Whitetail Deer Rut Q&A: Big-Woods Hunting Advice from Dale Streubel

How do you recognize the first signs of the whitetail rut? Where should you hunt as breeding activity increases? And how can trail cameras help you prepare?

Veteran whitetail hunter Dale Streubel shares his perspective on these questions, drawing on more than 60 years of hunting and tracking experience. His approach reflects the challenges of hunting large, forested areas: finding does, understanding scrape activity, and learning how deer move through the woods as the breeding season develops.

In this Q&A, Dale explains how he approaches the pre-rut, rut, and post-rut—and why he keeps scouting throughout the season.

1. How does your whitetail hunting strategy change during the pre-rut, rut, and post-rut?

Dale Streubel:

“Throughout the years I have paid more attention to the various phases that a buck may go through during the several weeks, meaning pre-rut, rut, and post-rut. Understanding how the buck will react to the different phases will then determine how you will approach your hunting strategy.”

2. What are the first signs of the whitetail pre-rut?

Dale Streubel:

“In large, forested areas where I live and hunt, the breeding activity is centered around a major community scrape most of the time. So, as the ‘rut’ approaches, I will concentrate on looking for the increase of the scraping activity and assessing the validity of each one in relation to the upcoming breeding phase.”

3. How do you prepare for hunting the whitetail rut in big woods?

Dale Streubel:

“Throughout the off-season I am continually scouting for breeding areas, meaning a healthy population of does, which will attract various bucks to their area. But I also will produce several ‘mock scrapes’ by using my licking branches, in the attempt to attract deer to an area that may entice them to stay throughout the breeding phase by creating a community scrape.

“You must remember that in large, wooded areas attempting to create or locate a centralized area with a smaller population of deer, versus agricultural areas, will become one of the largest challenges you may be confronted with.”

4. How does deer movement change during the rut, and where do you hunt?

Dale Streubel:

“During the most popular time of the breeding phase the bucks and does alike may travel out of their ‘core areas’ due to an uncontrollable desire that we may not be able to correctly understand. Meaning, you may have prepared to pursue a certain deer during the rut and unfortunately, he has vacated the area due to a natural instinctive desire to find other deer to breed.

“Now, on the flip side I have witnessed older mature bucks that feel more content ‘making their rounds’ within a section of land in pursuit of finding a receptive doe. I personally have witnessed various female deer literally standing on a scrape area waiting for a possible buck to arrive with the intention of breeding.

“Therefore, I myself enjoy hunting scrape areas; due to the fact the feeding areas may not be a priority area during the main rut itself while having other things on their mind.”

5. What mistakes should hunters avoid when hunting the whitetail rut?

Dale Streubel:

“One of the most important aspects to hunting during the rut is to learn the woods you are hunting. Meaning, put the ‘boots on the ground’ in order to increase your odds by having a buck walking past your stand.

“In other words, are you confident there are does in the area for breeding purposes? Have you found any sign that bucks have visited the area? Meaning scrapes or rubs, etc.

“Personally, by scouting the entire area, you may find a certain amount of deer activity that you never realized existed in the area. Never quit looking for some sign that may tip the odds in your favor.”

6. How do you use trail cameras to scout for the whitetail rut?

Dale Streubel:

“They play a huge role for me in big woods throughout the off-season allowing me to efficiently collect inventory in regard to the deer population in certain areas that I may be interested in scouting.

“But during pre-rut I also enjoy scouting new areas for fresh scrapes without using any cameras. I also will benefit by using trail cams for unique pictures that I incorporate with the articles that I write.”

7. What trail camera activity tells you the rut is approaching?

Dale Streubel:

“Probably ninety percent of my cameras are placed at my licking branches to create a more centralized location for deer to become attracted to. Therefore, when I begin witnessing bucks becoming more aggressive with their ‘sparring’ at the mock scrapes then I realize the testosterone is naturally increasing throughout their body, meaning the rut may be slowly developing as they claim their dominance in the social hierarchy.”

8. Is an all-day sit worth it during the peak rut?

Dale Streubel:

“Yes, on a crisp cold morning during the peak of the rut bucks may periodically check their primary scrapes throughout the day. I knew if I hunted all day eventually, he would show up.

“I heard one check the scrape before daylight. I left my stand for one hour late in the morning. I then returned in one hour, and at approximately two o’clock in the afternoon he came in to check his scrape. And the rest is history as they say.

“In other words, when you begin seeing bucks on the move try to prepare yourself for an all-day sit.”

About Dale Streubel

Combining his college studies in Forestry Management and Wildlife Management at the University of Wisconsin with 60 years of tracking experience, Dale Streubel has done it all—from successful caribou hunts to leading outdoor scouting adventures.