Introduction - Deer must eat and watch for predators at the same time. As deer eat, they are constantly twitching and turning their ears to listen for unusual or warning sounds. Following are deer hunting tips that will help make your deer hunting experiences more enjoyable and rewarding. Many factors make deer hunting one of the most rewarding hunting experiences of all game hunting. The elusiveness of the deer coupled with the challenge required for true "wild" hunting of deer makes this a very popular sport.

Hunting the Pre-Rut:

• Deer calls will work better in pre-rut because bucks are more active. Use doe calls more than a buck in early season. You may also have some rattling success.
  The pre-rut can be one of the best times for calling and the use of scents. One should understand the language of deer and the common sense of using scents.

• The bucks have the most vigor at this time of year, and they are wanting something to happen. Once the rut commences, the old mature bucks usually have does with them. No matter how good you are with rattling horns they won't respond.

• As soon as a buck's horn harden, he's ready to mate. It is the doe that brings on the majority of the rutting activity as she comes into "estrus". Grunting during this time of year is done primarily by bucks as they are chasing does in an attempt to breed; therefore, grunting every 5 to 10 minutes from your stand, 3,4 or 5 times, may signal to a nearby buck that there is another buck chasing a doe. He is very likely to come to you to investigate.

• Hunt fresh scrapes and rub lines for buck in pre-rut. Bucks do not scrape as much during the actual rut. The bucks are too busy chasing does. If you cannot find any rubs or scrapes yet, hunt the food sources.

• The pre-rut is a great time to call for a whitetail. Calling and rattling on the downwind side of a bedding area is a super way to pull a big buck out during the pre-rut. Use a run and gun calling tactic for the pre-rut. Move into a area and make a series of grunts. Try some light horn rattling. Wait 10 to 15 minutes and if there is no response, move to another area. Follow scrapes and rubs backwards to locate bedding areas. Do not get in so close you spook the deer, but hunt areas between bedding and feeding grounds.

Hunting the Rut:

• Hunt areas where there are lots of does. One of the best times to hunt trophy bucks.

• Get where you have visibility. The more country that you can see, the better. Once you spot a buck and he is out of range, go to him. It seems that stalking is so much easier at this time of year. Certainly it has nothing to do with the old buck being lovesick and preoccupied with a doe!

• During the rut, using a grunt call sometimes doesn't get the attention of the bucks as they are busy chasing estrus does. Therefore, put yourself in prime location to intercept a buck in his travels in looking for a doe. This is best done on rub and scrape lines.

• Hunt places where the does hang out. These are usually feed areas in open terrain where big bucks normally do not visit in the daylight.

• During the rut, rely really heavily on well used deer trails. Try to key on areas that does are using, because during the rut, there's a good chance a hot doe will lead one or more bucks by your stand.

• Go early and stay late. This is the time of the year big bucks will most likely make a mistake. Plan your hunts to maximize your time during this period.

Read the Arrow - While not the most important part of tracking, but still very important, is to find you arrow if you can and look at what kind of blood is on the arrow. Different kinds, shapes, sizes, color, etc., of substances can usually tell you where your arrow passed through the deer. Let's go over what you will find on arrow hitting in the different places.

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