Oct 22, 2015
KICKOFF THE RUT WITH ESTRUS BETTY
The steady crunch of leaves accelerated my heart rate to a dangerous level. I couldn’t see what was coming though my intuition told me it was yet another buck cruising the area for a potential hot doe. I stood and waited with bow in hand as the beat of hooves neared a clearing to my right. Whatever was about to step out would be 50 yards at first sight, and with a little luck, would turn and come right down the trail that runs just beneath my stand.
The antlers arrived first - a marvelous rack - high, wide and already stark white. He was at least a 4 ½ year old deer, a definite shooter. I clipped my release to the bowstring and waited anxiously, only to watch him continue on his own path at a trot. A quick series of grunts he ignored. Had he been just 10 yards closer I would have been able to take a shot, but at the time, I had no clue what I could have done differently.
The male half of the whitetail deer population has just a few weeks each year to chase does and well, act like a male, so they’re making the most of the estrus time by looking early and often. In many circumstances, a doe doesn’t need to be ready for a buck to at least check her out. Sitting in the stand that day, watching yet another potential wall hanger skitter on out of range, I thought back to all the times I’d witnessed the same scenario. And had I just one prop in my arsenal to entice a buck to just come a little closer.
A few years later and enter Estrus Betty. I’d heard this decoy referred to as the “Helen of Troy of the deer woods.” That she has the potential to make a buck teetering on the edge of sex-crazedom take a headlong plunge into a pool of lust by merely making an appearance. And wouldn’t you know it was a correct statement?
Nothing breeds intelligence like experience. Having spent many, many hours in the woods hunting over decoys has helped us gather a lot of information in the way deer respond to them. The scenario I mentioned earlier, when the shooter buck didn’t follow the trail as he was supposed to and kept on going, could have been much different had Estrus Betty been squatting in her inviting pose out in front of my stand. We’ve witnessed her, on several occasions, speed up the approach of the rut.
An ideal scenario is to find an area where there is a lot of sign - rubs, scrapes, heavily used trails, food source nearby, you know the spot I’m talking about. Without getting too close to any potential bedding areas, use a climber, hang a lock-on or ladder stand in a clearing that gives you ample space to shoot. When the wind is right, slip in with Estrus Betty and place her no farther than 15 or so yards out from the base of your tree. Go ahead and spray the ground around her with a little Tink’s 69 or other estrus scent. Light rattling can also help draw in bucks that are passing upwind and don’t smell the decoy.
So many times we’ve had bucks come right in without ever checking up once they’ve spotted Estrus Betty. And as with all of our decoys, she folds down to the size of a dinner plate and pops up, ready for action, in the blink of an eye. I always keep one in my pack as she has proven effective for ALL phases of the rut. Mature whitetail bucks are a wily lot, and as hunters, we’d be ignorant not to take advantage of every opportunity to try and level out an uneven playing field that will always lean sharply to their side.
For more on how to use any of our decoys, download the Deer Decoy Setup Guide 2.0 and not only receive game-changing tips on setups, calling and scent use, but you’ll also receive a promo code for 15% off your next decoy purchase. Good luck and if you have any experiences to share, we’re always more than happy to listen