Outdoor tips with Jack Morris
BY KELLY BOSTIAN Outdoors
Sunday, November 11, 2012
11/11/12 at 4:17 AM
Listen to a conversation about deer rifle season with Jack Morris.
Saturday marks one of the biggest hunting days of the year, with the rifle season opening for white-tailed deer Nov. 17-Dec. 2.
The timing of the rut always is the biggest question hunters have as the rifle season approaches and, from what I've seen, it looks like the peak of rut in the northern half of the state has hit the rifle season pretty much spot-on.
The great advantage of the rifle season is the opportunity to hunt deer without having to stumble into the woods and get right on top of them and spook the whole countryside.
But at the same time, with the rut in full swing you sometimes can give yourself an advantage by directing deer with doe-in-estrous and buck tarsal gland scents to create scent bombs, mock scrapes or create trails with a drag rag.
If you've ever used scents and watched them actually work, it is remarkable how effective they can be with a deer that crosses downwind of your lure.
One tip I always emphasize with a drag rag or scent patch that is attached to your boot is to get out into the field before you deploy that scent.
Don't start right at the truck or you're liable to return to the road only to see a buck standing right by your vehicle.
Drag rags are especially handy in big timbered areas for hunters who are trying to lure bucks into a smaller range where they can get a shot through the trees.
Sometimes scents aren't too effective, and there can be a lot of reasons for that. One possibility is that your area has a preponderance of does. If you're using doe-in-heat scent and there are five real does in heat to each buck in your area, well, that's a lot of competition.
Watching does in heat in your hunting area is another means of finding the bucks. If you see a doe panting or looking nervous, odds are a buck is nearby.
If you see a young buck chasing a doe down a trail, it's not a bad idea to keep an eye on that spot.
A large buck might come along, following that natural scent, hours later.
Jack Morris is a professional guide and host of Outdoor Trails Thursday nights at 6 p.m. on KTBZ am1430. Contact him at 918-691-3840, jackswildlife@cox.net or see tulsaworld.com/jackmorris
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