Evaluating a variety of deer sign discovered from pre-rut to end of season and post rut.

Story and photography by Bob Zaiglin

As days grow shorter, temperatures drop and fall colors emanate from the landscape, hunters begin to focus on deer hunting.  With leases acquired, package hunts booked, or permission granted by a local rancher, sportsmen gear up to pursue the most popular big game animal in Texas.

Opening day of the rifle season is always a highly anticipated event, but it doesn’t take long before that enthusiasm succumbs to the fact that mature bucks are reluctant to move.  However, experienced hunters know that the “rut” is the “time to pursue mature deer”, thus they spend more time repairing and moving blinds, along with basic camp maintenance. That way when the rut ignites in mid-December, they can focus solely on that buck they are after.

Fall afternoons can be uncomfortably warm, thus routine projects are completed in the cooler morning hours.  Conversely evenings are spent in the shade near a stock tank observing its visitors, particularly those older bucks exhibiting substantial head gear.

During the first quarter of the hunting season, a little reconnaissance is beneficial, especially if on a new place.  Sportsmen, like predators, must focus on terrain attractive to deer.  When it’s hot and dry, nothing is more attractive to deer than water where an exceptionable buck could be located and patterned early on in the season.

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