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I seem to be seeing a lot of young road kill bucks lately. I know light controls the rut but it seems to me like activity is increasing earlier then I am used to. What are your thoughts? It seems like 5 days ahead?
I’m seeing a little activity while driving around lately. Saw a large bodied buck shadowing a doe in a bean field yesterday morning at 10 am. Then a 120” 10 pt cruising in a different bean field about 4:30 in the afternoon. (Not seeing much in the woods lately) :-( Seems like the does are still kinda hiding lately.
A couple of friends have seen some light chasing where they’ve been hunting.
Lots of bucks showing up on trail cams, lots of rubs and scrapes popping up everywhere. It’s getting good!
Lots of bucks showing up on trail cams, lots of rubs and scrapes popping up everywhere. It’s getting good!
It's on, chasing been going on since the 18th in NE Ohio, seen 3 bucks together chasing does around a field and am sure at least one was in estrus or close to it... Common when the first doe comes into estrus multiple bucks will chase... Am lead to believe the one they were after is one of those early does that sets off the rut... Fawn fetal recovery have determined some does do get bred in October, and one showed up on my trail cam on Oct 24th with mount marks on her back... Recording these type markings is one method some deerfarmers determine when some of their captive does get bred...
Halloween - Veterans Day always best around here, and seems to taper off after about the 12th or 13th of November, but not saying it'll still be good up until Thanksgiving weekend and the orange army invades... My vacation starts Friday through November 10th...
Here's a snapshot of that mounted doe from trail cam video on October 24, 2020... Notice the markings on her back...
Heating up, young bucks are moving some. Had a decent 8 pt running around yesterday afternoon on 3 different call cameras. Big boys are more present, but mostly night still.
But how does this compare with this time last year? Same? Earlier? Later?
very similar to previous years
Been taking notes 40 plus years and same year after year... Chasing starts around October 20th, early breeding late October through first week of November, breeding peaks around November 7 - 11 and starts tapering off after about the 13th or 14th until gunseason... Moon phase and weather may affect daytime deer movement and activity and cause more breeding at night, but does will be bred within a couple days of the same date year after year which some deerfarmers confirm...
Trail cam filmed today a loner button buck, likely indicating mommy is with daddy... Also seen a mature buck today during daylight checking a scrape... First mature buck I seen this fall during daylight...
Saw a decent buck with a doe last evening in an open field not far off the road. Bigger bucks starting to show themselves out in the open during day light hours. Oh how I wished that I could have been out hunting.
Not much going on yet from my observation. Hocking Co.
A friend of mine was watching a young buck chasing 6 does around for a little bit when a nice 8 pt showed up to the party. The 8 pt only made it about 80 yds.
I'm seeing more buck activity on my cameras. Northern Ohio
This guy was with another like-sized buck behind my home today. No does anywhere nearby, but they were on the lookout.
Daylight pics are starting to show up
Daylight pics are starting to show up
First daylight pic of my Number 2. Amazing photo and buck.
Some nice bucks! I have had zero luck before thanksgiving and leave my best spots alone until 11/3, preferably 11/5. I used to hunt a LOT but never saw good buck as early as others do must have been a coincidence.
I was unable to hunt this evening. At dusk, the buck in my pictures above followed 3 does across the field just behind my home. He was about 70 yards from my deck and I got a great look at home.
Lots of chasing and buck searching now. 5 bucks from the stand this morning. Just outside Sunbury I noticed a very large buck killed by a vehicle and laying in the weeds about 40 yards off I-71....entire rack looked intact. I didn’t even try to stop.
My family is going full tilt on the harvest here at their farm in Kenton, OH and they have noted a marked uptick in activity (chasing and daylight cruising) in the last two days. I put stock in their experiences given they know deer behavior and spend countless hours in the field this time of year driving tractors and combines.
Bucks of all sizes have been cruising and annoying the does since Halloween morning here, even during Sunday's gale-force winds, but I haven't seen any full-blown chases yet. I've never seen so much consistent activity this early before.
It doesn't seem to me that the dose have released pheromones enticing the bucks greatly. It still seems a little buddy buddy
Seeing lots of does without anything on their tale. Some still with fawns. A few small bucks cruising but not what i would expect for this time of year. Off the rest of this week after today I plan to get out as much as possible. Good luck everyone
Here in lower southwest Ohio , there chasing big time, it’s on, if ya have the time, get out and hunt !
Saw very little movement last week. very disappointed rutcation.
It's been slow in Carroll. The big guys are all nocturnal. First daylight pic yesterday morning of my #3. I'm hitting it hard the next four days. No lockdown that I've seen yet.
In our area in Coshocton County there is some lockdown going on. On Tuesday I saw a mature buck somewhat herding a doe with several yearling buck hanging around. The doe was not moving quickly and the mature buck was hovering around her. On Wednesday I saw a mature buck with a doe in a remote area and they were just hanging out. On Thursday I saw a mature buck scent check a bedding area and then go in to check out a doe fawn. Overall deer movement was way down and fawns are w/o their mothers. Mature bucks are not showing up on cameras nearly as much as they were 10 days ago. I think that a lot of does were being bred and I expect that we will be on the down side of it soon.
Do any of you hunt the late season? I have 18 acres of standing beans and also a 3 acre brassica field that's filled with bulbs. I'm hoping that it gets hammered in the post season.
Pat, I prefer the late season. If we get the weather, hands down late is better that the rut. I’ve shot my best whitetail on Jan 23, at -5degrees. You will have to be very careful not to shoot a shed buck if you are looking for a doe, and will definitely have some good bucks that are broken, but food and cold are by far better than the rut. You will do much better late.
Another bowsiter and I hunted just south of you in Harrison 11/5-11/13. It was terrible. None of the mature deer were moving at all during daylight, some does still had fawns with them, others had no bucks on their trail. 2 of our biggest deer were into it and broke on the 1st. Honestly after Halloween weekend, the big ones went into lockdown very early. The heat didn’t help any, but this is the worst rut I’ve ever hunted.
I've been seeing some deer, but not much for size still during daylight. The acorn crop has hurt us for sure this year. Seem to be just wandering the woods with no real place to go still. It's been a weird year overall......just not as much action from nice bucks as I typically see.
Pat.....if you have food, you will have deer. We have had good luck late in the year if the pressure on your place and neighbors is light. They usually are pretty nocturnal after gun season for a while and need some settle down time. Cold weather helps getting them moving too. Warm winters can be tough as they can stay pretty nocturnal through the end of season. That much food should be an irresistible draw.
Bean Plot
Bean Plot
Thanks Guys, I saw one of my marginal shooters tonight. A 130 inch 8 point. No shot but he was cruising my beans looking for does for over an hour.
My best rut activity was the mid-October. It was so good that I couldn't wait for mid-November. But mid-November sucked. This is my first time on this property so I have no baseline to compare it to. With all the food I have here my guess is the late season is going to be excellent.
I agree with the large acorn crop making it tough this year. The deer patterns have just not been as predictable. Pat, I have hunted late season a number of times and have seen some nice bucks but struggled to get a shot at one. We had 20+ acres of turnups, radishes, clover and rye all planted together in fields spread over 400 acres one year and every deer within a square mile was feeding on it. It was a cover crop but the turnups were so good that we were picking some for cooking. The whole area smelled of turnups. I could not find a setup that worked. The deer were bedding right next to the fields or the woods were just too open and the deer could come onto the fields any where. I saw a lot of daytime movement and had a pop up storm screw up the only occasion where I had a mature buck feeding into bow range. If I would spend some resources to setup the right structure I think that late season hunting would be great.
I'm hoping my cell cams can help me pattern some deer late this year without pressure. Pat twisted my arm and now I have 5 of those Moultrie cams! Thanks, I guess? Ha
Well, the youth season ended. No close shots anywhere. The weather likely kept the kids indoors.
Now I'm hitting it hard until gun season opens next week. I will bowhunt during gun and that will be interesting. At my NY property the gun season lasts for 6 weeks. That's awful. The only good thing is that every hunter isn't crammed into a few days to get it done. Not sure what to expect during the short Ohio season.
"Not sure what to expect during the short Ohio season."
Expect to hear a lot of booms...8^)
I had one of my shooters at 15 yards tonight. Just couldn’t get the shot. He and another buck followed 12 does and fawns. Another buck showed up and I watched 3 separate fights. It was awesome!
And my number 1 just showed back up tonight on Moultrie mobile. He’s been MIA for five weeks!
Pat.....curious, sounds like you are hunting them comming into food?
Yeah Pat missing bucks seems to be common around here and show back up once the rut starts slowing down.... Depends on where they happen to be Monday morning of gun season whether they survive... If they make it back home and have security and winter food source there's a good chance they'll stay and you can hunt them late season once the firesticks disperse... Only thing is they turn pretty nocturnal again, with another short 2-day gun season, (hate that other 2-day weekend gun season in December) then muzzleloaders keep them in cover until dark... But late January is great food source hunting until once they settle down again... Luv late season...
Seen it before local bucks you know disappear during peak rut and other bucks never seen before show up... I understand deer are individuals but think some travel further than most think, read in one of Rothhaar's books he knew of one Ohio buck that traveled like 12 miles in a week or so during rut... Kinda hard to manage unless ya have massive acreage like they do out west...
This Booner class piebald I chased around Summer 2005-January 2007 (photo is frame of video I took) was seen almost 4 miles from where I hunted him... Never did hear of his demise... Learned long ago never to say never when it comes to whitetails, they always seem to amaze... Magnificent animals...
My 3 acre brassica plot taken yesterday from my stand
My 3 acre brassica plot taken yesterday from my stand
Cas, yes. My brassica plot is drawing more than my beans. I hunted a stand that overlooks that plot. I’ve been spending most of the time on a stand deep in my thick bedding area but it’s been slow there. They are not cruising like I expected them to.
I’m also not using any bait. Everyone around me uses it but I really would rather not. I may not kill anything this year but since I’m living on the property I have a unique opportunity to hunt the entire season and learn all I can about how deer are using it.
The battle against bait is strong in Ohio......every property around us have feeders as well as evident by the whirling sound I hear in the AM and PM. We do not have any bait either and are content to sit it out and hope they wander by.
Good looking field. You should not be short on food by the looks of it.
Zbone, last year my son got a trail cam pic of a small buck with goofed up antlers. He posted the pic on-line and another fellow posted back a pic he got of the same buck 7 miles from where my son got its pic. I know deer have core areas they tend to stay in but a 7 mile walk for a deer is probably no big thing.
Pat - Your winter wheat/rye is gonna be killer in late January...8^)
Yeah Old Reb, they're individuals but some seem to be travelers and some not so much, probably likely the amount of available does has a lot to do with it during rut... Does may be home bodies, but buck travels probably have to do with his age and experience... My theory is Ohio mature bucks have 2 core areas, a sort of migration so to speak, a summer range when they bachelored up and winter range depending upon food source availability which many a couple miles or so away... Mid to late October when the first available local doe comes into estrus the big boy wards off smaller bucks and sticks with her in her home room for a short honeymoon then starts heading back to his core area maybe working scrapes or until he hits another hot doe track and honeymoons with her at her home, and again and again until likely/maybe the big guy could be miles away from his home... By Thanksgiving week with the rut winding down and/or possible exhaustion, mature bucks head home (like Pat's) and if he manages to make it home before Monday morning gun season, or is able to run the gauntlet during gun season to make it back to home security, he may make it another year... Seeing the same mature buck 2 years in a row in my hunting areas is rare due to pressure though... A 5 or 6 year old buck is a phenom superstar around here... That Booner piebald would have turned 5 the following spring had he made it... I knew his age after talking to a guy that past him as a 1-1/2 year 8-point basketrack...
Pat, The hunting pressure in Ohio during gun season can vary a lot based on landownership. n our area there use to be tremendous pressure. Then an outfitter started leasing land, a business shutdown access to their 400 acres and all of the landowners started reporting trespassers. One day a group moved in and in one day the warden got three calls about them. Now the pressure is reasonable to low. You will find out about your area. Be sure to pursue trespassers.
FYI guys listen to Goyt he is one the best hunters I know overall and DEFIENTLY the best whitetail hunter I have ever had the privilege of meeting.
Don, Thanks for the kind remarks.
I posted this on the Gun Opener thread as well. The gun pressure wasn't low - It was non-existent. Nothing happening around my farm - 12 shots off in the distance all day. I heard so many horror stories I was expecting hand-to-hand combat on by border. Not sure if I'm all that happy about it - was hoping to get some bucks moving off some adjacent properties that are only hit during gun. But I'll take no pressure over what I experience in NY and PA all day long.
We'll see if this holds later in the week after the crappy weather ends.
I am very interested in what your experience is.
2 shots today, so far. In the distance (+2miles)
Good thread going on about bucks' travels over on the whitetail forum:
https://forums.bowsite.com/tf/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=491516&messages=19&forum=4
