Here in New Hampshire November 2nd the rut hasn’t really kicked in yet because the does are just beginning estrous. But the bucks are aggressive and cruising at night. This is not a random pattern. The older bucks get out of bed near dark and begin to take a cruise pattern based on where he may encounter a receptive doe. Then, make ground scrapes, urinate over his hock tarsal gland in it, and will leave scent from his hoof interdigital gland and from his forehead preorbital gland saying just who he is. Other bucks beware!

A very glandular affair telling the doe that he will soon revisit it.

As of November 2nd, I have observed few scrapes, however as each day passes, soon a shift will occur when enough does enter estrous that the rut is in full swing and scrapes and rubs will abound. This could be just a week away.

Some of these scrapes are considered primary scrapes where the does urinate and signal receptiveness. Other scrapes are often what some call a secondary scrape. These secondary scrapes are active by the buck but some experts say, they have not been visited (peed in) by a doe.

How does the hunter take advantage? Build a mock scrape, as a competitive buck might do. This kind of mock scrape can cause the buck to hang out closer to his scrapes and to “ward off” other bucks. And do it in daylight!

Or use scents to add to his scrape as if a doe peed in it. This, many say, is now a primary scrape which he will check more often. Of course we are not deer but collecting info from veteran hunters help verify these beliefs.

This warding off can also be done by buck “tree rubs”. These are signpost rubs. The size and damage of these signpost type rubs can be seen by other bucks. I have seen trees from saplings rubbed and seen trees that are 5 or 6 inches in diameter rubbed enough to kill the tree. Big rubs often mean big antlered deer, often leaving tine marks in the tree. A lesser buck may be intimidated by a big rub not far from an active scrape.

I like to participate by making mock scrapes and rubs in hopes of getting Mr. Big to show up in daylight!

I’ll be waiting…

Good Hunting!

Some thoughts: Deer are largely crepuscular animals, meaning early morning and late afternoon they are up and feeding etc. Bucks are more nocturnal except during the rut.

But in heavy wind and rain, they are likely to bed early and feed in darkness because both their eyesight and hearing are compromised. With bushes swaying, and wind howling and rain pelting, I would stay in bed too. 

In the case of light rain or drizzle and little wind, deer will venture to feed and rut in late October. You will have a slight advantage as your leaf crunching footsteps will not be heard. Watch the wind always. Walk into or quarter into the wind to “still hunt”.  

Watch the weather for a lull. If the rain and wind subsides, be ready to hunt. I like to hunt in the afternoon when a front pushes through. This is because I can see better and, at least, be more careful as I enter the woods.

Be prepared to stay till dark. It is the first and last 1//2 hour of light when that buck may step out. Does and yearlings will be first. 

I have a plan to increase my vigilance and body preparedness like standing “at the ready” in the last hour of light. Keep movement to a minimum, if you have to move, scratch your nose etc., do it in slow motion.  I wear a face mask to keep the squirrels and chipmunks from detecting my face. Once detected, you may be chattered as an alarm to other wildlife. Then, if early morning,  you should either move away, but then again, perhaps mimic a deer encounter with grunts and  antler rattling so wildlife get the idea that it is just another rutting deer. A nearby buck may decide to come into the ruckus… so be ready. I have done this successfully and took a dandy eight pointer in southern New Hampshire 

I like to use my grunt or bleat call in both morning and near dusk. If a buck is in hearing range, he may come and investigate. Deer have uncanny hearing and can pinpoint you so use the grunt or deer bleat sparingly, unless you are staging a buck fight.  Then break and smash twigs and bushes to mimic a fight for a full minute. Watch and listen! You may have a buck rushing or stomping in. The more you know about what buck sign is visible such as rubs and scrapes the more you can plan and stage a fight.

Bucks do not bed with does, they bed where hidden and can smell the does from his bedding area. Be aware though that during the rut, bucks are not very far away from the does and like to bed higher on the surrounding landscape.

Really big bucks do not  make very many mistakes and are only stupid during the heavy part of the rut in early November. 

Watch that wind!

Good Hunting!

©Copyright 2021

I had just finished my recent article to hunt Africa when I came across an article suggesting a dilemma. In the wake of COVID; To Conserve or Hunt?

A little education is in order here. Conservation is inclusive of Hunting. The term Preservation done on a country scale is to disclude hunting and unfortunately insures the reverse of wildlife and habitat safety.  Wildlife will self-destruct the biodiversity of the landscape by over population and destruction of plant, trees and other wildlife that make up the ecosystem. 

In Africa as in the rest of the world; Conservation requires the use of Hunting as a management and essential funding tool to manage, species, diversity, land use, interaction with humans. Funding in the Billions of dollars. 

The facts are that with COVID 19 raging world wide that ecotourism and trophy hunting in Africa has been hurt badly. But it is recognized by scientists and managers that eco-tourism and photo tourism does not generate the funds to create flourishing business and commerce, nor  pay enough for proper wildlife management.

Quote from the website below:

“Wildlife conservation hasn’t escaped the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is largely due to the fact that tourism funding, which supports the conservation of wide swaths of Africa and some 23 million livelihoods, has all but dried up.

Wildlife-based tourism in Africa is worth approximately US$71 billion annually. Much of this funds the management of protected areas. For example, the protection of just one white rhinoceros at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy costs about US$10,000 each year.

Since the start of the pandemic there’s been a cut to funds for anti-poaching, surveillance and fence line management in most African reserves. Trophy hunting is a key source of this funding. It contributes an estimated $200 million to economies across the continent annually.

Trophy hunting takes place across much of sub-Saharan Africa with South Africa, Namibia and Tanzania holding the lion’s share of the market. The debate over its utility as a source of conservation revenue takes on a new urgency in the light of COVID-19.”

https://theconversation.com/covid-19-africas-conservation-and-trophy-hunting-dilemma-140029

Without hunting, Africa and ALL its wildlife will surely be on the endangered species list and that includes the rest of the wide world as well.

Hunting provides billions of pound of lean organic protein for human consumption and a connection with the land, earth, and our DNA as hunter gatherers.

And I am so glad to be a part of it.

Good Hunting!

Is Africa Safari Hunting on your Bucket List?
Maybe now is the time…

Safari Packages for 2021 and 2022 are ready.

Quote on COVID from website below.

“There is currently NO COVID vaccine requirement and NO quarantine for travelers who present a negative COVID test. There are currently direct flights running to South Africa from the United States, Europe, Dubai (UAE), and Doha (Qatar) on United, Delta, KLM, Emirates, and Qatar Airways.”

If Africa is on your bucket list, now is the time to do the research. Below is Big Game Hunting Adventures in Africa.

2024-2025 South African Hunting Safari Packages

I published my African Safari e-book Kindle edition and it is sold on Amazon for only $12.99. It was a father son hunt in South Africa and was worth every penny. The link is   African Safari Rifle and Bow And Arrow . I share our first time Safari hunt experiences, dangers, surprises, joys and getting your mounts back home. 

I hunted with bow and rifle and scored high in SCI like my Gold Medal Kudu below. 

We visited a place called Wonderwerk Cave and saw cave painting and stone spear heads and learned about our ancestral roots dating back tens of thousands of years and more. That’s in the Kindle book too. All together we took 1 Kudu, 1 Gemsbok, 1 Red Hartebeest, 3 Impala, 2 Blesbok, 1 Springbok, and an Ostrich. in a weeks time. We got to eat wild game prepared for us from our hunt each day and had a roaring campfire every night. Check it on the net, you’ll be glad you did.

Good Hunting!

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