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What is your activity. Mine has completely shut down.
Haven't had/made the time to hunt but been scouting whenever can squeeze in that last half-hour to look, and plenty of whitetails still on crop fields, esp. cover crops. Corn has started to come off in the past week. That and leaf drop tends to make 'em a little more skittish of the sudden open cover. Not as much goose/duck hunting as some years but enough, and plenty of turkeys being shot. Youth gun hunt will put deer on alert in a lot of areas. It'll get tougher now until rut for those without vast tracts of lightly-pressured ground.
Yep it's slowing down. The deer are even moving slower. But I'm still seeing em. The deer are putting on some real size now. Which means the rut is almost here! They're predicting a trickle rut this year but I think it will be as intense as 2012!
Who is predicting a dribble rut exactly? Please dont say the moon phase dude. Hunt 3 days either side of 11/7, cant go wrong imo.
Your right November! I don't disagree with you at all. And you know I'm going to say yes to your question. I mean honestly what major hunting source doesn't follow him. I agree with you theory 100% and I would throw in other dates too. Either way it's a marathon rut. They have their dead days too
I was in my land this time last year and based on what I saw, I now wholeheartedly believe in the October lull. While I saw deer on every sit, I saw only one mature buck and it was right at dark. I really think they take these next two weeks to eat and rest up so they can be ready for the long haul. My mother in law has been going for rides at dusk to check the fields for me and says she had been seeing some dandy bucks and averaging about 20 total sightings each evening. The last two days have dropped in half with the only buck seen being my sons goofy 7 point that lives right across the road from the house. I can't get up there until Halloween which is fine with me knowing that all of my stands will be fresh as even my brother in law hasn't been out there since last year.
Could the October lull be deer not leaving the woods because they are feeding on acorns? I saw 4-5 bucks in a soybean field Sat afternoon at dusk.
They're moving good right now around my cabin, but I'm guessing highs near 80 will shut daytime movement down this weekend. Fortunately I've read much about October lull over the years but haven't ever really experienced it...I see enough deer to keep me interested. Having said that I will say my camera tells me that like clockwork October 26th. is the day all hell breaks loose and bucks I've never seen before begin making regular appearances around my place...that lasts until about November 11th and then POOF, they're gone!
I see a slow down but like south farm said still seeing them. I stop hunting mornings during this time. Just seems to be a waste of time if your hunting mature bucks. I don't believe in the whole lull talk when they say bucks just go nocturnal. If theyre regular day time walkers they'll continue it. South farm your pics going "poof" around the 11th is very interesting to me. It must be with your property. Or maybe you should get your cameras closer to cover. I change my strategies a bit for that time. Really focusing on getting close to the beds. Last year for me that second week was tough. They were locked down and sticking tight to cover.
What I observed this past week is that the deer are feeding on acorns and some kind of berry bush back in the woods before dark and then start making there way towards the fields after dark. Gotta get back in the woods where they coming off there beds before dark. Took me a a few days to figure them out and moved my stand 4 times. But once I found the trails they were using, I was seeing deer and shot 2 does and a buck last day of hunt. I saw most deer last 2 days from this stand
This is the time of year when there are many variables at play changing deer behavior from late summer patterns. My favorite time of the year comes up the week after next.
Usually the same time in the fall the activity slows in daytime. Most likely due to several factors. Deer have winter coats on, fat is getting highest amount so it is uncomfortable for them to move in warm temps. That and a close food source like acorns or something like that they don't have to move much.
One of the biggest factors in a slow rut is warm temps so the same is happening now in October.
That may be true to an extent but the real answer to that is they're conserving their energy for the rut! And yes they are bedding very close to their main food source but still travel large distances. According to the studies they've done with tracking collars. They say they travel more now than they do in the summer, and that travel range keeps climbing higher and higher all the way through the rut. Then when winter hits that bar drops way down.
Actually they are not really traveling much at this time in October but will start moving a lot more soon. That is why we also see bucks on the move in December after the rut what some incorrectly call second rut. But that is a different discussion for December :-)
No, they don't rest up. Testosterone is building even now that makes them more restless. It is only that they are uncomfortable in moving in warmer temps. As soon as it cools movement increases. You can see the difference when the temps are warm (above 45) during the rut as opposed to cooler temps at the same time period another year.
Not a buck on camera at 6 different sites. Only one pick of a 2yr old this year! Im optimistic since i have 2 sites with multiple does and fawns returning daily during daylight hours. Last year I put a lot of time in the tree and seen 6 deer total. Nothing for rut activity yet.
Onieda Co
Their not traveling large distances but they are moving more. And what do you mean by incorrectly called the second rut? Are you saying there is no such thing? Cause there is. And if your in the woods enough to know when the main breeding time is. You can predict the second rut perfectly. It's definitely not as intense. But the fist year fawns are being bread. I don't see it in the big woods. But in farm country you do.
The second rut, well, some does come into heat in Oct so in some ways the main breeding in November could be called the second rut. It is just some words penned by writers to sell magazine articles. Big woods/farm land procreation is the same. If you have a high number of does or out of balance sex ration then December can see some breeding activity but no way is it like the rut in November when you can see the high activity. Yes, you can see some increased activity but don't count on it like you can in November.
I have seen bucks messing with does in December but most of does don't want anything to do with bucks then. Does are bred or dead in December in much of the State. Bucks are still capable of breeding and so will keep looking then. I have seen bucks roaming a lot then but I would never call it the rut.
Some places om my land the acorns are like a carpet and are still falling. Walking to my stand today I jumped 7 deer feeding among the acorns. From my stand I saw 6 deer wandering and feeding among the acorns. Have not seen this many acorns in years.
smokey's Link
smokey doe's give birth 200 days after they've been bred. Look when the fawns started dropping. I've been keeping a log about fawn birth for the last 7 years. I don't have much to go off of yet but i believe most breeding takes place around the second week of November. And it seems pretty consistent so far.
I always thought the breeding phase was lock down, when you see very little buck activity. This usually happens a few days before gun season and then I'm assuming that when they start hearing all the shots they know to still stay hidden. I see about five times the activity before gun season as I do in the few days leading up to and right through gun season. The same can be said for this time of year as I clearly see a lull in the action from now until about October 20ish. I will go from seeing several deer a sit to almost none and then back to seeing a lot of deer again. Then it drops again around November 20th.
I think the rut happens the same time every year. When its warm, the activity is at night.
Crusader, this is a controversial topic. Most people see different things. Ive seen rutting activity during the gun season plenty of times. I killed a 8 during the 2012 gun season and he was hot on a doe. That was the morning of thanksgiving. And live2hunt I agree with you 100% that is my thought too.
True. The breeding season is not just a few days but over a few months peaking in mid November (The Rut). Intensity varies and several spikes occur but major spike is Nov. I have witness chasing in Sept. Breeding in Oct. and Nov. and bucks harassing does, but not breeding, in Dec.
Often times some guys witness a lack of buck sightings and claim it is lock down. Might be. But it could be another hunter not far away is seeing bucks rutting.
So just to clarify. You don't see breeding behavior in December so you say incorrectly called the second rut? And I will say most people see a couple small bucks chasing a doe and they believe the rut is in full swing. Even though it's not. when people start saying they are seeing the big boys on their feet. And seeing different mature bucks poppin up on cameras. That's when it's cranking. The big boys know when it's time. I hunt southeastern wi and west central. And where I'm at in west central 1000's of acres are intensely managed. You get a few that start falling victim to hunters around the end of October. And of course a few in the first week. But it's amazing how many get shot the second week. And it is consistent, no matter what the full moon falls on. I'm sure many can agree with that. So saying that. If you hunt mid December you will still have bucks coming in following doe scent and coming to bleat cans. It's a mellow rut. But you do see mature bucks on does. And especially watching bucks walking downwind of field edges Scent checking. I've filled my tag a couple times during the second rut. So I stand by it and I'm sure many will back that up.
It is semantics. The rut is the PEAK of the breeding season with a few minor peaks on either side. One being in October so technically in some definitions the November "rut" would be the second rut. What you see in Dec. is breeding behavior. Yes bucks will chase does, respond to grunts as in the rut but major breeding activity is over. Most areas the bucks have taken care of the does by Dec. except where sex ratio is way out of whack then a few hot does can be around and then some breeding will occur. That is why you will see some late born fawns. Rare.
You will find more does resisting an amorous buck in Dec than you will find in Nov. Better off hunting food source then.
BTW, I sent you a PM earlier.
I see what your saying smokey. i can't disagree with that. My argument was the 28 day cycle. Even though I never used it. But all in all summed up well. thanks and I'll check my pm
Cut wood at the cabin this weekend and saw a bunch of buck sign that was not present last weekend the 3rd of Oct. Hope no yutes shot em... Saw a buck on a trailer on the way home,not a good deal with the temps in the 70's.
Because of the heat, I did virtually no hunting this weekend, but I noticed that the fresh scrapes on the property have more than doubled since last weekend.
I saw deer everyday, while jsut driving the atv from camera to camera or stand repair to stand repair.
The oaks are so out of control, I have never seen so many acorns in 40 years. Hard to pinpoint where the deer are feeding.
Corn and Soybean fields are still standing on the neighboring properties as well.
I think the cold weather coming up will really tell me what is going on.
Spent the weekend up in Burnett County, I hunted Friday nigh saw one unknown deer. Saturday I saw doe and fawn, driving home after dark saw the biggest buck of my life standing in the ditch! Excited to get back up this weekend!
For being unseasonably warm this weekend, there was quite a bit of deer activity Friday and Saturday in my area and I saw only one Father/son team heading to the woods on the public land I hunt. I hunted Friday evening, I saw a pair of yearling bucks across the field, then a doe came out and worked her way under my stand and then return where she came from, off to my left at 50 yards or so. Then in the last 20-30 min I had what I believe to be a buck moving from my right to left about 20 yards behind my stand and he got to the area where the doe was and decided to give chase.
I also saw plenty of deer driving from the woods to my house that night. I wasn't too keen on hunting Saturday, but we used the time to check cameras and make a few natural ground blinds. In one area I was downloading the card off a camera and my buddy was clearing out a spot for a ground blind a couple hundred yards away and a 2 year old buck came by him at 10 yards heading in my direction. This was around 4:30pm and that buck never even paused to look at him.
6 stands all on public land miles apart from each other. More daytime photos than night-all does/fawns. One site has two spikes but nothing else for horns.
Oneida Co
The heat didn't bother the deer at all, from what I saw. More than a dozen out on the ag field we were sitting at dusk last night, including two bucks (one big). I think in areas where they're not pressured, this early, they're still used to the heat and their thick coats have not fully grown in yet (my opinion). A month from now, 70s would virtually shut things down.
Date and time on the picture is correct.
Date and time on the picture is correct.
I just spent a bunch of time in a few different stands over a 4 day span including different time periods. NOTHING IS MOVING! I guess it's too warm and a pile of acorns so they don't need to move and browse. Tuesday brought in a passing thunderstorm. I did however see a few does and my cameras show bucks in the area but not moving until after dark. I will be trying again starting the 26th. Hope it cools off by then... ENJOY YOUR STAND TIME!
1 st rubs and scraps showed up today at 2 different woods today .
Found a nice rub the other day on my way in to my stand. Tore the tree up real good.
Lots of night time activity on trail cameras. Lots of scrapes being worked around field/swamp edges. I've been out a few times in the last 10 days and visual sighting have dropped as expected.
Last weekend, I found a lot of fresh scrapes and rubs ( Tremp Co) I drive all over Wi. Out of E.C to Hudson North to Turtle Lake. North of Green Bay to Sturgeon Bay, As far south to Mil. Fond Du Lac, Waupaca, Stevens Point, Marshfield, Wausau, very few car kills. For the first time today I saw 2 deer in a field. I look morning, noon and night. I hope it picks up, I go on vacation next week. I have been afraid that I took off a week to early this year. It's normally a good week for me. Good luck to you.
Picking up in West central WI and Iowa
First time out today and what a great evening hunting. In Marquette county. Saw 3 bucks and one of them was a whopper. The big guy was chasing a hot doe. They were zig zagging back and forth and I just hoped she would bring him by but she didnt. 80 yards away. Also had a half rack 8pt and he was following a doe but not nearly as aggressively as the big boy. I figured she wasn't ready yet. I sat by a fresh cut corn field, not 1 deer went out there. All stayed in the woods to eat acorns. I know where I'm sitting tomorrow!
Starting to see a lot of afternoon/evening activity on camera. Very little morning activity so far.