WHEN AREN’T IN DEER SYNCH

If you hunt whitetails during their breeding season — as most of us do — but don’t understand the breedable doe’s behavior, you could be in trouble. Like it or not, the buck you hunt is at the mercy of the estrous doe.

Or is he?

Plotting out-of-season buck movements, monitoring weather conditions, determining food sources, calculating moon phases, and so on, might be important and can contribute to success. No doubt a host of factors could provide clues about a buck’s travel patterns. But all too often the estrous doe is the most potent force in determining a buck’s whereabouts, behavior and vulnerability. All of your careful plotting and meticulous strategies will likely go down the tube if the estrous doe unexpectedly appears in the wrong place at the right time.

ENERGY VS ACTIVITY

Wildlife managers are also concerned about deer activity, especially during the breeding season, but for different reasons than the hunter. With regard to a deer’s welfare, there’s a definite relationship between the amount of energy taken in (food) vs. the amount spent (activity). An energy deficit during autumn,