Doe Estrous: The Telling Truth

Written by Ryan Reading, Fall Obsession Field Staff

Over the thirty three years I have been in the field hunting and learning what deer do. I’ve spoken with hunters from all across the board; young ,old, short and tall farmers, professionals and even newbies. I always like to ask them their thoughts and ideas of what they believe the deer are doing.

Most hunters are gung hoe for the “RUT”. I always ask hunters, what do they believe is the best time to use scents and to hunt. The overwhelming response is again the “RUT”. I then ask the hunter when do they believe the rut is? This is where opinions vary. Some will say that the rut starts in October while others will say November, and some speak about a smaller breeding cyclical rut 28 days later in December in the Northeast.

What I’ve learned from being in the field and what other hunters talk about brings me back to one ideology. Deer are wild animals and there is no exact date or time when a doe will come into estrous and be ready to breed. That being said, we do know gestation takes roughly about 175 to 200 days. Using that rough estimated gestation period it would only make sense that most does are bred in October and November with some minimal breeding in December. That’s not to say some late breeding won’t happen in January but most locations aren’t hunting in January or have a limited January hunt season. The estimated 6 to 6.5 month gestational period is mother nature’s way of saying “hey, this is when you’ll breed because the fawns will have the best chance of survival for that next winter”.

Now, that we have covered some basics, we can turn our attention to when to use estrous in the woods for your best success. There are two main trains of thought on using estrous. Many hunters will say they will wait until November to use estrous scents in scrapes or on drags. Then there are other hunters talking about early to mid-October success with estrous scents. There are also other factors out there hunters swear by. Hunters follow the moon phase, red moon, weather, barometric pressure and the list goes on but this article is just focusing on when to use estrous scents.

Examining the two trains of thought on when to use estrous; the first, using estrous strictly in November. As a hunter I know this is when the “RUT” is in full swing. The train of thought hunters follow is they won’t spook deer using estrous now and maybe a buck will come to the scrape or follow the drag. While this is a great way to think and can be very successful, let’s look at the cons of that.

We know most does will come into heat in November. The bucks will be traveling many miles searching doe beds and checking scrapes for hot does. This is where the November estrous scent use comes into play. Using your scents opposed to a real deer in estrous will possibly lower your chances. What I mean to say is, while so many does are in heat, what are the chances a big buck picks up on your scrape with your bottled estrous scent when so many does are ready? In some ways, it may be like adding fuel to a fire. Yes, the flames will go up for a short time, only to return to continuously burning without the fuel you added. This analogy is just a way to say, regardless of what you do or use the “RUT” will take place. Yes, you can get a spike deer visiting your scrape area with estrous in November but most bucks are in search of the real thing and focus more on doe bedding areas and not scrapes while seeking does.

The other thought process is sing estrous in Mid October, say the 19th of the month. While most hunters usually talk about the October lull, some hunters see a spike in deer activity around this time. Why is that? That is most likely due to a doe in the region coming into heat or already in heat. The bucks will smell that first doe and start to locate her. This will obviously correlate to more bucks showing up on your property coming from other locations. The hunters that see this influx of activity early on or mid-October may want to use estrous. Think about it, if the bucks are searching or on their feet and smell that first hint of estrous, most, if not all bucks in that area will come to that scent because you made them think it’s the first doe in heat in that area.

These are my reflections on both trains of thought. First, I will say, I believe if you're seeing good bucks on their feet close to daylight or in daylight it’s for a reason. There is probably a doe coming into heat in the area, so yes, I would probably use a small amount of estrous in one small location in Mid-October if I start to see that activity. Don’t over use the scent or drag up the entire area. Wait on that as it gets closer to Halloween or November. I base my activity on what the deer in my area are telling me. If the deer in your region are telling you something else, follow what they are telling you. If they are starting to seek, give them something to seek.

I also believe there are times when it’s too late or too early to use estrous and you will have to understand how your deer are acting or reacting in you area. My opinion, in most cases, October 19 through November 15th is the best time to dabble using scents in. Again, this is all based on what the deer are doing in your region.

Whitetails follow different ebbs and flows across the US. It is your job to figure out when to use scents and specifically estrous scents. You will see an uptick in bucks coming into an area seeking In daylight or scrapes opening up and being used. Sometimes giving them something to seek during that time isn’t a bad thing. Being first to the party might just give you an edge on shooting your target buck. Follow what the deer are telling you and good luck this hunting season.