The rut has started! Bucks are hotly contesting antler battles with each other looking for does that are in search of finding a mate. At this time of their life cycle, deer are not worried about scent control as much as hunters are. They have a habit of tossing their normal caution to the wind. If you’re a hunter, it’s a good time to be in the woods! …..boss, I feel a cold coming on, maybe it’s the flu?

For Wally Slepinski of nearby Sheldon, just east of East Aurora, Saturday morning was the right time to be on stand and in the woods. Using full body soft cloth camo and face paint, Slepinski was mesmerized watching the outdoor action of fox stalking several turkey beneath his elevated 15-foot tree stand. He said, “It was the wildlife world in real time, survival of the fittest in action.”

Then a few moments later at 7:45 a.m., he noted movement and bellowing grunting sounds, near song-like melodies nearby and watched a dominant, 10-point buck literally shout and sing low-toned “blah” and “grrr” sounds at a doe as she tried to elude the buck. Slepinski used a Quaker Boy grunt call in loud fashion and the doe turned and came running directly toward him, then stopped. The buck followed and he stopped at 32 yards, the right distance for Slepinski to use his Victory arrows equipped with Atom broadheads for a perfect shot to bring home the venison.

Climbing down from his portable Summit Viper climbing tree stand, Slepinski recalls thinking, “Wow, this may be the biggest buck opportunity I have ever had.” It turns out to be the best buck he has ever taken. Asked about the hunt, Slepinski said, “Just being out there today, watching all the action with the turkeys, the fox and then the deer rutting action, it has been one of the best hunting days ever!”

Farther to the east in Wales Center, Marilla resident Grove Mather had to wait until later in the day for his monster 10-point buck. Using strategies he has learned through the years and from his favorite magazine “Deer and Deer Hunting,” Mather keyed in on hunting near a food source.

This year, spring delivered an early frost and killed a large number of young WNY apple tree buds. The result for many parts of the affected rural WNY areas was very few wild apples. The deer needed to find a secondary food source. There are white oak acorns, red oak acorns, beech nuts, in that order for food staples after the summer wanes. When those are not nearby, hickory nuts can become the deer survival food of choice for autumn days.

I asked Mather about this fact and he said, “I think the key is staying near to a good food source. Of course I was eating roasted pumpkin seeds while sitting high in a hickory tree. I think they could smell them, maybe.” Smiling, Mather said, “That was my only scent delivery tactic.” Smart move: the pumpkin seeds hide human breath odors and the smell is attractive to deer. I’m writing that one down.

Mather used no grunt calls, no bleats, no other noises except gentle rattling. Maybe that was the second stealth key! Mather adds, “After watching two four-pointers battle it out 10 yards away and below me, the sound of a twig breaking to my left turned out to be a 10-pointer slowly traveling about 18 yards behind me. I was in shock for a moment because I had fallen asleep. I admit it, and I needed to react.”

Mather hunted from a portable tree stand using tactics shared with him by the late Harry Staebel. Staebel was the national champion archer that hosted Leo’s Archery in East Aurora and formerly in Depew (now closed), with his wife Mary. Folks all miss Harry and Mary, they were real life archer folks that delivered a message if you didn’t take care of your equipment. They were friends of wildlife coaching programs and youth programs for Olympic archery competition, a program now fostered by Bob and Eileen Pfeil at West Falls Conservation.

Turning to his left in slow fashion and drawing the Hoyt Magnatech bow set at 64 pounds very gently, Mather used 100 grain Muzzy broadheads on a Carbon Express arrow shaft with short, two-inch, plastic fletchings, to place a perfect shot.

Mather reported, “ I tried not to look at the antlers as I was drawing the bow, then released the arrow and the huge animal only took two jumps to walk back into thick wild rose and golden rod cover, his tail twitching left and right. We found him 62 yards from where he was hit.”

Mather took the beast at 5 p.m. and added, “There was so much activity that afternoon! It was so much fun to hunt that day! My son and his college buddy were home and hunting with me too. Life is good!”

So if Mather had decided to take one of the two nice body size 4-point bucks that were fighting hard below him, he never would have had the opportunity for the bigger buck that appeared to be looking for does that night and travelling alone. He said one of the four pointers actually had the other pinned to the ground, upside-down and was working to eliminate his comrade. Life in the woods can be cruel. The inner city of the food plot is tough!

Farther south, Tom Tanski of West Seneca reported that he hunted a woodsy area near Franklinville on Sunday morning. The plan was to hunt until 10 a.m. and then head home to catch up on yard work left to wait due to seasonal hunting efforts. We’ve all been there!

At 9 a.m., Tanski watched a 6-point buck enter his hunting area within range at about 20 yards. Drawing back on his trusty bow, Tanski let the arrow fly only to discover he had underestimated the distance. He released the arrow thinking the shot was 20 yards, the arrow flew low and the buck jumped up to circle back some 50 yards away.

A few moments later to his left, two does came prancing across a nearby open field of goldenrod. The two deer jaunted to the center of the field and stopped to look left from their position. Tanski watched them closely, thinking he might sound his grunt when just then, a 3-year old 8-point dominant buck appeared on the opposite edge of the field. “Wow,” said Tanski, “it was an incredible deer.”

“I waited a few moments and decided to grunt. The big buck was not with any does, but he saw the two young female deer standing on the hill. No grunt call would have mattered, he headed to them and wasn’t interested in my grunt sounds. He would have kicked the butt of any other younger deer. He was huge,” Tanski quipped.

Tanski added, “After that, I thought I had better get going home and climbed down. I walked off the distance to my shot and found that the deer was actually a bit over 26 yards. Walking down the edge of a big field back to the truck and glancing at a 10 yard by 20 yard stand of young popular trees, I noticed a pile of something dark laying there. I was carrying my bow in hand with no arrows knocked and ready. Just then, a 10-point buck rose up, my jaw dropped and I slowly reached back to grab an arrow from my quiver.”

“I knocked an arrow, but the big buck just looked up at me and ran away, making no sounds. That wasn’t all. He woke up another buddy of his during the exit. A 12- or 13-point buck rose up, I couldn’t count all the points, but he was apparently resting right next to him. He was the biggest of all. He took one look at me and at 40 or 45 yards away, he knew he was safe and just walked away. What a morning!”

So if we all think about it, during the rut, maybe the governor should pass a new conservation law - “No work allowed!” Write your governor when you can, it won’t help the budget, but he deserves some humor too. Hey, the way politics go today, you never know!

Remember, the rut is just coming to peak this coming weekend, right on schedule at five to seven days after the full moon. If you hunt deer with arrows, this is your weekend. Don’t be caught home watching the pigskin channels. Get out there and enjoy the wildlife and habitat that is so active right now!

Outdoors calendar

Nov. 5: After School Escape for kids through fifth grade, Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, 93 Honorine Dr., Depew, 4:30-5:30 p.m., fun outdoor activity, no registration required.

Nov. 6: Turkey season closes (portions of state, roughly above Route 20A)

Nov. 7: Knox Farm State Park walk, discover how squirrels ready for winter, 2 p.m., kids 4 to 8 years, register at 716-683-5959.

Nov. 9: West Falls Conservation Society, monthly meeting, sportsmen issues for members and prospective members, 8 p.m., free dinner, info 652-4650

Nov. 21: NYS Firearms Deer Season Opens for Southern Tier, closes Dec. 13

Send outdoor event postings to Forrest Fisher at nugdor@yahoo.com 10 days in advance.