The center serving on a bowstring serves as a launching pad for an arrow. It secures the nocking position, snugs the nock and protects the strands of the string from harmful wear created by finger tabs or release aids. If it unravels or loosens, shooting becomes hopeless or even dangerous. For safety sake and consistent shooting, learn to replace the serving on your bowstring. Given the low cost of serving jigs offered by Bohning, Bjorn and Cavalier and serving material by BCY and Brownell, there’s no reason not to.

Although monofilament or nylon serving material will work, we prefer braided Fast Flight for the extra flexibility and strength it provides. A tight serving of Braided Fast Flight will outlast any other serving type. Although a 100-yard spool costs about three times as much as monofilament or nylon, a spool will serve enough strings to last for years.

For all the items you need to serve your bowstring and a dvd on how to serve your bowstring see: http://www.eders.com/products/bohning-all-in-one-serving-kit.html

Follow the steps shown here to learn this important task.

Step One

To start, remove the bow's cable guard and position cables so they are out of the way. Next, split the bowstring about two inches above center or two inches above old nocking point using a rounded nail and insert serving material leaving about four inches of thread along the string.

Step Two:

Using the serving jig, wrap the serving down and around bowstring 10 to 20 times.

Step Three:

After wrapping the serving about twenty times, pull the extra thread tight and cut.

Step Four:

After cutting the extra thread, continue to wrap the serving tool down and around the string until you are about 4 to 5 inches below the arrow rest. Be sure to adjust the tension on the tool so wrappings are tight together. You adjust the tension on the serving jig by tightening or loosening the wing nut.

Step Five:

After serving about four or five inches below the rest, pull out a large loop of thread, insert the tool back within the loop.

Step Six:

After pulling jig through loop, begin serving from bottom of loop up toward the serving you just wrapped. Be sure to wrap serving in opposite direction from the above serving. Go around ten to twenty times.

Step Seven:

Once there is 10 to 20 wraps inside the loop, position tool along top serving.

Step Eight:

With the serving jig now hanging over the top of the loop, use your hands to serve the thread down and around the bowstring. As you wrap the serving thread around the string the lower part of the serving thread that you just made at the bottom of the loop will unravel. When the serving on the bottom is completely unraveled there will be just a small loop of thread left.

Step Nine:

After the bottom of the loop is unraveled there will be a small loop of thread left at the bottom of the serving.

Step Ten:

Hold the loop and pull the serving tool string to pull the loop through. Pull tight and trim off.

Step Eleven:

After cutting the extra thread you are ready to install nock set. Using a T-shaped nocking square place a nocking point about 1/8 inch above the top of the rest. You

Step Twelve:

Release shooters may want to add an extra-tight layer of serving below the nock set for extra protection from caliper releases. Perform the aforementioned, except lay two or three inches of serving and fold serving against string when beginning, rather than placing it through the serving.

Editor’s Recommended Products: If you want to serve your bowstring, you absolutely need two things, A serving jig and serving thread. I suggest you check out the BCY 26 Server. It allows you to adjust tension nicely and is the tool we used to put this article together. As far as thread goes, Brownell Diamondback Braided Fast Flight is the way to go. If you need to get a T-square and nocking pliers, the Allen Compact Bow Tuning Kit is a hard price to beat. Last but not least, Saunders’ Nocking Points complete the project. Have fun and don’t be intimidated. Once you get the hang of serving the bowstring, its easy and it feels good to be able to do it.

Get all the products you need to redo your center-serving at eders.com:

For all the items you need to serve your bowstring and a dvd on how to serve your bowstring see: http://www.eders.com/products/bohning-all-in-one-serving-kit.html

For all the items you need to serve your bowstring and a dvd on how to serve your bowstring see: http://www.eders.com/products/bohning-all-in-one-serving-kit.html

Two weeks later I was faced with the truest test for my new shooting style. A nice 12 point buck had run to my grunt call and was now standing along the edge of the wood lot, only 10 yards away. He was almost completely obscured by brush. He had scented my entry trail and was now looking side-to-side carefully and sniffing the brush. It was just a matter of seconds before he would blow out. I was already at full draw, searching for a hole to shoot through. Finally, leaning to my right I could make out a hole about 2 inches in diameter, perfectly centered on his vitals. I moved my sight pin into position and completely relaxed my now-quivering shooting muscles. The pin stopped bouncing, and in that split-second only one thought ran through my mind. I remember it as plainly as if it were yesterday. “If you don’t keep your wrist straight you’ll hit the brush.”

The grip hand is an important part of the follow-through. One way to achieve a better follow-through is to think of the shot in different terms. The shot is not over until the arrow hits the target.

I repositioned my wrist and squeezed the trigger. Instead of watching the deer for signs of a hit, I studied the small twigs surrounding my tiny shooting port. Nothing moved. I had him! Even as he broke out into the picked corn field I knew he wasn’t going far. He didn’t either. Only 100 yards from my stand he slowed, wobbled and then fell on his side. You’ve never seen a happier bowhunter.

If you can eliminate bow-hand torque you’re on the fast-track to better hunting accuracy. Here is a break-down of what causes it and how to get rid of it.

Handle-Grabbing Is A curable Disease
Akin to target-panic, handle-grabbing is a spastic involuntary movement that always results in diminished accuracy. Instead of keeping the bow-hand relaxed throughout the shot, the afflicted archer snaps his hand closed at the exact moment he releases the string. Watch 10 average shooters at the next local archery tournament. I’ll bet at least five are grabbing the grip on every shot. Heck, we’ve all done it, and I used to be one of the worst offenders.

As you snap your hand around the grip the bow turns slightly, and generally this disturbance occurs while the arrow is still on the string. It doesn’t take much bow movement to throw an arrow off-line by several inches at 20 yards. It is obvious that both consistency and arrow flight will suffer from such a sudden change in bow position.

Pay particular attention to this aspect of your form next time you practice. If you find that you’re one of the many handle-grabbers, first try simply concentrating on keeping the hand relaxed throughout the shot. To make this work you’ll probably have to force your whole body to relax.

Adhering to the fundamentals of shot mechanics can have an instant affect on accuracy. The bow hand should be kept relaxed and dead throughout the shot. To eliminate handle-grabbing, think of the bow hand as nothing more than a pad that the bow rests against.

If this simple solution doesn’t produce the desired results, try adding a wrist sling to your bow (if you don’t already have one). A wrist sling prevent the bow from jumping out of your hand and bouncing down the range when you release the string without wrapping your fingers around the its grip section. For some shooters this simple accessory offers all the peace of mind required to relax fully.

In the ’96 Olympic games Linford Christie, an English sprinter, was DQ’d for false starting in the 100 meter dash even though a clock built into his starting blocks indicated that he started forward fully .086 seconds after the gun fired? Studies had proven to the satisfaction of the track & field community that anything less than a .1 second reaction time was anticipation, and therefore should be categorized as a false start. If .1 seconds is the quickest reaction time of the world’s best athletes, think how far down the range an arrow can be before you’re able to react to a surprise release.

I think you get the idea: a surprise release will completely defeat the handle-grabbing tendency. Without the knowledge of when the string is going to zip forward, you won’t be able to anticipate the action and thereby ruin accuracy by grabbing the handle.

A surprise release with fingers is difficult, but it can be achieved through the use of solid back tension and a smooth relaxing of the back of the string hand. However, it is much easier to execute a surprise release when using a mechanical release aid. Simply squeeze the trigger slowly – just like when shooting a rifle. A true surprise each time takes patience and steely nerves. Another method will almost guarantee the desired results.

A back-tension release similar to the Stanislawski, Carter Solution or Fail Safe Convertible or Whisper makes anticipating the moment of release very difficult. Shoot one of these models for only two weeks and I know it will change the way you shoot a bow – dramatically for the better. When you go back to a command release, such as an index finger or thumb-triggered model, before hunting season, the handle-grabbing tendency will be under control – as well as all other forms of “target panic”.

The second method for reprogramming the nerves is to view the shot differently: Too many bowhunters assume the shot is completed as soon as they mash the release trigger or quickly open their fingers. This isn’t true. The shot isn’t over until the arrow hits the target. By simply thinking in these terms, you won’t be as likely to do anything, including grabbing the handle, until after the arrow hits the target.

Hand Position

A high hand position with a mostly straight wrist produces the best results for most archers. Without a hinging motion, your wrist is more likely to remain steady throughout the shot. It takes some time to build the strength to draw and hold the string while gripping in this manner, but it will come with practice. You can always turn your draw weight down while making the transition.

How you place your hand on the grip itself is crucial to accuracy. You can introduce torque by inconsistent hand placement. As you experiment with several grip positions, strive to find the one which allows you to feel the force of the bow being pulled straight back against a small point in your hand. Keep your palm from contacting the grip. You definitely don’t want to feel any stretching in the skin of your hand – that’s the feeling of torque being built up. When you release the string the stretched skin will spring back to its normal position, taking the bow with it.

Eventually you won’t even have to look at your grip to know that you’re lined up properly – you’ll be able to instantly feel any small change in hand position. This is where getting used to a specific bow has its advantages.
Grip Design
A narrow grip improves your sense of feel and helps you to achieve consistency. This is one reason that such styles tend to reduce bow- hand torque. The fact that they also keep your palm off the grip is also a reason for their advantage. A grip’s design can effect accuracy in other ways, as well.

I’ve got a bow that was very difficult for me to tune because of the way the grip felt in my hand. Every time I shot an arrow through paper I got a nasty tear to the left – about three inches long. I can come close to bullet-holing only if I grip the bow in a very unorthodox manner – at least it is unorthodox for me. I’m sure if I shot the bow a lot I would eventually get used to gripping it in the method required for good arrow flight, and I wouldn’t be able the shoot the bows I now shoot well.

One of my hunting buddies recently had this problem when going from one bow style to another. By simply applying a little pressure to the side of the grip with his thumb, he went from a nasty right-to-left tear through paper to a perfect bullet hole. This is something that can take a long time to learn, and is why I think many bowhunters quit on a bow and deem it untunable or unshootable long before giving themselves enough time to get used to the nuances of its grip.

The same bow-hand torque that makes a bow more difficult to tune also makes it less accurate in the field. By taking the steps to eliminate bow-hand torque you’ll be much effective on the 3-D course this summer and in the field next fall.

To see what near-perfect form looks like in slow motion, watch the video below.

Unreal…isn’t it?

Archery industry estimates put the number of shooters who use some sort of mechanical release aid at somewhere between 80-90 percent of the total number. While a release will help virtually every archer shoot better, they do create some problems of their own. The two most common are added noise at the shot, and excessive wear on the bowstring’s serving. Also, a release that affixes to a single point on the bowstring — which is usually below the arrow nock — will exert an upward pressure on the shaft at the release, which tends to hamper the shaft from traveling in a perfectly straight and true direction from the get-go.
Tournament shooters — whose success and failure can be measured in fractions of an inch — discovered that adding a “string loop” in place of a standard nock set not only solved these problems, but also helped them shoot a more consistently-accurate arrow.

The String Loop

Pete Shepley, President of PSE and an ardent string loop shooter, prepares raw cord for use as a string loop. Shepley likes to roll the ends of his raw loop cord in epoxy, then let it dry, before tying the loop. The hard glue knot makes working with the loop easier and prevents fraying.

A string loop, which is sometimes referred to as a “release rope,” is nothing more than a small loop of heavy-duty nylon string or rope permanently attached to the bowstring. Basically, instead of using a standard nock set, you tie the loop above and below the arrow nock, leaving just enough room once the arrow has been nocked to clip on the jaws of the release aid. In a nutshell, the string loop acts as both the nock set and the connector between the release aid and bow string.

One of the first to promote the use of a string loop for bowhunters was Pete Shepley, president of PSE, a highly-accomplished bowhunter and heckuva bow shot who uses one himself. “The string loop relieves the unbalanced pressures on the arrow nock/string contact point,” Shepley told me during a break in a Texas deer hunt a few years ago. “It makes the shot quieter, prevents unnecessary bow string serving wear, and if you use a release aid that does not attach itself to your wrist with a strap, you can attach the release aid to the string loop and leave it there while sitting in your tree stand.”

 Tying The Loop
While commercial string loop sets are available for four or five bucks at archery pro shops or through catalogs, you can make a satisfactory loop using an inexpensive piece of 1/8-inch braided nylon cord sold in backpacking shops and hardware stores for pennies a foot.

Step one is to cut about six inches of cord off . The string loop is tied by using a pair of reversed half-hitch knots. The reversed half-hitches actually pull against themselves when the pressure of the release aid being drawn back is applied, keeping the knots snug and tight on the string. It can be tricky to figure this out at first, but your local pro shop professional can show you how in no time. Don’t leave much of a “loop” yet, and don’t snug the knots down tight yet, either. Make sure you have short tag ends extending an inch or so past the knots.

 After loosely tying the loop onto the string, adjust it to the estimated proper nock height using a bow square. Next place an arrow nock in the center of the loop, which will allow you to create the proper spacing. Now insert a pair of needlenose pliers into the loop, and forcefully open them up. This will both stretch open the loop itself, and tighten the half-hitch knots.

You should play with the loop until it is short enough to leave only a smidgen of space between the arrow nock and release aid jaws. Once you’ve got it right and everything tightened up, use a butane lighter and carefully burn the tag ends on the rope until the excess is gone, and a hardened knot is left at the ends. Careful — don’t burn the bow string! This hardened tag end is usually enough to keep the knots from pulling through, although some shooters — myself included — dab a little epoxy on them, “just in case.”

Once the loop is tied in place, you can proceed with bow tuning just as you would if a conventional nock set were used . The string loop can be slid up and down the bowstring during the tuning process until you’re shooting bullet holes through paper. While a properly-tied loop will stay in place on its own at this point, being something of a “doubting Thomas” I usually crimp a standard nock set above and below the loop to prevent any minute slippage over time.

If playing with string and tying half-hitches isn’t your thing, a metal string loop — the Ultra Nock and Ultra Nock II — are available. These use a small metal “loop,” which is clamped over the bow string and secured using four small screws.

Tying The Loop
While commercial string loop sets are available for four or five bucks at archery pro shops or through catalogs, you can make a satisfactory loop using an inexpensive piece of 1/8-inch braided nylon cord sold in backpacking shops and hardware stores for pennies a foot.

Step one is to cut about six inches of cord off . The string loop is tied by using a pair of reversed half-hitch knots. The reversed half-hitches actually pull against themselves when the pressure of the release aid being drawn back is applied, keeping the knots snug and tight on the string. It can be tricky to figure this out at first, but your local pro shop professional can show you how in no time. Don’t leave much of a “loop” yet, and don’t snug the knots down tight yet, either. Make sure you have short tag ends extending an inch or so past the knots.

  After loosely tying the loop onto the string, adjust it to the estimated proper nock height using a bow square. Next place an arrow nock in the center of the loop, which will allow you to create the proper spacing. Now insert a pair of needlenose pliers into the loop, and forcefully open them up. This will both stretch open the loop itself, and tighten the half-hitch knots.

You should play with the loop until it is short enough to leave only a smidgen of space between the arrow nock and release aid jaws. Once you’ve got it right and everything tightened up, use a butane lighter and carefully burn the tag ends on the rope until the excess is gone, and a hardened knot is left at the ends. Careful — don’t burn the bow string! This hardened tag end is usually enough to keep the knots from pulling through, although some shooters — myself included — dab a little epoxy on them, “just in case.”

Once the loop is tied in place, you can proceed with bow tuning just as you would if a conventional nock set were used . The string loop can be slid up and down the bowstring during the tuning process until you’re shooting bullet holes through paper. While a properly-tied loop will stay in place on its own at this point, being something of a “doubting Thomas” I usually crimp a standard nock set above and below the loop to prevent any minute slippage over time.

If playing with string and tying half-hitches isn’t your thing, a metal string loop — the Ultra Nock and Ultra Nock II — are available. These use a small metal “loop,” which is clamped over the bow string and secured using four small screws.

Features/Advantages of a String Loop
PSE special services (Box 5487, Tucson, AZ 85703) offers the following features/advantages sheet on using a string loop:
Eliminates arrow fall-off at full draw
makes nocking point location less critical
 No need to re-nock the shaft after let-down
 No serving damage from release aid contact
 Assures easy one-hand loading
 Releases can remain attached to bowstring in perfect location
 Eliminates gaps in serving from pressure on nocking point
 Controls peep sight location
 Eliminates nock warping due to pinch at full draw
 Allows release aids to be held at right angles rather than level
 System is suitable for all types and lengths of bows
 Extends sight range due to peep being higher above arrow
Prevents the nock sliding down string during the shot.
Permits high cheek anchor without release aid rope slap
Use of loop improves shoulder alignment
Loop adjustment has same effect as bow draw length adjustment
Eliminates chin slap from release aid ropes
Can be used with all types of release aids
 Loop also functions as a string silencer.

To purchase string loop material see: http://www.eders.com/categories/release-loops/

My host at Big Bend Ranch, just south of the capitol city of Pierre South Dakota had agreed to let me bowhunt geese on the ranch with the understanding that I could try my luck on the smaller groups of early arrivals, but once the large flocks started arriving from the nearby Missouri River, I was going to have to switch to a camera and avoid spooking the geese away from their feeding area on the ranch. I don’t think the rancher was much worried about my making an impact in the population with my bow and arrow.

It didn’t take long to realize, shooting a bow from the narrow confines of the pit blind dug specifically for shotgun hunting, was going to be a problem. The only way I could manage was to crouch just below ground level where the pit sloped down. I’d have to wait until the geese were set to land and then raise up, draw and shoot. A piece of cake!

It was barely light enough to see and only a few minutes past legal shooting time when four gigantic Canada’s materialized out of grayness and set their wings over the opening in the decoy spread 15 yards from where I crouched in frozen anticipation. When the huge birds stuck out their webbed feet and started back-flapping to slow their downward momentum I lunged up, jerked my 85# Hoyt compound to full draw, concentrated on where I wanted the arrow to go and released. The Thunderhead tipped XX75 zipped right over a thoroughly startled goose that actually crashed into the ground before frantically launching itself back into the air. “Man, you damn near got him!” hissed my host from his end of the pit blind. “Get ready! Here comes three more!”

A bowhunter comes to full draw on a duck in the water. Jump shooting ducks can be action-packed and lots of fun.

The three gigantic honkers set their wings 100 yards out and lost elevation rapidly as they headed for the same landing zone as the previous group. When the geese were 10 feet in the air, necks extended and feet reaching for the ground when I again drew my bow and raised up for the shot. This time I gave the plummeting goose in the center a bit more downward lead and turned loose. The arrow slashed through the center of the goose with a solid sounding thwaack and the 13# bird slammed into the ground, bounced once and never twitched again. “Yahoo!” hollered my host. “I’ve never seen a goose killed any quicker than that!” Never would have believed it was possible!” Needless to say I was a bit pleased myself .

Bowhunting Waterfowl Methods

Ducks and geese can be successfully bowhunted by three methods, jump shooting, pass shooting and decoying. Decoying and pass shooting work best for bowhunting geese while decoying and jump shooting are the most productive methods for the smaller, faster flying, harder-to-hit, ducks.

Jump shooting ducks is hard to beat for an exciting and challenging bowhunting experience that can be employed throughout the country. When your big game bowhunt coincides with the waterfowl season, midday jumpshooting can add a whole new dimension to your bowhunt.
  
 Key Jump-Shooting Tactics
 The real key to successful jump shooting is  locating your quarry before it sees you.  Binoculars and a spotting scope can aid  dramatically in this endeavor. Look for the ducks  themselves or for rippling water that indicates  feeding or loafing ducks. Ducks have excellent  eyesight so plan your stalk carefully to keep  yourself completely out of sight until the last  possible moment. Complete camo that matches your  background cover can often make the difference in  the success or failure of your stalk.

 I can remember one late season whitetail bowhunt in the south where the waterfowl season was still open during my deer hunt. While bowhunting the second day I discovered the steep-banked creeks flowing through the hardwood bottoms were filled with wood ducks. It didn’t take me long to add a bird hunting license to my deer license.  Since I already had the necessary waterfowl stamp I was in business.

I couldn’t wait for the morning hunt to end so I could sneak along the creeks bowhunting the gorgeous woodies. I’d ease along a creek, glassing ahead for a telltale ripple or sight of a duck. Once I located my quarry, I’d circle out 30 yards or so from the creek, staying out of sight of the unsuspecting birds.

When I got directly opposite where I figured the ducks were located, I’d ease quietly toward the edge of the bank and come to full draw before I got within sight of the creek or ducks. If there was a tree or other cover along the edge of the bank I’d try to make use of it to cover my approach and help break up my outline.

 On a number of occasions I’d catch the ducks completely by surprise and get an arrow off before they lept into the air.  Most of the time, however, my shot was at a rapidly rising duck. I managed to limit out on ducks several days in a row while everybody else was back in camp taking a midday nap.

I’ve spent many a pleasant fall day in Colorado jump shooting ducks off the high mountain beaver dams. During the late duck season in the Colorado mountains the many warm water springs and irrigation ditches have also provided some fantastic jump shooting with a bow and arrow for the mallards drawn to the lush sedges and tepid water.
 
Decoying Techniques
Decoying works well for bowhunting both ducks and geese. However the same blind or pit setup that works for shotgunning won’t necessarily work for bowhunting. A bowhunter needs a blind with room enough to draw, swing and shoot without interference. I prefer a blind that’s open on the front with a good dense background that will let the immobile, camouflaged bowhunter blend in completely until time to draw and shoot.

Concentration is a real key to successfully arrowing incoming ducks or geese dropping into a decoy spread . It’s tough to concentrate on a single bird and then to further concentrate on picking a spot to place your arrow. I’m glad that I shoot instinctively as a sight shooter would definitely have a lot tougher time following the fast action. The decoy spread should be placed close to the blind with the primary landing area for ducks and geese situated at 10 – 20 yards directly in front of the shooter’s position. In many areas a bowhunter can make use of a boat, hip boots or waders and a few strategically placed decoys for some fantastic duck or goose bowhunting. Small creeks, sloughs or swamps are ideal places to set out several lightweight decoys and make use of the available cover for concealment much as you would for ambushing a whitetail buck. Know the rudiments of using a duck call can be a definite advantage but silence in conjunction with your decoy spread is more likely to attract ducks than bad calling, so be cautious.

Pass Shooting

Bow-bagged waterfowl don

I have taken several snow geese and a couple Canada geese by pass shooting and must admit that this type of hunting offers plenty of shooting and action.  There is lots of anticipation as your arrow flies upward toward a flying goose and a good share of frustration as the geese seemingly side-slip your rising shafts with ease. One day, while pass shooting at geese coming off the Missouri River south of Pierre, South Dakota, another bowhunter and I had 50 or more arrows sticking out of the ground, like a bunch of brightly colored flowers. The arrows were in a group about 20 yards around, situated at the bottom a draw a hundred or so yards below our pit blind along the top of a bare ridge overlooking the river. We shot all of our arrows several times that day and after all the practice shots finally zeroed in on two snow geese. Can’t say I’ve ever enjoyed a day’s waterfowling any more.
Waterfowl Equipment
Forget flu-flu arrows for waterfowl bowhunting. Ducks and geese are fast flyers and you need all the arrow speed you can get muster to get your arrow in the same place as the target – while it’s still there. I have taken ducks and geese with both recurve and compound bows shooting instinctively and would recommend using the type of bow you can shoot best instinctively or with the least amount of sighting equipment.

Waterfowl are tough birds with dense feathers and muscled bodies that can take a lot of abuse.  My advice is to use the best flying and sharpest broadhead you can find. Blunts, bludgeons, and snaros might work for jump shooting smaller duck species such as teal or wood ducks but I still prefer the deadly efficiency of a razor-sharp broadhead on anything bigger.

If you haven’t tried waterfowl bowhunting you are missing out on an extremely challenging and exciting part of bowhunting where competition is non-existent, the seasons are long and the bag limit liberal. Who could ask for more?

Every fall is filled by deer hunters dreams of taking a trophy buck during the deer season. Flocking to sporting good stores hunters buy their license. Strolling through the store a deer call is noticed and bought. Not quite sure if it will work or not, it is worn around the neck on opening morning believing that the rut is on and with a few blows of this call every buck in the county will be broadside in your sights in minutes.

This is a great plan, but unfortunately it does not quite work that way. Too many hunters take to the woods with this mindset. After a few unsuccessful attempts with the new toy, the call is discarded. All faith is lost, the rut is over and there are no deer running to get in the way for a clean shot. The call is a joke and the rut is a myth made up by some outdoor writer trying to sell a story to a magazine.

This could not be further from the truth. The rut does occur and deer are vocal creatures. The key is in knowing what stage the rut is in and then using the correct call. A call is merely a tool that will enable you are able to speak in the deer?s language. Using the wrong call during a certain phase of the rut means you are alerting the deer that something is wrong. Use the correct call at the correct time and you will be filling out that deer tag.

FOR A GREAT DEER FIGHT SCENE SEE THE VIDEO BELOW:

The rut is a time when the male deer are actively pursuing does to breed. The buck’s neck swells as testosterone flows through him telling him it is time to pass on his genes. There are three phases of the rut; pre rut, rut and post rut. Each phase is different with its advantages and obstacles in hunting it. Knowing which deer calls to use during the proper phase will enable hunters opportunities to take advantage of the language of deer.
Calls Of The Pre-Rut

During the rut bucks shed their natural paranoia and begin chasing does with reckless abandon. photo by brian robbins

Chuck Jones of Knight and Hale Game Calls and co-host of “Ultimate Deer and Turkey? says “There is no set time for the rut to occur. When the rut is happening in Ohio it may be weeks before it occurs in Arkansas. The rut tends to run longer in the South compared to the North. It can last as long as a month and a half.” There are generally two ruts that occur in a season. The second starts around 28 days after the first rut. This is when yearling and leftover does coming into their second cycle usually breed.

 
Pre rut is easy to distinguish form the other stages. The bucks will be working scrape lines for two to three weeks. They will paw at the ground and urinate on their tarsal glands spreading their scent. Does crossing the line will also mark the area with their urine. This is the way deer communicate to each other when it is time to breed.

When calling deer during this time a soft low key approach is best. Gentle bleats from a fawn or doe call would make excellent choices. Aggressive calling with a grunt call is not advised due to the fact that the deer have not reached the aggressive stage yet. Aggressive grunting at this stage is letting the deer know something is wrong and out of place. Soft short grunts are better suited for this stage of the rut.

Jones said the best way to hunt the pre rut is to find a Buck’s Scrape line and hunt it with out disturbing it. This is the time when a deer call like the Knight and Hale EZ Grunter Plus works well. Look for the buck’s travel zone in fence rows and thickets and keep an eye out for buck signs like rubs, scrapes and pellets.
Gruntin’ The Ruttin’ Bucks

During the rut, your strategy should change. At this time, concentrate on the does and you will find the bucks, said Jones. The bucks give up on their scrape lines for the most part and are actively pursuing does. Locate the doe’s food source and bedding area and get in the middle. “Be aware” Jones advised, “That a food source can change daily. Hardwood ridges, concentrating on deer utilizing food sources and hunting over fresh deer signs are also great locations to hunt during the rut. ”

You can throw the sound of a call by aiming the grunt tube and covering its sides a little.

As your strategy and set up has changed so should your calling sounds and techniques. Now is the time to use aggressive grunting. Rattling to simulate a fight also adds to the chance of arousing the curiosity of a buck. The new Rut-N-Buck call on the market from Knight and Hale Game Calls would make an excellent choice to add to your deer call arsenal. The Rut-N-Buck makes the exciting clicking sound that a frustrated buck makes during the rut. This call is a close range call that will drive a nearby buck mad. Using it in conjunction with your other long-range calls can be the trick to brings that wall hanger out of the thick stuff for a shot.

 
After The Rut 

Post rut is the most difficult time to attempt to take a deer. At this phase the deer have accomplished their goal of breeding and have a new agenda, staying alive. The deer have been hunted and pressured hard during the season. If you wish to take a buck at this phase you will need to move into the thick cover and keep a sharp eye. Honeysuckle and briar thickets make excellent places for deer to hide in. Look for entry paths and set up along them.

As with trying to decide what area to hunt you also need to be as selective on which call to use. A second rut will be coming in and you may need to change your calling tactics on a daily basis. When soft grunting works one day the same routine may fall on deaf ears if a buck is chasing a doe going into late heat.

The best thing to do is play it by ear and use what call seems to fit the situation. Start out soft and if you get no reaction then gradually get more aggressive until you get a reaction form the deer. If you see a lot of fresh scrapes stay on the aggressive side of the calling range.
Things To Remember

One thing to keep in mind is that a deer call will not spook a deer. The sounds that they make are the everyday language. Just like humans deer react to sounds depending on their mood. When one deer may run by you, ignoring you, the next buck may be tearing the up the forest to stand broadside in front of you.
One last bit of advice Jones gives on deer calls is “Most deer that spook from a hunter using a call are not spooked from the call but by the situation. A hunter blowing a deer call in the middle of a field where a deer can see deer are not around and will know something is wrong. In thick woods you stand a better a better chance of drawing on a deer’s curiosity.”

Now with the knowledge about the rut and which calls to use you may just find that trophy buck you have been looking for all your life. Knowing which call to use is just as important as knowing which phase the rut is in. When a hunter will pay attention to the rut and will use proper calling for that phase, the odds of filling out that deer tag will increase.