Second rut
Contributors to this thread:Kansas
From: Alpha Max 72
25-Nov-18
Anyone anticipating the timeline on the mature bucks breeding the last few doe’s?
From: Catscratch
25-Nov-18
This guy spent yesterday morning chasing a doe around the house and chasing off 3 other bucks. This morning there were 5 bucks chasing a doe around the place...
From: Catscratch
25-Nov-18
Adding to my post above... I usually see chasing or a buck locked down with a doe during the 2nd and 3rd week of December. This is what I normally think of as the 2nd rut.
From: Alpha Max 72
25-Nov-18
Great information. I passed up hunting this last week due the full moon. I’m curious how it will be the weekend of 12/8 with the new moon?
From: Catscratch
25-Nov-18
I don't put much stock in the full moon thing or warm temps keeping deer from moving. Deer move during the rut. The last 2 days saw temps in the upper 60's with a clear full moon. I saw multiple mature bucks in the daylight both days. December 8th falls at the end of rifle season and is in between rutting activity dates. I would anticipate mature bucks will be hard to hunt that week.
From: Alpha Max 72
25-Nov-18
I would think the rifle season will make a big impact on movement. Do you think this coming week and the week of 12/10 or the week of 12/17 would be best?
From: Kansasclipper
25-Nov-18
You won't be driving the roads around here. Drifts are over 3 feet deep.
From: Thornton
25-Nov-18
Deer movement should stay good unless your neighbors are doing deer drives. The best year at my farm was weather similar to this and I had 23 deer on 50 acres of bean stubble.
From: Alpha Max 72
25-Nov-18
Thanks for all the good information. Where in Kansas did the recent storm have the biggest impact?
From: Catscratch
26-Nov-18
There is a couple of inches of snow on the ground in South Central KS and it will go away quickly with temps in the 40's all week. It sounds like North Central to North Western was hit the hardest but I haven't really paid too much attention.
Late season - From my experience it can be a great time to hunt. Bucks can and do move in the daylight. It's not random movement like in November. It's very specific going to and from bedding and food. I often see that they are grouping back up like they were in mid summer. I see groups of bucks ranging from 3 to 13. Does go from pair and triplets to family groups of 9 to 12. What this means for me is that if I'm on the right trail I have great action.... if I'm not on the right trail it's dead silent. It's hard hunting as there is little cover to hide your draw and the cold crisp air seems to amplify sound. I have better luck hunting evenings than mornings, and I like to hunt as far from their food source as possible. I also put the decoy away in December. This all might or might not be relevant to you. Every property is different and my methods/experiences might be pure crap for where you hunt.
From: doubledrop
26-Nov-18
Alpha, I sure like that 12/17 on if you still have a tag. That rutting action you can see on the yearlings can be magical. Smaller window, but from what I have seen is even better than the initial rut activity.
From: Alpha Max 72
26-Nov-18
From: Alpha Max 72
26-Nov-18
Great information and thanks for the reply.
From: Catscratch
26-Nov-18
I have a video of some rutting action on the 15th of December from a few yrs ago... To say "That rutting action you can see on the yearlings can be magical." is an understatement!
From: cherney12
26-Nov-18
That's good to hear.
From: Copperhead
26-Nov-18
Copperhead's Link
Read this for some good info on the rut. I have and know others who have witnessed rut activity into March.
From: Bodie
26-Nov-18
Thanks for the info guys, I enjoyed what you all had to say. Due to various reasons I had to push my hunt way back this year. I’ll be arriving on the 29th and I really don’t have high expectations. Usually by now archery hunting is wrapped up for me and I’m back to focusing on competing. Hearing about your sightings this late gives me some hope that maybe my trip won’t be a total flop. I am a little worried about archery hunting during rifle season. I don’t have any access to private and have hunted walk in for years. What is your experience guys? Is it going to be a circus? I was pheasant hunting the first day of rifle when I was 18 and there weren’t many people rifle hunting ...but that was 20 years ago.
From: Cazador
26-Nov-18
I think you would have been better off not skipping the end of Nov vs. Any time In December.
If you have private ground and a solid food source that has deer hitting it, it may be good. I don’t think I’d hunt many AMs in December but that’s me.
From what I’ve seen, December is a lonely time in the woods. Even the animals seem to be bummed it’s winter.
From: Bodie
26-Nov-18
Believe me Cazador, I wanted to be there. I’ve always come the week before thanksgiving and usually with plenty of action. Just the way it worked out this year. It was come late, or not come at all. I think anyone would have made the same choice lol.
From: Cazador
26-Nov-18
Was referring to original posting . “Avoided due to moon”
From: Copperhead
27-Nov-18
Bodie, don't forget that you are required to wear hunter orange during rifle season. If the area you're hunting in has some crops on part of or next to it that would be a good place to find where they are traveling in and out and set up, especially if there is still corn stubble or the soybeans have been harvested recently. Good luck and safe hunting.
From: 4beards
28-Nov-18
From: 4beards
28-Nov-18
For those who have witnessed this action, will bucks respond to any types of calls during that second rut?
From: TwoDogs@work
28-Nov-18
I killed a buck on December 24th many years ago that came to rattling. My experience is they may respond at times, but it is very seldom the case.
From: sitO
28-Nov-18
Food source's, concealment, and wind(to cover movement/sound) are your "friends" late season.
From: Catscratch
28-Nov-18
My experience with calling in the late season has been mostly negative. The deer seem jumpy and overly cautious (especially a young buck that just spent the last month getting his butt kicked by bigger/older bucks). I've had the best luck by burning a hunt or two to glass and scout to determine a feeding pattern. Then doing the best I can to hunt that pattern without alerting the deer to my presence. They don't seem to tolerate human intrusion much in the last season without changing patterns.
From: Dixie
30-Nov-18
Saw two bucks chasing different does this morning. One was in a thicket and the second one was in a wide open cut bean field. Both were giving the does a real hard time of it.
From: Kansasclipper
30-Nov-18
I hope it rains all weekend. The roads are already terrible, hope it makes them worse. Good heavy fog rolling in now.
From: Dmac
30-Nov-18
My spypoint camera caught this buck hot on a doe this am .
From: Thornton
04-Dec-18
I saw 3 bucks in a group yesterday and one by himself today at my sister’s farm in Butler County. The rut seems to be winding down.
From: sitO
04-Dec-18
They're running scared bud! I saw 15+ deer this morning all running and tails up...like they just saw the ghost of an orange pumpkin!
From: Thornton
04-Dec-18
Lol! Yes I have definitely noticed the deer are more skittish than normal. The 8 pt behind my sister's this morning didn't slow down for half a mile.
