One of the most exciting things about hunting the rut is the you-never-know factor. When you see a doe cruising by your stand, you never know whether a buck is following behind her.
One of my earliest hunting memories is being on a stand during the opening morning of rifle season. Dad had scraped out a spot for us next to a large poplar tree tucked below a ridgeline that deer often traveled. There was a hard freeze the previous night, and the crunching leaves seemed to echo through the woods as a doe fast-walked along the trail above us. After it passed by, Dad gave me the “be still” sign (I suppose I was fidgeting from being so cold). A few minutes later, a heavy crunching sound could be heard from the direction the doe had come. It grew louder and soon I could see the bright flash of antlers reflecting the morning sun. The small 8-pointer had his head down and neck stretched out as he followed the doe’s wake, oblivious to our presence.
Dad was hunting with his .357 Magnum service revolver and I carried nothing, being there simply for an early lesson in my never-ending deer-hunting education. Although the buck passed safely by us, it was a moment indelibly pressed into my memory. Even today, several decades later, I remember that bone-cold morning every time I walk up that ridge and recall the scenario, which has played out hundreds of times for me in the ensuing years.
The Beginner Hunter’s Guide to Whitetail Rut Scents
The primary lesson learned that morning: if you’re after an amorous buck, you’ll do well to hunt does.
Sure, there is a bit more nuance to it than that, but the idea is a fundamental truth when hunting the rut. Bucks seek does or are already tending does this time of year, so if you want to find the bucks, find the does.
Of course, rutting bucks are killed when there are no does present. I’d say that is probably the case most of the time (it is from my experience, anyway). But, while their appearance in the woods may seem like isolated, random-chance events, know this—nine times out of 10 that lone buck on the hillside is probably looking for a date.
What all of this means is that relying on a single scent strategy during the rut is akin to putting street tires on your 4×4 truck before heading off road. Why handicap yourself like that?
The Alpha Team
If you have nothing else in your hunting pack, be sure to take a high-quality doe estrus scent, such as Wildlife Research Center Golden Estrus with Scent Reflex Technology that blends doe urine with estrus scent and is formulated for stronger, more potent responses. This is the smell that bucks are after and the one that gives you the best chance of turning a passing buck your way. Whatever form you use will help to get a buck’s attention, be it bottled scent that you disperse with a Key Wick or a spray scent that can be applied to anything or used to mist the air.
Certainly, estrus scent is the most important scent you can use during the rut, but that is intended to capture the attention of cruising bucks while you are on your stand. And as we just discussed, targeting bucks is only half the equation.
What Charlie Alsheimer Taught Us About Mock Scrapes
This is not the time to go timidly into the woods. The rut only lasts for a couple of weeks across most of the country (although the mystical second rut can present opportunities a month later), so this is the time to throw everything you’ve got into the game. That means a multi-pronged strategy is in order. In short, it’s time to call in the force multipliers.
The Bravo Team
Mature bucks are often in a rank mood during the rut, unless they are preoccupied with a hot doe they’re tending. They’re ready for a fight and don’t take kindly to other bucks hitting on their turf. You can use this to your advantage by adding some olfactory competition.
In addition to deploying an estrus scent, set up a wick with a challenge lure such as Mega-Tarsal Plus. This scent contains essence of buck tarsal glands, which to a resident buck will indicate that a competitor has arrived to court his does. A whiff of doe estrus combined with a snoot full of strange buck scent will often raise the hackles of the area’s dominant buck and cause him to come investigate long enough for you to get the shot.
The Charlie Team
We discussed earlier that since bucks are centered on does during the rut, it only makes sense that anything you do to put sexually mature does into your hunt zone can only increase your odds that a mature buck will be close behind.
Unlike bucks, does continue to be driven by food throughout the rut. Whatever you can use to lure a doe into your area may be beneficial, and food is the key. If it’s legal in your state to hunt over bait, green fields or other food attractants, that will always help. If not, a food attractant scent can make a difference. A doe that catches a smell of acorn or apple scent can often be turned your way, hopefully with a buck in tow. A secondary advantage to using something like Scent Storm Acorn or Scent Storm Apple is that they can not only be applied to the ground or foliage, but also to your clothing to act as a cover scent.
The Delta Team
Last, and just as important, or more so than the attention-grabbing scents already discussed, is scent elimination. If a doe smells you, she’s gone, taking that buck with her. So, it makes little sense to spend the money and time to disperse quality attractant scents around your stand if your smell is going to nullify your efforts.
We’ve preached it over and over and will continue to do so—scent elimination can be the final arbiter of whitetail hunting success, and a comprehensive strategy to minimize your scent signature is as important during rifle season as it is during archery season.
How to Keep Hunting Clothing Scent Free
Begin your hunt by showering down with scent-free soap. Wash your clothes in scent-free detergent. Lastly, apply a quality scent elimination formula to your clothes, boots and gear before heading for your stand.
The rut is all about hunting mature bucks at a time when they are most vulnerable and when their primary focus is to find does. And while there may not be a buck behind every doe that comes your way, the exciting part is that you never know. Hunt where the does are, make your hunting area doe friendly and mimic the doe/buck dynamics near your stand using the scent strategies outlined here to stack the deck in your favor.
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