There are various schools of thought on the so-called second rut. You better believe Mark Haley is a believer. Here’s his story, which he sent a few days after the Dec. 15 kill:

“My son, Alex, wanted to hunt with me so I set up in a blow down with him. After about 20 minutes of sitting I used my grunt call to produce an estrus call. Within seconds we heard a deer running toward us.

It stopped to my left at about 10 yard (no shot because of limbs from the blow down) then it then took off again. I grunted with my mouth and he stopped at 15 yards (quartering) my NAP spitfire entered right behind the leg. I recovered him in about 150 yards.

He’s a nine-pointer  with one split brow! One of the most adrenaline charged hunts of my life! The second rut is wide open!”

There’s nothing like a fast hunt from the ground, is there? Congrats on the great buck and even better that your son was there to enjoy the hunt!