Its prime time for hunters seeking bucks

Northwest Montana hunters can look forward to the best elk and deer hunting of the year during the next two weeks.

White-tailed deer bucks are now coming into the peak of their annual rut, when mature bucks lose much of their normal caution. Many studies show that mature bucks, bucks over 5 1/2 years old, are usually bedded during daylight hours.

For most of the year, during daylight, bucks hide in conifer thickets, making it very difficult for their enemies both four-legged and two-legged predators to find them and harm them.

Bucks that are up and moving during daylight in the early part of the hunting season are usually young bucks that have not learned how to survive. Last week, I saw a small four-point buck hanging out with a doe and fawn during midmorning.

Mature bucks, the one hunters like to hang on the wall, were safely tucked in their daybeds, knowing does were still a week or two away from being receptive to breeding.

That smaller buck likely will not make it through hunting season. Our recent wet weather, including some snow, should make for ideal hunting conditions. Rain, snow or recently melted snow allow hunters to silently move through the woods.

As the peak of the rut approaches during the next two weeks, even mature bucks will be unable to resist leaving the safety of their secure daybeds, to look for a cute doe ready to breed.

Dont try to dig a mature buck out of his bedding area. He will probably detect you first and you are likely to see only his white tail as he runs off.

Successful hunters know that bucks will be searching for does, so they hunt doe country. Many does tend to favor damp areas which produce the succulent browse and forbs they like to eat. This tends to be lower-elevation country, along creeks with wide flood plains and around the edge of wetlands.

My favorite deer hunting areas usually have lots of aspen and cottonwood trees. These trees tend to grow in moist areas which is rich habitat for game.

My most successful hunting method is finding a knob or ridge overlooking a few acres of rich habitat. I like it to be semi-open so I can see deer and make a clean shot.

I like to sit and watch this kind of habitat. To entice bucks into my view, I have become a devoted rattler. I rattle a set of four-point deer antlers every 15-20 minutes. Bucks within 200 to 300 yards likely will come in to investigate.

Next to my rifle and rattling antlers, the next most important piece of hunting gear I have is my squeeze bottle of white powder to test the wind. A bucks best defense against hunters is his nose.

There is no such thing as perfectly calm air. With our mountain terrain and variable tree cover, air currents are always moving.

Wetting your finger to test the wind, using a piece of yam or looking at lichens that hang from many of our trees, are primitive wind-indication methods compared to commercial products such as Smoke in a Bottle or Wind Indicator. A squeeze of those plastic bottles will emit a plume of white substance that literally hangs in the air, then slowly drifts off with the wind.

Dont expect a buck to come in from that direction. Another important piece of hunting gear is a medium-size plastic bag to sit on. It will keep your butt dry and you warm.

If you are like me, I cant sit in one spot too long, usually an hour at most. So when I get the urge to move, I slowly and quietly hunt my way to another spot to sit and watch.

Mature bucks have very erratic behavior during the rut, so be prepared to see a buck anytime and anywhere. So get out there, hunt and enjoy the super bowl period of the hunting season.