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Weird rut?

I have only been bowhunting about 5 years now so I haven't seen it all by any means but has anyone else noticed a weird rut? I'm just not seeing the activity I normally do like in years passed. One observation I think I might have made is that the majority of does didn't get hot at the same time. It seems they are just trickling in. I see groups of does with no bucks around. Then one doe walks in with 4-6 bucks chasing her. I've talked to some buddies that are hunting around here too and they haven't been seeing anything either. Not sure what the rest of the state is like but the Northeast never had that "crazy" period in my opinion.

Slowest and strangest rut I’ve ever experienced. Been at it bowhunting since 1985 here in central Iowa.

Live in Clayton County and agree completely. Not at all a normal year. Been hunting here since 1965.

This has been my worst season for even sightings from stand. I hunt 2 places, 1 private & 1 Public. I know both these areas very well but still walk them looking for rubs/scrapes. Almost none existent this year. I have 2 cameras out & have only 1 decent Buck since July.. What I "do" have is Does with fawns. I have only a couple single Does on camera. The public spot I see 9 Does regularly (4 adults with their 5 fawns) . 2 of them are twin buttons.. I have NOT seen one Buck hunting all season.. The private spot gets gunned hard by their family so I'll be curious to how they do. My brother & son live just over the border in Ill. & they both took decent Bucks (just b;4 their 1st gun season) but sightings & rut activity has been slim for them too.

I guess it's good to know that I'm not the only one seeing very little "rut" activity and mostly does with fawns. I talked my wife into buying a bow this year because she doesn't see all that much during early muzzle and wanted to see the craziness I'm always talking about during the rut. Of course we never saw much and she got tired of going during the peak times. Not that I blame her too much. I'm still going until gun 1 opens saturday so we will see if I can tag out still.

Strangest season I have experienced hunting my private property in southeast Iowa. Was getting lots of good trail cam pictures and seeing a good number of deer in late summer through the first week or two in October. Then the bottom fell out. It was as though all the deer up and left. Not seeing them while sitting on stand. Very little seen on trail cams. Did not see any decent bucks during the rut. Rut activity was very suppressed.

I agree, same here in the north east. Strangest rut ever and very little deer sightings.

A taxidermist bud was having few big bucks coming in earlier than usual around the 3-4 wk of Oct., this was unusual for him. He had one that was over 180 that came in the day before we left for our annual northern MN. hunt and calls were coming in which he cut the hunt short to get back.

Not sure it was necessarily the rut I seen bucks chasing , but we had 1100 acres of standing corn. around us. S Allamakee co. This was the first full week of Nov.

1100 acres of standing corn will draw in a few deer!

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