The Hunter's "Rut"
by Gerry Rightmyer

 There is an old Czech proverb that states, "Repetition is the mother of wisdom." While it is true that continually doing something over and over again can prepare a hunter for that "magic moment," sometimes repetition works against you. Let me explain.
 In 2005, I was fortunate to harvest a beautiful nine-point buck. The buck was killed very early in our New York archery season, and was coincidentally, my largest whitetail taken with archery equipment. My tree stand was located in a relatively new area. The chosen location for the stand was a "pinch point," which connects a secondary-growth woodlot to a major bedding area. This "pinch point" allows deer to move from bedding to feeding and back again within the comfort of cover. There are corn, soybean, and alfalfa fields surrounding this classic bottleneck. From a Deer Hunting 101 perspective, the stand placement was really a no-brainer. Any buck worth his salt must travel through this area if he wants to avoid exposing himself. That is why the stand location was so alluring.
 The difficulty with the stand position was that it was too good. Please do not misinterpret what I am saying. Seeing a lot of deer while on stand can be extremely satisfying, not to mention a good recipe for killing bruiser bucks. But sometimes, I feel compelled to hunt the stand even though I know that I may be over hunting it. Therein lays the problem. When do you change things up a bit, and avoid what I call the hunter's rut?
 Let's fast forward to the 2006 season. My stand was in the exact same tree as the year before. I was able to harvest a 124" whitetail the previous season, and I knew that the area was a "deer magnet". Why would I tempt my good luck and move to a different locale?
 I hunted extremely hard during our five week archery season. The bottleneck stand was starting to become my second home. Thank goodness I did not have a mortgage payment!
 I was seeing deer every day. It did not matter whether it was a morning watch, or an evening sit. I even had a brief encounter with a "shooter buck" one afternoon, but could not get the buck within bow range. The deer were there, just not up close and personal. Was I hunting the stand too much?
 My head kept telling me to move, but my heart felt like giving the spot another try. I was getting myself into a comfort zone, but suddenly it did not feel so comfortable. Repetition was clouding my better judgment. Sound familiar?
 It was now three weeks after the New York bow season began, and still no quality opportunities at a Pope and Young whitetail. I still had two more weeks remaining, but doubt was starting to creep into my psyche. The chase phase of the rut was in full swing, so I continued to keep a positive outlook on the next 14 days.
 Saturday, November 4th began cold and crisp. It was by far the coolest morning of the season. A cloudless overnight sky led to a bit of frost on the ground. The leaves on the ground were extremely noisy. My favorite perch was on the other side of a mature hardwood forest, and I knew that my approach would be a difficult one. My biggest fear was alerting every deer within a square mile of my presence, so I opted to change stand locations.
 Very often, I will be walking to my hunting spot, and for some reason, I will change my mind and hunt a different stand. The wind may be wrong for a particular set-up, or the deer may have changed their preferred food source. Call it hunter's intuition, or maybe just a hunch, but this morning I would be standing watch in the "oak tree" stand. The "oak tree" stand is located on the very corner of a mature hardwood forest. An active scrape is very near the ancient oak. The scrape has been worked feverishly by many bucks and does in the area. My Cam-Trakker has verified that a minimum of seven different bucks have visited the scrape over the last six weeks, so I was encouraged.
 I climbed into the stand, nocked an arrow, and waited for the woods to come alive. Shortly after daybreak I noticed some does feeding in a combined corn field to my left. I watched the does and fawns interact for a good 45-minutes. The does were just about to cross a hedgerow and enter the field in front of me, when I heard some crashing behind. I wheeled around and noticed a doe being chased by a small 1 ½ year old buck. Trailing behind this buck was another larger buck. Behind buck number two, was yet another bigger buck. All I could think was "Holy Cow!" that doe must be in heat!
 I pulled out my grunt tube and tried to coax the group back my way, but to no avail. I lost sight of the deer. I continued to call, but my attempts proved futile.
 Less than five minutes passed when I again heard crunching leaves behind. I focused my attention to the woods, and could see a larger buck (nose to the ground) headed my way. I had a pretty good idea where this buck was going, and gave a couple soft grunts in the hopes that he would pass within bow range.
 Sure enough, the buck decided to follow the trail no more than 15 yards from my position. As the nine- pointer approached, I was able to draw the bow behind one of the large oak trunks, and avoid detection. By now he was ready to exit the edge of the woodlot, so his gait slowed. One doe blat brought the buck to a halt, and I was able to slice the broadhead through his neck, severing a major artery. In ten seconds it was all over. The buck traveled no more than 30 yards!
 The buck was later scored by Bob Estes of Caledonia, New York. The 131-inch buck would qualify for New York State Big Buck Club as well as Pope and Young Club. My first record-book whitetail with archery equipment, what a rush! I am glad that I decided to get out of the hunter's rut, and change things up a bit. Next time you are in a rut, maybe you should try a different strategy… it worked for me!

 Gerry Rightmyer is a Realtree Medallion Pro-Staffer, an official Boone & Crockett measurer and a New York State Big Buck Club Official measurer. Gerry has two animals entered in the B&C record books, along with three Gold Medal SCI qualifying animals in South Africa. He's an outdoor writer, having written for Big Game Adventures magazine, Huntin' Fool, North American Hunter, Big Buck Magazine, Eastmans' Outdoor Journal, and Realtree's online journal. He's also been a seminar speaker for Cabelas, Bass Pro Shops, and Gander Mountain and is a former competitive Turkey caller.