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Just a thread for what rut activity folks are seeing. See what’s going on in different parts of MN.
Saw my first buck of the year at 6:10 tonight. He was rubbing in two different locations at 83 yds and about 60. He was going at it after dark when I slipped out of my stand. Pretty exciting for me. Not sure this is a rut report though
scrapes and rubs popping up more each day. did see one fork hounding a doe and running her hard, she still had her fawn in tow throughout the chasing. Cameras showing more movement to within shooting hours for bucks but pretty much just young guys. South central part of state.
Had a forkhorn under my stand yesterday pushing a doe and found a series of large rubbed trees Sat. They're starting!
Haven’t seen much here either. Cameras are picking up some new bucks in the past week though. It’s promising.
I live in Lake of the Woods county, the weekend was very good, cameras checked Saturday showed lots of daytime buck activity even in food sources. Saw a lot of chasing Saturday and sunday and sunday saw a big buck that I had never seen or gotten pics of cruising through mid morning. I have tomorrow off for one last chance before the inevitable slaughter that will take place Saturday.
East Central Mn...lots of scrapes and have two raghorns going at it on camera pushing each other around. Haven't seen any chasing yet but gotta believe they are.
Trying to get it done before the orange army gets out. Running out of time quickly.
Dad took a 6pt buck in western MN this morning, said he saw another folkhorn cruising as well. Uncle is out there in the same area and not seeing as much activity as he would like overall.
The last 2 days I've seen several fawns wandering around alone so some chasing has to be going on. Halloween night has always been good to me, let's hope!
In the past ten days, I've been seeing a lot of deer and one really big buck following a herd of does. I would classify the activity as pre-rut at this point. The deer should be full rut by the weekend. North metro.
A button buck came flying out of a ditch unseen and hit the side of our camping trailer last Tuesday (Oct. 23rd) on the North Shore, in the middle of the afternoon. The circumstances strongly suggested that he was without adult supervision.
Halloween could have gone better, 6:32 was quitting time and by 6:30 I couldn't see to shoot so I let my bow to the ground and wouldn't you know it a buck shows up at the scrape 17 yds in front of me. I couldn't have shot anyway because of the 4 pt rule and I couldn't see good enough to count points. Maybe tomorrow! One small buck chasing this AM.
Halloween was slow enough for me that I went back to work today. I also stopped and bought a gun tag. :(
Bucks were moving this morning early, 4 bucks answered my grunt call before 7:45 only one was legal. He came in first(15 yds) and had only one side of his rack. Nice buck but I passed , hope to see the one who took the rack off.
Cameras are picking up some good activity now. Now just to find more time to hunt.
This is a new one that showed up this morning at 7:45.
This is a new one that showed up this morning at 7:45.
Very little deer activity in the north metro. Picking up some nice bucks on trail cams, but only at night. Very little anter-less deer movement right now. Still look like a pre-rut pattern with bucks locating does, but that is it. Hopefully the rut will turn on by this weekend when it gets colder.
Zilch for movement on Sat-Sun. even with the gun opener. Only some small minor scrapes seen in Pine Co.
Last time I saw some deer they were in Walmart getting some fins and snorkels. It can hurry up and snow now so it can quit frickin raining every day a guy gets a chance to go out.
This rain is getting very old.
Hunted with a rifle for three days in Embarrass this weekend. Saw only does, including three different pairs of does hanging out together unmolested in broad daylight. Heard some rubbing and saw two scrapes from a buck with bigger ambitions than he's probably entitled to hold. In other words: It ain't here yet.
My son shot an 8 pointer Saturday , other than that it was pretty quiet here. I had 8 does and fawns pass by at 20 yards last night with no bucks around.
As is the norm I heard of several “big bucks” shot over the weekend but not recovered and was told by one neighbor that he wasn’t seeing deer because we shoot too many with the bow. Lol It couldn’t be because of all the driving wheelers around during prime time???
Rifle Hunting: Absolutely the slowest I've ever seen it around my place for the rifle opener. Prior to season my neighbor has been seeing 15 to 20 deer every night.
Monday afternoon, moved around the other side of the small lake we hunt by - bout 1/2 mile away as crow flies. My wife, son and granddaughter stayed and hunted by my house.
I walked in to a spot I like to save until just as the rut is getting started. The walk is along an old ATV trail. There was a ground scrape every 30 yards or so - by far the most buck activity I've seen - tree about the size of your arm shined up.
Couple hours later (about 1:30) a buck walking along sniffing the ground (like a lab on a pheasant) - small messed up rack but big body, old gray face. When I gutted him out his tarsals were pitch black and had that "stank". Neck was NOT swelled at all tho.
With about 45 minutes of daylight left, a big doe with a fawn came up out of the swamp right under me - wish I had my bow instead of rifle - no bucks following.
I think "it's" just getting started.
Oh, I agree, this constant rain is getting old.
My wife just returned from a walk in Duluth with pics of a heavy-bodied six point tending a doe. “It” is indeed on, folks. :-)
First Rule of Rut Report Club: Never rely on a vegetarian for rut reports. This is what I saw when I looked at the picture of the "six point" buck:
OHHHHH boy. Is she from out west? LOL
the weights in the big buck contest here are very high this year. 250.5 leads he way big doe is 158 and the youth buck is 226
I actually asked her last night how she counted points, thinking she might have cone across something from the West! We tried and failed to find them yesterday.
Here’s where it gets too strange to contemplate: This evening I was walking down our driveway to the mailbox when a large animal came around the opposite side of a large oak tree. I thought it was a dog - it was actually a large buck. The same buck my wife saw yesterday. He has distinctive antlers and I gauged him in the darkness to be an atypical 10.
He stood six yards from me and stared at me. He would not move. There is only one explanation for that - testosterone poisoning during the rut.
Not desiring to go mano á antlers with him, I hung back. He continued to stare at me. At one point he thought about doing something more about my presence. I spoke forcefully to him and stayed next to the oak, planning to use it as a barrier if needed.
Eventually I spotted a doe standing about eight yards to my left. The two of them stayed put. This went on for several minutes until I continued to the mailbox. I took a different route back to the house.
I came back in my truck on my way to get gas. The deer were in the same place. I tried to get some video and pics, but this image is the only thing I’ve got that hints at his rack:
That’s awesome!
Saw a big buck in the back of the wardens truck on the way home from work. People get nuts during deer season. My son and my neighbor both saw big adult bucks cruising through by themselves around 4 yesterday.
My broth-in-law had 3 bucks cross Hamline Ave. yesterday by the Highland(?) golf course. First a Y, followed by a small 4x4 and then a big 4x4 around noon.
Four-pointer just chased a doe across our yard and around our neighborhood in Duluth. :-)
Still slow around here, had a forkhorn by on Friday and a six pt by Sat morning. Just got in and saw 3 right at dark all does. From tracks in the snow they're moving at night pretty good.
Now that the gun season is over I am heading back out tomorrow to put cameras up and see what’s left on the land I share with them. Hoping some made it through.
Gun season goes another week Slick.
Found a scrape today that was made in the last 24 hours. :-)
eidsvolling, like your pic what is the bow w/ the autumn orange, that is the essence of bowhunting.
OK, it's been awhile but the last several days have been a balmy 20+ and low winds so I've been out. Last week 2 days I saw bucks pushing does and the last 2 days I've seen bucks pushing does. These have been adult does so some must be in heat again. Had a nice 8 pt 20 yards from me yesterday at about 3:20pm his nose right on a does tail but another doe was looking right at me so I didn't get a shot. Maybe today! Anybody else still out there hunting?
Sorry to be slow in responding, jjs. The bow is a 1958 Bear Archery Kodiak, 60”, 58#. It shoots like a dream:
I have no idea why my photos are being rotated while uploading!
Well, good thing about bulls eyes is it doesn't matter which way you rotate the picture!
I received a pic from my nephew two days ago, buck trailing a doe and grunting just like it was early Nov.
A friend of mine saw a scrape opened up in his driveway yesterday. Maybe some fawns and late does in estrus??
