Every sport has its pinnacle.  From the World Series in baseball to the Super Bowl in football.  It is what players, coaches and fans all look forward to and hopes to have an opportunity to be a part of.

The sport of whitetail deer hunting is no different.  It has its own pinnacle and we are smack dab in the middle of it right now in West Virginia. 

That pinnacle is the rut and the rut is in full swing around the Mountain State.

In almost every case in sport the player or team that is the most resilient, most dedicated and least likely to quit or make excuses is the one that gets rewarded when a great opportunity presents itself.  Those that just persist eventually achieve the goal they are chasing.

Hunters should take notice to that common occurrence.  Whitetail hunters are pursuing the goal of harvesting a good whitetail buck.  A deer that is above average for the area in which they are hunting.

The rut gives hunters that opportunity each year if they can stay on course and not make excuses, if they can persist and be in the woods each and every opportunity they have.

I have heard every excuse in the book for why a hunter didn’t fill their tag with a good buck.  I have been told it’s the DNR’s fault, it’s to hot, it is a waste of time to hunt during the full moon, the forecast is calling for rain, etc…

The real reason is that they over think the situation, the key is to just hunt.  Hunt as much as you possibly can right now.

I have seen some people kill a good buck each and every year and those hunters have a few things in common with each other.  First and foremost they hunt, regardless of the weather or moon phase.  If they have a chance to be in the woods, they are there.  It might be in the morning, mid day or evening; it doesn’t matter. 

They also don’t make excuses, they just persist.  A bad day when the deer didn’t move great or the rut seemed non existent doesn’t drain their confidence and keep them at home the next day.

I believe the key to hooking up with a shooter buck is to not over analyze things.  Get out and hunt every opportunity you have.  During the rut, every part of the day is the best time to hunt in my opinion.  Research shows that during the rut bucks can and will move at any time during the day or in any type of weather. 

I have been on hunts where bucks were seen and harvested when it was almost 80 degrees, when it was pouring the rain, in the morning after a full moon and even in the middle of the day. 

I know that I have been and will continue to be in a tree every last free second I have available over the next two weeks.  This week has been awesome, I saw three different good bucks on Monday morning chasing does.  Tuesday was slow, I only saw two does, but I turned around and hunted Wednesday evening and the deer were very active again. Scrapes seem to be popping up daily and bucks are looking hard for a receptive doe.

Good luck this weekend, if you are in the woods you have a legitimate chance of getting an opportunity at the buck your after.  Don’t find a reason to stay at home or make excuses.  If you can sit all day then don’t leave the tree. 

Great things are happening out there, be patient and positive enough to be there when it does happen.

Send your stories, pictures or comments to ernie@wvradio.com.