some estrous scent and had once again began to work his scrapes in the area. When you see spotted fawns late in the hunting season, you’re looking at the result of a doe that didn’t conceive during the first rut or maybe even the second one. Consequently, she gave birth to her fawns as much as two months late. AUGUST!

This is SO important to remember. Just because you didn’t score during the RUT, don’t go home and take an overdose of anti-depressants. You’re going to have another chance for sure about a month from the first noticeable rut and maybe a third one as well. The same tactics that worked during the first rut will work again when the second one arrives. I use drag-rags with a doe in estrous scent on one rag and a buck lure (tarsal gland, territorial infringement, or buck urine) on the other. The idea is to make any buck coming across the scent think a hot doe is being chased by an alien buck in his area. He WILL follow this scent right to where you’ve tied the rag up in a tree limb.

Take heart, if you don’t get to take advantage of the first rut during the first few days of November, you’ll have another chance the first days of December and you’ll see another flurry the first days of January again. When it gets late in the season, remember to hunt trails leading to food sources. If you put in your time in August and September you may be among the lucky ones to have a food plot to hunt over on your property. Deer are in survival mode and their stomach will dictate where they travel. It goes without saying that where the does are, there also will be bucks. Find the doe groups on your property and you’re in business.

Timing the 2007 Rut

-By Randy Cooper

Here we are again: It’s late October and the rut is upon us. There will be a lot going on in the deer world. Knowing what is going on and when can help you bag your buck.

Research has found that moon phase and photoperiodism, shortness of daylight, are the two controlling factors in timing of the rut in both the North and the South. Photoperiodism has so much influence that it is responsible for the rise in testosterone in a buck and the cut off of blood supply to velvet-covered antlers, which results in the hardening of the bone and drying and peeling of their velvet in late August into September. Moon phase and the shortness of daylight also time when the SEEKING, CHASING AND BREEDING phases of whitetail rut take place.

Bucks begin to SEEK a couple of days before the rutting moon. This is not the peak of rut, but actually the beginning. Research shows that everything revolves around the second full moon after the autumnal equinox, which falls on October 26 this year – this also marks the start of rut.

As the full moon is up, bucks start to move more. This is evident in the increase of deer/car collisions. As the moon begins to wane and nights become increasingly darker, you’re going to see the CHASE. Now is the time to put in plenty of seat time. The buck’s testosterone is maxed. They’re not eating or bedding. They’re chasing every doe they come in contact with and cross checking trails to find estrous urine scent that does will be dribbling as they walk. When a buck finds this scent, he hits it like a bloodhound and begins to grunt with every step as he tracks the estrous doe. This is when I use a doe in estrous scent on a drag rag. I drag this to within 20 yards of my stand and usually put it over the trail I expect the buck to come in on and place it in a tree limb about nose high.

At the chase point in rut, bucks become somewhat predictable. They will be using funnels, drainages and travel corridors to find does. They will be laying down lots of scrapes and rubs. They will also respond to calls better now than at any other time. Use rattling, grunt calls and a doe estrous bleat call now. My two biggest bucks to date were both rattled in during the chase phase. Combining the estrous scent, the sound of a buck fight and a doe in estrous bleating, you’ve just played a performance that should have earned you an academy award but your true reward will be the buck that responds and puts himself right in your lap.

The first week of November and the two week period after will be lock down time. This is when bucks are actually BREEDING does. You’ll know this is happening because scrapes will go cold and you won’t see any new rubs. Activity in the woods will drop way off. Remember: November 3-14 there will be a lot of breeding taking place. The cycle is: SEEKING, CHASING AND BREEDING.

If I had to pick a time for a vacation from work this year, it would be the 7-10 days after the rutting moon of October 26. This is the best time to be in the woods – during the chase phase between 7:45am and 12pm, and again in the afternoon. Watch the barometer and temperature, too. If barometric pressure is moving up or down, deer movement will increase; if temperatures are average or below, deer movement will also increase. So, pack a lunch, let the chores pile up and stay on your stand until your butt turns blue or until the buck you’re after comes along and you get the job done.

Moultrie's Scent Boss Stinks Longer

Moultrie's deer scent dispenser provides an effective way to pattern deer using scent. Watch Dan Moultrie and Jim Strelec explain the best way to set-up and use the Moultrie Scent Boss.