by Lowell Washburn
Iowa Department of Natural Resources

For Iowa’s 56,000 archery deer hunters, there is no mystery to why November is called the Hunter’s Moon. With the annual rut in full swing, the best days of the entire season are currently at hand.

It’s a time like no other. Restless and itching for a scrap, mature monster whitetails are on the prowl 24/7. Wide beamed nocturnal stags that have remained invisible all summer have suddenly changed their ways. Brazen and full of attitude, these bruisers now swagger through mid-day stubble. Locked into perpetual search mode, bucks of all shapes and sizes relentlessly cruise ridge tops, river bottoms, and brushy fence lines in search of does. Sometimes, these wandering bucks find rival males instead. When that happens, the Iowa timbers resound with the sharp clash of dueling antlers.

With the scales suddenly tipped in their favor, archery deer hunters employ every trick in the book in hopes of arousing the curiosity [or anger] of mature bucks. Vigorously rattling a set of antlers to create the sound of mock battle is the bow hunter’s staple. Other tactics include doe [bleat] calls, grunt tube calls, and decoys.

There’s good reason for all the fuss. Whether you judge them in terms of body weight or in total inches of antlers, there is no disputing that Iowa bucks achieve heart stopping proportions. Legends of the Fall, Iowa’s behemoth stags have gained global notoriety. There are, in fact, few places on the entire continent where deer grow bigger or better than they do right here at home. To date, Iowa has produced 19 of the all time top bucks ever recorded. That’s more top deer than is currently listed by any other state or any Canadian province.

But even in November, Iowa’s big bucks do not come easy. Tagging one still requires ample amounts stealth, woodsman-ship, and above all — patience. Putting a monster in the freezer usually means passing on numerous six or eight pointers. That can be tough. For many hunters the temptation of seeing those lesser bucks becomes just too great.

When [if?] the Big Buck finally does arrive, many archers simply crack under the strain. After the drilling the bulls-eye on backyard deer targets all summer, a hunter may easily miss the entire animal when the moment of truth arrives. It’s called Buck Fever, and is the best explanation as to why so many new broadheads end up imbedded in tree stumps rather than deer.

Of course, not all shots at monster bucks result in misses. Who knows? When it finally comes time to capture that photo of a lifetime, it might even be your face that grins from behind the massive antlers of Iowa’s newest state record white-tail.