The mating season of white tail deer is generally known as 'rut'. It is the best time for white tail deer hunting trips as the bucks are always moving around during this time. In other times, a seasoned and veteran buck will be more eager to save itself than anything else; but during the mating season, it will be preoccupied with getting as many 'hot' does as possible and fighting intruders in his territory. They let their guards down and so a hunter has the best chance of bagging him. To help you out, here are some tips you can employ:
1. First of all, you have to know when the rutting season has arrived. If you find fresh scraps in your deer food plot, know that the mating season has begun. The dominant male of the area will be the first to scratch a ground near a branch and put his scent on it to mark his territory. Later on, other bucks in the area will enlarge the scrap and add their own scent to it.
2. The best time to hunt those whitetail bucks is during the later part of this season. By that time, the bucks will scrap their antlers on trees and branches to make it ready for the dominance fights that are going to start. He will also now urinate on his scrap and put his scent all over the place to attract the doe. A doe in heat will also urinate on this scrap to let the bucks know that she is ready for mating. This is time when the bucks will let their gourds down and so you have to be in the lookout for these signs.
3. Generally, the bucks scrap and leave their scent during the night and so making your stand near one may not be that fruitful. Instead try those areas where you have seen the antlers scraps and rubs and set a stand downwind to it. Use rattlers and grunt calls to attract the bucks. There are many grunt calls for deer hunters in the market that mimic the call of a doe in heat or grunts of a buck. Try one at a time and wait for some period before calling again.
4. Lastly use deer scent lures like urine of a doe in heat and rattlers to get the attention of the bucks.