Some of you may already know the slang of the rut. But for those who don't, never fear, I am going to tell you. The next time you are hunting with the Big Dogs you will know what they are talking about.
Rut
- This is the time when deer are breeding. Bucks come out of hiding and
start chasing Does. Bucks separate from their groups and start making scrapes
and rubs. They also get into little battles. It really depends on what
the Buck to Doe Ratio is . If there are a lot of Bucks and very few does
the Bucks will battle big time. if there are a lot of Does and Few bucks
the sparing will just be light.
Scrapes - A scrape is when a Buck paws at the ground and gets the soil worked up.The buck leaves his scent at the the scrape by urinating in the scrape and rubbing his face on and mouthing the overhanging and nearby branches and leaves. They use scrapes for breeding and to mark territory. A Hot Doe will sometimes visit a scrape to locate a Buck that wants to breed. She also will sometimes urinate in the scrape and rub her face on nearby branches and leaves to leave her scent.
Rub - A Rub is when a buck rubs the bark off trees and saplings with his antlers. He does this as he walks around his territory. This Rubbing strengthens the buck's neck muscles and gets him ready to fight and marks it's territory.
Hot Doe - No this doesn't mean a doe that is sweating. It means she is ready for breeding. Does have an estrus cycle. It is kind of like when your female dog goes into heat. When a Hot Doe walks she will drip pheromones. Bucks sniff the ground and the pheromones lead them right to the Hot Doe.
Scents and Lures - These are Buck and Doe Urines. They are collected when a Doe goes into estrus or When a buck starts making scrapes. You can sprinkle these down during the Rut and hope a Buck gets a whiff and may come right to your stand.
Grunt - This is the way Bucks communicate. When you Grunt you are telling the buck "hey I am a deer too wanna fight?" I haven't had much success with grunting, but I think it is because I have been doing it wrong. Robert has set me straight on how to grunt. I will let you know if I call in a deer.
Rattling - This is when you take deer antlers and make it sound like you are 2 bucks fighting. Rattling works better when the Buck to Doe ratio equal or there are more bucks than does. When Rattleing works deer come to the noise to see the fight. Rattling is very exciting if you get a buck to come to you. (so I've been told).
Well those are the basics terms of the rut. . . . . . . . . Brian Pullam