The bowhunting season is heating up with signs that the rut is under way.

This past week while driving on Mauch Chunk Road about a quarter mile south of Grumpy's Restaurant, two sizable antlerless deer ran out from the cornfield (belonging to Geo Chemicals) and across the road into the harvested soybean on the east side of the road. As I passed them standing in the soybean field, I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw them cross back into the corn from where they came. And this was at 10 a.m., so they most likely were being chased by a buck.

The next day, as I was driving on South Church Road in Whitehall, a smaller doe crossed the road in front of me and ran into the small woodlot adjacent to Whitehall Door Company. That deer, too, was probably being chased by a buck as it was 9:30 a.m.

According to our weekly rut reporter, Bob Danenhower of Bob's Wildlife Taxidermy in Orefield, he's been getting field reports from friends who say they've been seeing a lot of bucks chasing doe, plus numerous scrapes and rubs that weren't apparent last week in the areas they were hunting.

Danenhower recalled where a guy and his girlfriend came into his shop earlier in the week to buy some of his fresh Yurine-Luck doe-in-heat and buck deer scent, when the young gal said she never shot a buck with her bow. But happily called back two days later to say she shot her first bow buck after using some of his deer scent. Her boyfriend also used the scent that day and saw a buck but couldn't get a shot.

Joel Kercher of Schnecksville didn't use scent but managed to down a 200-pound field-dressed 10-pointer not far from his home.

In a phone interview, Kercher said he was watching this buck for some time and had him on one of his trail cameras. But on Thursday evening around 6 p.m. a seven pointer came under his double-wide treestand. Knowing Mr. Big was somewhere in the area, Kercher said he passed on the seven pointer and at 6:30 p.m., he got his wish.

After the seven walked away the big 10 came into his clover/turnip food plot and began eating at 30 yards. As he ate he slowly moved closer to his stand. First at 25 yards then at 20. Kercher waited for the buck to turn sideways and when it did his Spitfire broadhead, fired from a Tenpoint crossbow, entered the bucks' right side.

"I couldn't find any blood but located the deer a short distance away," said Kercher.

Upon field-dressing his trophy, he checked the deer's' stomach and it was loaded with soybeans.

Up to this time Kercher said he saw lots of doe being chased so he knew the rut was coming on. He's having the cape mounted at Bob's Taxidermy.

With warm temperatures predicted for next week, Danenhower thinks bucks will be moving mainly during early morning and late evening hours, at least until temperatures get lower. And as he discovered when admiring Kercher's deer, it was loaded with ticks so he advises bowhunters to take care while field-dressing.

Aside from deer, a bear was spotted midday Thursday in he area of Shankweilers Road and Route 309 in South Whitehall Township. Police were dispatched with no further sightings.

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