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Transcript of Kentucky Outdoors Shop Magazine
UNDERSTANDING THE RUT
By: Travis Travillian (Pro Staff at Kentucky Outdoors Shop)
September 19, 2015
October through late November and the
cold winter coming soon mean’s love is in the
air, Whitetail deer will begin the “RUT”.
Buck’s will be aggressive and nosey. Many
hunters think it’s an easy way to kill the
biggest buck in the woods or the farm… And
they are right. Many bucks let down their
guard and will chase down that HOT
beautiful doe to the ends of the earth if they
have too. They will come up on a competitor
and fight to the death for dominance. But be
cautious, if you use attractant’s like doe
urine; make sure you don’t get mistaken for
her or it will be a bad day. Get your tools out
and be prepared, a great deer call like “THE
CAN” or “THE ORIGINAL LONG CAN”
made by PRIMOS can really aid you in
luring over that monster buck that’s a few
hundred yards away. A few loud grunts’ and
a rattle-bag with TINK’S #69 in the air and
you’ll have him in love, Liquid in your
hands. Companies are pumping out new
products better than the last every year. New
technology and even better prices every year
they put out the merchandise at your local
outdoors store. If you really want that BIG
12 get ready and be PATIENT. Wildgame
Innovation’s has AMAZING products like
“ACORN RAGE” that will absolutely bring
in the deer, of all sizes. The way they have
the drift scent with the powdered acorns and
chestnuts really improves you’re chances.
Get the doe’s in and let it be. A big buck will
follow them in.
I am going to break down each phase of the
“RUT” starting with
ThePre-Rut,
As the temperatures begin to fall the bucks
shed the antler velvet and begin their
sparing matches. These are not always life
and death fights but simply a push and shove
affair where bucks get rid of some
frustration and test their competitors and
fight for dominance. It’s almost a sick joke
on the bucks from Mother Nature that they
are ready to breed but the does aren’t. At
this time bucks still live together in bachelor
groups.
TheChasingPhase,
About three to four weeks after the Pre Rut
the chasing phase blends in. The mature
bucks begin now to leave the buck groups
and lead a life in solitude, beginning to
follow the does around, chasing them day
and night. At about this time the does begin
to produce pheromones as the estrus nears.
It is believed that this pheromones
advertising the estrus cycle causes bucks to
produce more male hormones.
At first bucks follow the does in some
distance, shadowing the does. While there
may be several bucks that follow a doe, it
will be the dominant bucks that follow the
doe at a close distance. As the doe nears her
full estrus cycle the bucks chase becomes
more intensified and heated.
TheRut,
The estrus period, where a doe is most
fertile, only lasts about 24 hours. The doe
will now stand still for the buck rather than
run away from him the moment he tries to
come very close to her. She will now tolerate
that buck when he begins to mount her.
After breeding the buck will stay with that
doe throughout her estrus period before he
goes off to find a new estrus doe, commonly
referred to as “doe in heat”. Bucks breed
several does in a very short time frame. Not
all the does come in heat at exactly the same
time or day.
If a doe has not been breed the first time, she
will come back in heat again after 28-30
days. Researchers have found that some does
can go through six to seven estrus cycles in a
mating season. But in reality most does are
breed the first time around.
It is the few does that repeat their estrus
cycles in 28-30 days that lead up to the post
rut.
ThePostRut
The post rut is the same as the Rut but very
much less intensive as the first rut because
most of the does have already been breed
and the competition is very slim. Bucks are
still wandering about and checking out doe
feeding and bedding areas to find the last un-
breed doe.
Exhaustion, Will overcome the bucks and
after they done what they needed to do they
will rest up and take a good nap. The RUT is
a short lived but physically exhausting few
weeks, but it’s worth it.
BEST DEER ATTRACTANTS
By: Travis Travillian (Pro Staff at Kentucky Outdoors Shop)
September 19, 2015
Deer attractants come in all shapes and
sizes. I use a mixture of them from Acorn
Rage to 3 Day Harvest. Let me tell you.
THEY WORK! I moved in a house with a
big field and woods in the back and a ¼ acre
farm pond. I have lived there for over a year
and before I started using Deer attractants I
didn’t see a deer. I bought a 40lb bag of
Wildgame Innovations Deer Corn, Acorn
Rage lick block and a bag of Evolved
Habitats Deer Cain. I created a station close
to my wood line and the pond. I bumped the
whole bag of corn out and tore up some dirt
and retrieved some pond water in my 5
gallon bucket to mix my Deer Cain into.
After I poured it out on the fresh dirt I set
up my Game-Trail Camera and left. The
next day I looked out my kitchen window
and too my amazement I had a deer in the
station. Every day for 2 weeks I seen deer
back there eating and I was totally
impressed. So now I want to say THANK
YOU to Evolved Habitats and Wildgame
Innovations for creating such wonderful
products! I’m sure that there is a lot more
deer attractant out in stores, but I trust
Wildgame Innovations, They get great
reviews and it takes out the guessing game,
they make sure they sell clean and trusted
products and they do. I can now feel
comfortable knowing I have a better chance
of getting a deer than I did before. For a
product to work so fast and effectively is why
I am telling you what the Best Deer
attractants to go out and buy are. It’s worth
every dime I spend when I go buy deer feed.
Now since I sell hunting supply online all I
have to do is click and it gets shipped to me,
with my work and family schedule it’s great
to know I don’t have to take time and have
to spend more money and run out my gas
just for 1 or 2 items.
Scent drift, Aerosol they work. All you need
now is the patience. Don’t be the 15 minuet
hunter and leave. Get out and wait for them.
Call, Rattle they will come. With great
products out, there is no reason you can
bring out that monster buck.
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At www.kentuckyoutdoorsshop.com
Kentucky's Deer Restoration
Restoring Kentucky’s deer population took patience and some good old-fashioned ingenuity.
(Note: Former Kentucky Afield magazine writer J.B. Garland first published this story in 1998. Although
some information may be dated and some personnel have changed, it provides a glimpse into Kentucky’s
deer restoration efforts.)
Morning light had not yet pushed away the shadows
when the deer trapping crew drove up to the tennis
courts at Lake Cumberland State Resort Park. It was
cold that January morning and the resort was closed for
the winter, but Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Deer
Coordinator John Phillips and crew had a special
purpose for being there. Usually trapping crews used
box traps, tranquilizer darts or net traps to capture deer,
but the state park offered a unique opportunity.
Today’s crew had been baiting the tennis courts for
several weeks, leaving both gate doors open. A week
before the trapping was to take place, one of the doors
was shut. Finally, this morning, the crew approached
the courts and shut the other door trapping the feeding
deer inside. The capture was made easily, but the deer
still had to be tagged and loaded onto trucks where they
would be transported to other counties and released to
establish new viable deer herds.
Greg Powers, a member of the trapping crew, cornered
a young button buck. Grabbing the deer’s front legs, he
wrestled it to the ground so another member of the crew
could tag it. Powers took a good look at the deer after it
was loaded on the truck; it wasn’t the last time that he
would see it.
Six years later, Powers was bow hunting on the
Paintsville Lake Wildlife Management Area when he
took a monster of a deer. According to its ear tag, it was
the same buck that he captured on the Lake
Cumberland park’s tennis courts. The buck was a non-
typical that scored 200 7/8 on the Pope and Young
scale, the second highest Pope and Young Club entry
from Kentucky.
By the time Powers took his record deer, hunting had
become a realistic pursuit all over the state. But fewer
than 50 years before, Kentucky didn’t allow deer
hunting because of low populations, and just 20 years
before it was still rare to bring home a deer from a hunt.
Concerned sportsmen had taken action but deer
restoration took time to be successful.
Concern for dwindling wildlife populations in
Kentucky began before the turn of the century when, in
1894, the Kentucky legislature passed a law making it
illegal to kill a buck, doe or fawn between March 1 and
September 1. In 1912, sportsmen convinced the
legislature to take further action and form a Game
Commission. The commission recommended closing
the state to deer hunting. Deer hunting did not reopen
until 1946.
The first modern-day deer hunt actually came because
of one Isaac Bernheim. In 1929, Bernheim brought 15
red deer (a close relative of elk) from Europe and
released the giants on his property, which he managed
as an example of conservation in Bullitt County. The
red deer herd grew so large that local farmers began
complaining. In January 1946, it was red deer, not
whitetails that became the focus of the first legal deer
hunt in Kentucky since before World War I.
It cost $10 for hunters to participate. If they were lucky
enough to kill a deer, they had to pay an additional $15
for a tag. Although hunters took fewer than 30 deer, the
hunt successfully scattered the herd.
However, scattering the existing herds of white-tailed
deer would not be enough to establish a statewide deer
population. So the Kentucky Division of Game and
Fish, now the Kentucky Department of Fish and
Wildlife Resources, received deer from Wisconsin to
begin a white-tailed deer restoration program.
Department personnel relocated most of these deer to
Christian, Crittenden, Livingston and Ballard counties.
Ballard Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and
Mammoth Cave received stockings of Kentucky deer
and Wisconsin deer, and later became trapping sites.
Stocking would be the method to establishing a
statewide deer herd. Unfortunately, before 1945 there
was little work done in the area of biological wildlife
management. Wildlife management was largely limited
to law enforcement. As a result, early deer hunting
seasons were too liberal, ultimately undoing much of
what previous stocking had established.
In the 1960s and 1970s, deer stocking intensified.
Seasons grew more restrictive to protect the state’s
herd. Much of the state’s current deer population
originated from deer trapped at Ballard WMA and
Mammoth Cave and moved elsewhere in the state
between 1963 and 1974.
Robert Willis set up the first deer check stations in
1976. Willis and John Phillips, a biologist with the
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources,
met at Kleber Wildlife Management Area the day after
the deer season ended. Willis and Phillips hand-sorted
all the deer check cards to tabulate the year’s deer
harvest.
By the 1980s, the western two-thirds of the state had
enough deer to open a season. Statewide, more than
40,000 cards from check stations were compiled using a
scanner. Still, many eastern counties didn’t have viable
deer herds. Deer transplanted to eastern Kentucky faced
additional problems of rugged terrain and dogs. These
elements, not poachers, were the major obstacles to the
growth of the herd.
When Phillips became Kentucky’s deer program
coordinator in 1978, he began defining the differences
in deer populations from east to west across the state.
He determined that counties could have a season if
there was more than one deer a square mile. So instead
of putting 50 deer in a county, he proposed putting 500
deer in each county. His theory was successful. During
the 1980s and 1990s, Phillips and his crews trapped and
released around 12,000 deer.
Charlie Wilkins remembers the intensity of the program
during those years. He came on as manager of the
Ballard Wildlife Management Area in 1985. During the
winter months, deer trapping was a seven-day-a-week
job for Wilkins and his crew, which consisted of 11
men. The object was to trap as many deer as possible
and transport them as quickly as possible. The labor
was time-intensive and work-intensive.
From the first restrictions on hunting in 1894, to nearly
statewide seasons in 1997, the torch has been handed
down. It took dedication to raise Kentucky’s white-
tailed deer population from fewer than 2,000 in 1945 to
a statewide herd of more than 450,000 today. The
state’s last deer stocking will occur in Perry County in
1999.
The 2015 deer season kicks off on 9-5-2015 and stops 1-18-2016. This is 136 days of Archery Whitetail Deer Hunting.
It's a great way for the State Of Kentucky to manage these herds of deer. Archery is at the TOP of my list. I am a hunter
and I love the sport and Deer Jerky... But just sitting in the stand listening to nothing but world and wildlife waking up
at 6am I can’t find a better way to live.
August, 15th 2015 Squirrel Season began. I use Squirrel season as an excuse to go Deer Scouting and find my next
hunting area. Buy a couple 50 lbs bag of corn and a mineral lick and I’m ready to go. I try to stay up to date with new
Camouflage and Deer Calls, Scents etc. But I think my Dedication and time put in the woods I’m going to be hunting is
a more valuable assets and tool than anything hanging on a wall.
The products I buy and use are Primo’s Can call's, Real Tree Hardwood Camouflage, Wildgame Innovations Feed
products, Bone Collector products and carry my trusty sidekick(S&W SR9) and my Marlin Lever-Action 30/30. You
cannot beat that folks.
I've always dreamed of killing that giant buck, like everyone else. But if you're like me, you can’t afford those
expensive hunting trips. But you have to keep your head in the game. This website is a work in progress. It's more like
the perfect country and western song you’re going to see Picture’s and Video's of Buck's, Does’, Turkey, Elk, Black
Bear and even Coyote's Southern Kentucky has a list of Big Game Animal's to choose from. This fall and Winter I'm
going to film some Hunt's and Adventures and take you along for the experience. Introduce you to my Family.
Staying legal is a priority. If it's in season, it will be hunted. If it's brown it's down. These are My Whitetail Obsession’s
so come with me and enjoy the Great American Outdoors.
-Travis Travillian
Predator Hunting In Kentucky
By: Travis Travillian (ProStaffer at Kentucky Outdoors Shop)
Predator hunting takes patience. You have to disappear and observe your surroundings. You must utilize patience and
skill's you thought you never had. Predator hunting often involves sitting still for long periods of time while only using
your eyes to scan the terrain in front of you. Even the most attractive calls that may be a dinner bell to bobcat's, coyote's
or fox's you still must maintain stealth like approach. At times you will have predators come racing in to for a kill, but
more often than not they will take a cat like approach, come in from downwind and have their sharp eyes keyed in on
you.
Predator hunting often requires being tactical and sometime's having the ability to setup several different times or even
bounce around to different properties quickly. Coyotes can cover miles each day in search of food. A coyote that has
left its sign today could be 10 miles away by tomorrow.
Not every hunt will end in success. To say the least, predator hunting is downright hit or miss, but there are usually a
few things amateurs start out doing wrong and that is most often over-calling and setting up with the wind wrong.
These are most likely the 2 biggest factors at failure for amateurs.
Bobcats are vicious animals unlike the cowardly Coyote. They will fight you tooth and nail. So you had better make the
shot count the first time. Or you could be the one being stalked and hunted. Kentucky also has Mountain Lions but
they'll see you before you see them. The skittish Red Fox is a beautiful animal that is hard to sneak up on, just like the
Coyote you'll have to be a smooth operator.
LYNC at Predator Down wrote this
Think like a Coyote
First off let’s think like a coyote. Why does a coyote need to move about? To hunt, defend their territory, breed, etc.
Since they rely heavily on their nose or olfactory stimuli, the biggest factor that limits their movement is wind speed.
Because of this, when the wind picks up coyotes seek cover. Now, that being said lets talk about other factors to
consider when deciding when the best time to coyote hunt is.
If you want to maximize your productivity on stand you might be asking when is the best time to coyote hunt? What
effects does temperature, barometric pressure and moon phase have on coyote hunting and how can you use them to
your advantage? If you have the luxury of choosing which days you would like to get out calling, then answers to these
questions will help you know when the most productive times would be to be out in the field.
Temperature
Coyotes are no different than any other animal. When it is hot, they like to stay cool. They will do most of their hunting
during the night when it’s cooler. This isn’t to say that you can’t call them in on a hot summer morning, because it
happens, but when the temperature is cooler they are more responsive. So just what is a good temperature? I have found
when the temperature stays below 65 degrees I can call all day long and still have success. As soon as it gets above this
temperature coyote activity declines.
Barometric Pressure
What about barometric pressure? This is something that I haven’t taken the time to capture specific numbers on, but I
can tell you that it does affect coyote movement. Just before a storm the air pressure will drop and after the storm the
pressure will rise again. Mississippi State University did a research project on carnivore ecology and found that coyote
activity decreases as the pressure decreases and increases as the pressure increases. So that being said, the best time to
hunt would be after a storm instead of before. My theory is that the prey animals hunker down before a storm and come
out as soon as it is over. On the other hand I remember a morning of calling as a light snow storm was rolling in and the
coyotes were active. We had to leave at noon, but had responders on six of the ten stands. So if you have the time, hunt
both before and after, but if you are like the rest of us, you go whenever possible.
Moon Phase
And lastly, what about the moon phase? One thing I like to do is keep a log of the days I go out calling, how many I
called in, shot, etc. I went back through the years of data with the moon phase in mind to see if there was a trend
indicating which phase was the best for coyote calling. As I did so I found that the moon phase didn’t seem to have an
affect on the movement of coyotes. There weren’t any trends that corresponded to the moon.
So in answer to the question what is the best time to coyote hunt, I think if I were to describe the ideal day of calling it
would be one that has minimal wind, cooler temperatures, overcast skies, and just after a storm. But since those days
don’t come around all the time, just make the most of and enjoy those days when you can get out in the field.
Tree Stand or Ground Blind?
By: Travis Travillian (Pro Staff at Kentucky Outdoors Shop)
September 19, 2015
So I couldn’t decide if I wanted a ground
blind or a tree stand. I’m not big on heights
so I was leaning towards a ground blind. I
got too looking online and found the same
exact question on Field and Stream’s
website.
Tree stand or ground blind
Question from: The Compound
For bow hunting and deer hunting in general
would I be better with a ladder stand or a
ground blind? Sometimes I hunt private land
and sometimes it’s public
Reply from ChrisUng
I'd say it all depends on the terrain, the cover and the
time of day you are hunting. Both have their advantages
and disadvantages. A complete hunter would keep
either option in his bag of tricks.
Personally I favor tree stand hunting as you'll have a
better field of view to pick up the movement of
incoming deer. With an elevated vantage point, you'll
have a greater peripheral field of view and will be able
to watch more than one animal at a time. (Often
important when focusing on a buck that's with a few
lady friends). I primarily hunt stands of hardwoods
either over a mast crop or along travel routes adjacent
to bedding areas. Often times I have several trails
within shooting range and in a tree stand it's easier to
get a shooting lane to more areas. It's also better for
rattling/calling as your sounds will carry further. Make
sure you practice shooting from an elevated platform as
your angular distance is actually greater than the linear,
and your arrow will fall less than you'd think (aim low).
Ground blind hunting can also be very effective,
especially where hanging a tree stand (or carrying one
in) isn't practical. They are a godsend for setting up
shop in a hedgerow along active crop fields, as well as
in overgrown stuff like CRP fields. In cold weather,
you can get away with running a propane heater and not
have to worry about additional movement while trying
to keep yourself comfortable. The movement of your
draw cycle is also less of an issue when in the shadows
of a blind. On that note, be advised that many of the
blinds on today's market are quite crammed inside. So
if you're planning on bow hunting from one of the
smaller models, you'd better practice shooting from a
kneeling or sitting position.
Happy hunting.
From nyoutdoorsman30-06
If you’re on private property and know of a good spot
for deer a ladder stand is better (in my opinion) but if
you’re on public land a ladder stand may be hard to get
in there and inconvenient so a blind would be good. If
you’re in a blind you may have to practice shooting
from it more than practicing from a tree stand. I find it
much easier to shoot from a tree stand than a blind.
Most of all it depends on what your comfortable
shooting in and what kind of land you’re on.
From Ross McClintock
There are times when I like both. Depends on the
location, waterhole, trail, open country, woods.
From elijahsamuelburnett
thanks for the advice. The spot I’m at is fairly thick too
so a stand would probably off better views. Any
suggestion for brands of stands
From 007
If you do go with a ladder, make sure it's high enough
and with enough concealment. I tried a 12' a few years
back and I might as well have had a neon sign over my
head.
From tyler.josiah.hall
On private land where you can map deer movements
and patterns, you can't go wrong with tree stands. On
public land I like to stay mobile with a ground blind,
just in case it gets to crowded or hunting pressure
changes deer patterns. Hope this helps!
From ChrisUng
A lot of guys will swear by certain brands of tree
stands, but I'm not one of them. I look for something
that's well built, easy to hang (or climb with), and isn't
too terribly difficult to carry to your spot.
If you're going to go the route of using a climbing
stand, you can't go wrong with a Summit, API or even a
Lone Wolf, but you'd spend a small fortune in doing so.
Those brands are all made of aluminum and are lighter,
though not by much. Take a look into some steel stands.
Even though they're a few pounds heavier, you can find
something decent for upwards of $100 cheaper!
If you're planning on using a fixed position hang-on
style stand, get one that's best suited to your frame (if
you're a big guy like me, using a little tiny platform is
NO FUN, especially on a long sit). For my fixed stands
I use climbing sticks rather than screw in steps.
Sportsman guide dot com has some really great deals
on steel climbing sticks and fixed position stands.
If you prefer a ladder (easiest and some say safest), like
007 said, make sure you get one that's tall enough.
Ladders are often very conspicuous, so you'll likely
have to pick a spot where you can camouflage the stand
to break up its awkward silhouette.
You can also find some really good deals on craigslist,
but you always run the risk of buying damaged or
stolen goods there. Use your best judgment.
Now, WHATEVER you choose, make sure you buy a
good full body harness, and keep yourself safely
strapped in from the moment you step off the ground til
the moment you return. Tough guys need not apply, no
deer is worth a 20 foot fall.
From elijahsamuelburnett
Thank for the input! I also have issues with the small
platforms that’s why I would prefer a ladder stand. I
shot from a hang on and wasn’t comfortable shooting
from it at all. I have a couple of spots that would be
good with a ladder stand and would be easy to conceal
one
From yetihunter1
Ladder stands are great but only on private land. I
prefer tree stands over blinds and climbing stands over
ladders on public land. For the ladder stands and the
blind, I would put them out at the least a week before
you head out because I have spooked some nice deer
because it was unfamiliar.
From NJBuckhunter
i would recommend a tree stand because if your hunting
public where someone can see your ground blind
because its more visible and have thoughts about taking
it that’s like throwing cash in the trash. Ground blinds
can also carry some human odors on the same level as
the deer so that may giveaway your hunting spot to
deer. I don’t know I just prefer tree stands because they
have a better view of the land.
From bowhunter138
I would use a tree stand unless you have a place on your
own property where you could leave a ground blind or
permanent blind up year round.
From CoastieJim82
Either is good i have both a tree stand and a ground
blind. and i have seen deer with both. I have had a deer
come within 20 yards of my ground blind. It’s all about
your scent control.
From delweaver
Yeah I agree with coastiejim82 I have used both and
have seen deer come close to both as long as you
practice good scent control
From scottGinNJ
I hunt private property and have used ladder stands for
years with success, always a good choice if set up
properly and I always have one or two up and ready.
The last couple of years I have been trying different
strategies (motley during bow season)just as
experiments, ground blind, tripod, and hunting in
natural cover (standing corn fields/blown down trees
etc.) on the ground. All have worked to take deer. Notes
from my hunting experiments: Ground blinds are great
for nasty weather but damage easily and can be hard to
see/shoot out of. Tripod (lightweight 12') is easy to set
up almost anywhere and the swivel seat is awesome but
it is low and must be hidden well. Natural cover is fun
and lets you easily try different spots but you must be
mindful of wind/scent. Time in the field hunting is what
matters most for getting deer, that and a lot of practice
shooting from different positions.
After reading and thinking to myself. It’s all
about what you want, how you feel the most
concealed and effective. I decided to build a
ground blind out of wooden pallets.
Covering the inside and making it better for
the upcoming winter months. Some tree
stands you have to manually walk it up the
tree and most have ladders. In the winter
with Ice and snow I’d rather not take a
chance on getting hurt out in the woods. I’ll
be on the ground and best of all no cold. I
can block the wind. And most of all I’m
100% concealed.
Winning Online Contest’s
By: Travis Travillian (Pro Staff at Kentucky Outdoors Shop)
September 19, 2015
I wanted to take a moment to tell you that you are missing out. I was once that person that seen
online contest every now and then. I would enter but never got anything, I figured out that I
could Google “ONLINE HUNTING CONTEST 2015”.
By doing this I found 100’s of contest from gear giveaways to winning hunting trips. I have
entered a lot and hopefully I will be fortunate enough to WIN. I know some might be spam, you
never know unless you try.
I want everyone to get that chance to win that all expenses paid trip to any place in the world to
do what we do best. HUNT! I hope that I get to really soon. I know I cannot afford a hunting
trip out of state. That why sponsors and teams come up with these promotions to help people
out. It’s a WIN WIN situation, for you and them.
Jeff's Guns and Archery
745 N Laurel Rd
London, Kentucky
606-877-2442
Billy's Great Outdoors 1729 N. Laurel Rd
London, KY
606-843-9537
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(606) 528-6208
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