By David Hale

Most hunters know the moon plays a large part in the rut of whitetail deer. Although it is uncertain just how much, we all know that deer activities slow down during the full moon phase. The visible rut occurs in late October or early November as the full moon disappears and the new moon appears. In the central part of the United States the peak of rut occurred during the new moon phase around November 15.

During the pre-rut period of October, lots of scrapes and rubs occurred as bucks left their signs of their tines in obvious places. In the early week of November bucks began chasing does and rattling became effective for the bow hunter. When the buck-doe ratio is close together and the rut occurs the first week of November, calls, rattling and scents work most effectively on whitetail deer.

Knowing how the moon was going to affect deer activities, the Knight & Hale team planned trips to Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Iowa in search of a very visible rut.

The Knight & Hale gang try to take in as many states as time will allow for deer season from September to November. It is the pre-rut just prior to the peak rut that is most productive. This year we found a small window of opportunity in which rattling worked to perfection. A tract of land of 6,000 acres in one block was just the ticket for a managed good buck-doe ratio.

The Knight & Hale team was offered the opportunity to bow hunt a buck and rattling was the method chosen. Using a set of real antlers mixed with a sparring bag, including some aggressive grunting, produced 14 different bucks in three days approaching the stand. Although no Pope & Young deer were taken, this may have been the most exciting three days of hunting in my career. When you have a deer looking for you and now you are the hunter, it is a thrill of a lifetime. I'm glad they don't have the weapon, otherwise I might be on their wall.

Used properly with timely calling, rattling and scent can work to your advantage. It is a short window of opportunity but if you can time the rut, there is nothing like a whitetail buck in search of your calling position.

This rattling sequence will be seen in Knight & Hale's new Ultimate VII Whitetail video. We will take the time to show you what, when, where and how we make it work for us. When the moon is right and the rut is on, anything can happen.