Contributors to this thread:
I did not see a deer my last three sits(2 evening, 1 morning). This morning, I had two bucks beginning to spar in front of me at about 7:40 AM. One was a little scrub buck, the other was a pretty nice 8 or 9 point that I would have shot given an opportunity. Rubs and scraped are starting to show up but not a huge amount. I am hunting the southern tier, WMUs 7P, 7S and 7R. How is the rut progressing in your region?
I think the coming weekend will be the chase period for the bucks will be ready but the doe's still not a lot of interest...the following week should be the bucks walking around in mid day and just on the look out for the first doe to be ready...just like a lot of the young guys on Friday night, drinking beer and looking for that hot doe....
Lots of new scrapes and rubs in our area (liberty}they all showed up in a weeks time.
Just the opposite here south of Rochester. Scrapes and rubs showed up two weeks ago and not touched since then. Hopefully this week it will get in gear.
I'm still seeing does without a buck around. But it's about to change!
Here in Allegany County scrapes began blowing up about 10 days ago, just as we hit the Full Moon. Night before last I passed on my largest buck to date. I am kicking myself because he is a dandy, but if he makes it through the season, he will be a really something next year for our area. And there are a few bigger ones around that have hit my zip-tied scrapes and had their picture taken. I have tons of photos of the buck I passed, here is one.
I hunted a different property this morning. No deer movement spotted but about 10 new scrapes popped up since the last time I hunted there, earlier in the week.
Sat and Sun was a loss, to much wind, not a thing moving till Sunday night at dark. I then saw a doe and her fawns at my 3D targets....
Chautauqua county. Scrapes are getting hot. Bucks on their feet seeking does. A lot of nice bucks have been spotted and or killed!
Upstate- 6S and 7J are slow. No buck movement yet, no seeking, or chasing. Trail camera confirms the sightings with bucks feeding on pictures as opposed to cruising with their nose to the ground.
Josh
Ive hunted everyday since the opener. It can be good on one hill and dead on another even in the same town....what I can say is that my doe sightings which were high have fallen and buck sightings are high...but they're mostly all 18mo bucks. I saw 2 2yo bucks this morning and they had no interest in any calling I did. They were leisurely looking. I saw 4 bucks together at 10 yesterday and a friend saw a whopper at 12 noon. You just gotta be out there.....I've seen hundreds of deer in 28 days
I just got back from 6K (Town of Camden) and helped my son find a 6 pointer he shot yesterday afternoon. There were scrapes opened every place and rubs on some big trees. I told my son he should have waited but he has very limited time to hunt.
My son also said the buck he shot was trailing two does into the orchard where he shot it. The buck traveled about 250 yards after being hit in the neck with a 30.06. Hard to believe but true. Not much blood to follow either but we got him.
Took my buddy out yesterday afternoon and we had a small buck chase a doe through in 7M. Nice night to be out.
Just started to see some movement here in Schuyler county. Saw a wide heavy horned 8 point around 4:30 Sunday. He looked when I grunted, but wouldn't come in. Around 5, another 8 point, looked like a 120 buck came in behind me at 17 yards but I didn't have a shot. He wondered into a goldenrod field, but got down wind before he came into range. Just before 6, a doe busted out a ran across the field with a four point in persuit, and then a few minutes later another doe with a 4 point after her ran to where the other ones had gone. This weekend should prove interesting!
5R - seeing lots of movement - no signs of chasing yet... Good to be seeing them..
heading out to Cayuga County for my annual hunt out there on the 10th and am hunting the week of the 11th.. should be pretty good timing... i hope!
heading out to Cayuga County for my annual hunt out there on the 10th and am hunting the week of the 11th.. should be pretty good timing... i hope!
I had a doe and fawn come by last night shortly after a 6pt. came under my tree giving me a great shot with alot of daylight left. Let him pass by and he headed off the doe and her fawn and the chase began. Saw him again chasing her today.I have seen no big boys cruising yet. Since the statistics show 15%- 20% of does are breed in October, the doe I saw must be coming into her estrous cycle. From my experience the best is yet to come, but some hogs will start dropping and a few are allready in the freezer. You never know when its going to be your day. I like the 2nd week of November.
Watched a big 8-point yesterday, with one antler broken off tending a lone doe. He did that low grunt thing as he stood on the edge of thick cover watching her graze. When bucks do that they stare off into space and just stand motionless. When she started to move off, only then did he move, and followed her into the thick cover.
So I would agree that we just witnessed the first rut, what some have termed "the false rut" breaking right after the Full Moon when a number of does get bred. Now we are in the slow time. Activity will begin to build up for the real rut in mid-November this year.
Im starting my vacation tomorow. I cant wait. There have been some real nice bucks getting killed on the Island! Good luck to everyone.
When I was leaving our camp yesterday, I had a nice buck chase a doe right in front of my truck, really a close call!
my spots are dead... couple small 1.5 year olds cruising after dark... larger bucks seem to have disappeared
66 degrees shut it down today.
Saw 2 deer chasing on the way to work this morning in Boston, NY and my buddy saw 3 bucks already today down in Steuben Co. with does bleeting as they are walking. Tomorrows late day cold front should help Sundays hunt.
very quiet weekend in 5R.. 3 days, 15 hours, 1 deer...
Seeing some chasing in 7S. East wind here which is weird.
Heating up in 8H as I stated in my report yesterday. I wish I could have hunted today but tomorrow will have to do.
Chasing like crazy in 3H yesterday but all 4 pointers and spikes!
Was in Steuben Co. as well as Wyoming Co. this weekend and saw squat...very weird.
Saw some chasing on 11/4 and 11/5 in 4F.
Killed a good buck Tuesday afternoon. Two big bucks were chasing a doe all over the thirty acre field I was watching. She eventually led them by my tree stand; the 8 pt. made it, the 180# 11 pt. didn't.
I had a 6 pointer (young guy) walk in at 2:30 PM on Wednesday and a 4 pointer chasing a doe. I shot the 6 pointer
3pt. under my stand tonight and that was all I saw.Not seeing many does around either which concerns me.By next weekend it should get pretty good.
I had a 4p0inter,aspike and one button buck all within 10 yds of my blind tonight at least it made the eve more interesting than seeing nothing!
now NYBOb were you have a drink or two and the button buck horns just grew after a drink or two ?????
Here in Oneonta we still are seeing just doe's and let them walk....
now NYBOb were you have a drink or two and the button buck horns just grew after a drink or two ?????
Here in Oneonta we still are seeing just doe's and let them walk....
Having deer around sure does help pass the time.Nothing beats an estrous doe hanging by your stand. High winds will keep me home tonight.
checked a camera this afternoon that watches an apple tree for me and had lots of buck pictures. Only one daylight picture and that was a half hour before sun set. Two bucks show broken tines so things must be heating up. A couple of doe keep showing up to eat apples. Things could heat up more this week.
3.5 yr old 6 point tending a doe in a cut cornfield in 8G this am
Had a decent buck make his way out into the field friday night checking for does and had a spike pushing a doe. Doe was at 35 yards but had a small window to shoot her and I wasn't looking to wound her. The rest of the weekend was slow. I'm thinking this weekend it will be real real good. Too bad its gun season.
Had a spike 20 feet from me while I was on the ground standing in a thicket next to a tree.He had his nose to the ground in heavy rain.Have yet to see a decent buck.Thats the 4th buck I could of shot.Hope the hogs start showing up this week.
am I crazy to think things are slowing down? After a week or ten days of seeing lots of chasing by small and big deer I am seeing doe groups re-forming. Last night i saw 7 does in a field, and tonight i saw 3 different groups of 3 does... w/ no bucks.
Obviously the weather was pretty rough tonight w/ high winds etc so maybe thats why the decreased activity, but i always thought that when doe groups are reforming things are winding down.
any thoughts from those w/ more experience than me?
i'm on LI by the way
Libuck,thats what I was wondering.I have seen nothing but young bucks and doe with no buck on thier tail. However if you go to nyantler-outdoors.com there are two pages of really nice buck photo's from this season.I am in a very nocturnal spot in monroe county.I think I will stay with it throughout gun season.This weekend should heat up a little ,so I hope.
2 does busted out of the corn at first light, solid 8 about 10mins later walked in my tracks never came closer than about 100 yds. Grunt did stop him My season is over in about 5 hours. Passed the same spike 3 times, saw some good bucks, no shots. Hunting stateland in 7m DeRuyter.