The full rut begins around Nov. 13 and ends about Nov. 23, a time when big bucks concentrate their energy on breeding – good news for hunters. Bucks lose their natural wariness in a headlong rush to find does in estrous to perpetuate their gene pool.

During the pre-rut stage before early November, though, hunters need not despair, because they have an advantage. Deer normally establish an early, somewhat predictable fall routine before the full rut, so astute pre-rut hunters focus attention on core areas, where these animals find food, shelter and water. A whitetail’s home range includes the three basic needs, and that entire area can measure 200 to 300 square yards.

For example, deer may choose a cedar swamp with a spring brook, and 250 yards away, an acorn-laden oak ridge or clover field provides abundant forage – the big three needs.

During the day, deer often bed in lowlands or on side hills facing the sun, and favorite bedding spots contain dense cover with small openings where sunlight beats on the ground – perfect for sleeping deer.

Whitetails leave bedding zones at dusk and return in morning. They also feed around noon in early season, but hunting pressure pushes deer into nocturnal patterns. Deer still bed in cool, dark lowlands, but bucks like lying on shelves near a ridge top.

Good Maine hunters often choose three methods for deliberately ambushing pre-rut deer:

n Folks may still-hunt (sneaking through the woods) in the bedding area, which requires skill. Deer have lain in beds and listened for coyotes, wolves, humans, etc. sneaking toward them for millennia. Successful hunters duplicate the sound of walking deer to fool the prey.

Rainy days help still hunters because wet ground and dripping water from trees aid in silent walking.

n At predawn and evening dusk before shooting time ends, hunters can take a stand near well-used trails between bedding zones and forage areas. When experienced hunters take a stand, they make certain their scent does not carry toward trails that deer commonly use.

n Taking a stand in a tree or ground blind near the trail between the bedding and food works exceptionally well. Deer often walk toward forage spots before full dark and may remain there until a little after dawn. Hunters overlooking these trails may be so successful that they become legends – in their circle anyway.

Some hunters concentrate on bucks. The successful ones may study year-round trails between foraging and bedding spots and note where bucks have left scrapes, pawings, rubs and mangled saplings, the latter sparring partners for sex-crazed males.

Doe trails may have little to no buck sign, so buck enthusiasts search for activity from – well – bucks. Wise big-buck hunters concentrate on trails with big rubs, which mean big-bodied bucks. It may not mean big antlers, though, but that’s Maine.

When checking buck trails, tracks help us determine size. A 31/2-inch-wide track means a huge deer approaching 200 pounds or better. Any hoof wider than that ranks as ultra-huge.

As a general rule during the pre-rut in the statewide archery season and early in the regular firearms season, hunters have not pushed deer hard enough to break predictable routines. That’s a huge advantage for folks who know how to hunt the pre-rut. During the rut, bucks may wander helter-skelter.

In heavily hunted areas, deer turn nocturnal by the end of the regular firearms season’s first week. They lie low until full dark.

Because of that, I have always enjoyed hunting the first week of the season in central Maine, when deer movement is more predictable. In my late 20s and early 30s, I shot a deer each opening morning for seven straight years. During two of those seasons, I parked in the yard, waiting for the store to open.

Ken Allen, of Belgrade Lakes, a writer, editor and photographer, may be reached at

KAllyn800@yahoo.com

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