# Hunting the rut/vacation time



## ernie gooding (Aug 26, 2006)

I've got about a week and a half that I will be able to bowhunt Ohio this fall. If you had to pick a 9-10 day stretch to hunt the hunt, when would it be?? I know the rut varies a little from year to year. Just trying to get a rough "guesstimate" to give myself the best chance of hitting some good rut activity. I get pretty excited about hunting here in WV around the 1st of November.


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## Skunkedagain (Apr 10, 2004)

Same here! I always take vacation the second week of November and hunt the Jackson/Wellston area. Always seems to be lots of buck activity.


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## ARGEE (Apr 5, 2004)

1st Or Second Week Of November Is Best Every Yr..some People Think The Weather Depends On The Rut Time..in Reality Its The Amount Of Decreasing Daylight....


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## Pipeliner (Apr 5, 2004)

Hey Ernie,,,

You guys are right on,,,, After 40 years of Hunting... My favorite days are November 1st thru 12th, Right before the Peak!!!!!  
Stan


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Pipeliner said:


> Hey Ernie,,,
> 
> You guys are right on,,,, After 40 years of Hunting... My favorite days are November 1st thru 12th, Right before the Peak!!!!!
> Stan


 Amen to that! I think I went 3 years in a row of sticking my buck on Sunday morning of November 10th-12th). The activity will go up and down throughout the whole month but if you are in the field as much as possible somewhere in that first week and a half you will most likely be out there when the frenzy hits.


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## ernie gooding (Aug 26, 2006)

As of right now, I'm gonna put in to have off from November 3-12. We're gonna come up around the middle of September to do some scouting.... and I'll also be able to come up and hunt a couple of weekends earlier in the season just to see what's going on. I had one guy tell me that mid to late October was also a good time to catch a buck working his scrape lines. Thanks again for the info. It's seems to be right on with what other guys have told me.


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## squid_1 (Jun 2, 2005)

Every year I take the 8-15th of November. You will always catch some part of the rut with those dates. Last year was a little earlier than norm but still seemed to fall in these dates. I have killed 2 bucks on Nov 11th and both were in rut..tongue hanging hound dog style. Good luck!


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## Pipeliner (Apr 5, 2004)

Ernie,,,

Good time to get that area Buck. During this time, He is still on his Scrape lines, Rub lines, and scent checking the does. After the Rut kicks in! The bucks are going to be with the does and You never know where the does are going to be.... Lots of times he is bedded with the doe,, and if she doesn't move.. He won't either....

Always place your stand downwind, and don't leave any of your scent on the ground. You can not beat their nose!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Stan
A BowKill in 1994,, Second week of November!!


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## ernie gooding (Aug 26, 2006)

Thanks for the advice. That's a good buck!


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Actually if you are able to pattern a buck's behavior I think that the better time to get him is in October. Once the does start getting ready all bets are off as to where and when he will be passing through the area. The tradeoff is that you will see a lot of other bucks venturing in to the neighborhood that you had not seen as well.

To sum it up I would say that October provides predictability but November provides much more action.


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## kasting king (Aug 17, 2006)

i feel the same bkr. i killed by biggest to date on oct 27 hunting an area where the does often group up before they venture into the field. late oct early nov i feel is the best time


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## ernie gooding (Aug 26, 2006)

I'd love to be able to pinpoint a pre-rut buck. Where I live, the mature bucks seem to move very little in the daylight hours (at least until the does are right)....from my experience. 
This might sound like a dumb question, but.... do you see alot of mature bucks in October??? Or, are alot of them Nocturnal til mid November like they are here??


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

You see the mature bucks if you are in the right places. Particularly earlier in October you need to be able to get close to their bedding area and you will get a look at them in the last hour or less of daylight. Also, they will often move at least a bit during midday to relocate their bed. I know of several guys who have gotten their buck in the midday early in the season. I don't think you can count on a lot of activity early in the season but if you get in the right place at the right time it does not take a lot of activity.

I know I have had countless run-ins with bucks at last light and many times they never venture into shooting range until dark. But sometimes they do.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

I read an article in the latest Field & Stream that mentions this and I believe it to be true as well. It has to do with the estrus cycle timing. As we all know the majority of the does will come in to heat during that early November time for the first cycle of the year. However, there are a very small number of does that may come in a cycle earlier. I have witnessed bucks tracking hard earlier in October as if they were on a hot doe. I believe that this could be true. The article suggests that you take the peak November date and back up 28 days from that. Somewhere around this date could very well have a doe or two coming in to heat in your area. If so the big bucks will be the first to recognize it and they will react.


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## kasting king (Aug 17, 2006)

myself and the few of guys i hunt with have our best luck, on big mature bucks, either the first couple days of the season on their food source, or the last few days of october untill the end of the first week of nov.

we do a lot of scouting and hunt the stands when everything is right, and try not to over hunt the stands. if you have an area that you know a mature deer lives i feel that if you hunt areas in the pre rut where the does hang out, and travel you will find bucks there too, checking for the right does. they are still patternable then. seems to me that once the rut opens up they are a little harder to pattern, but they are moving a lot more and sometimes easier to kill then, espically if you dont have a particular deer you are hunting


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## kasting king (Aug 17, 2006)

bkr i am pretty sure the estrus cycle you are talking about is backwards.
young does dont always come in heat during the first time due to their young age. also there are a few adult does that dont get bread during the first rut. you count 28 days from the the peak of the rut backwards ie mid dec. and that will get you close. where i hunt it is sometimes hard to tell when it hits. there is not near the activity as the first rut. i actually killed a nice 8 pt 2 weeks after gun season one year trying to breed a doe.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Some does will come in early. It's much less common, but it does happen.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

You are right that the late does will come in December but that is not what I am referring to here and that is not what the article was about. What they were mentioning was the possibility that not all does wait until November to start their first cycle. I believe the article suggested that the more mature does are the ones that may be prone to starting an early cycle.

My main hunting partner shot a dandy buck a few years back when he came through the woods behind a doe. He said at the time that the buck was behaving as if she was hot but he had a hard time believing that since it was on early October.

You obviously would not see enough of this early cycle activity to get everything happening and the most mature bucks would service these does immediately. However, it could be just the thing to get a big buck moving during midday in early October when most would not expect it.


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## kasting king (Aug 17, 2006)

bkr. sorry for stepping on your toes!
sounds like i need to make a trip to the store and grab that mag!

i have never herd of that, but i did run to some guys a few years back that said one of them shot a buck as it and another chased her allover the hillside. they claimed that he was trying to breed her. i just thought he was crazy, mabey there is some truth to that arcticle.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

No need for apologies. I never really gave it much thought before reading it either. But after reading it I thought that it seemed pretty logical and believable. Then thinking back with that in mind I came up with several instances that seemed to support that theory.


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## kasting king (Aug 17, 2006)

who knows we might be on to somthing! probably not


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## Onion (Apr 10, 2004)

I have definitely seen bucks chasing does in Mid October. Last year I had four does come into my field at first light to browse. After about 30 minutes I spotted a 6 pointer walking along about 200 yards away. As soon as he crossed their trail he was on it like a beagle on a rabbit trail. 

He came into the field just under my stand following exactly where the does came in and grunting like crazy. When he saw the girls he really went nuts, walking around stiff-legged and all that. Then the big boy (12 point) came into the other side of the field (125 yards away), grunted once and the little guy bolted without even putting up a fight. The 12 ran off the does before I could get a shot at him or any of them  

The 12 made it through the rut but didn't make it to the end of gun season. Another guy that hunts the same property got him on opening day.


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## ernie gooding (Aug 26, 2006)

My buddy killed a real nice 9 point (135 class) last year in Ohio around the first week of October. He said he saw him working a scrape line about 150 yards out. He grunted to him and brought him in on a rope.... like he was in full rut. He said it was close to 75 degrees out that afternoon, and absolutely could not believe that he was able to grunt him in as early and hot as it was. I guess it just goes to show that whitetails can be pretty unpredictable. 

I guess any time a person can get in the stand.... they should take advantage of it. I'm going up in mid Sept. to do some scouting. Hope to find some sign to get excited about. Then I should be able to go up and hunt a couple of weekends in October... then the big vacation around the first/second week of November. Just hope the weather is good!!


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## Pure river (Sep 12, 2005)

I would shoot for oct 30-Nov 8th.

Just my humble opinion that pre-rut and the first week of november tend to see much more movement.

I like when the bucks are rip rearing to go and the does are not ready! they are stupid and not yet paried up with a doe and running all over the place. In the fields during the evenings chasing does all over.

It seems by the second week of november they get paired up quite often and just hang out with the a doe in heat. Some counties have such scewed doe populations it really limits the mature buck movement. They dont have to look for does to breed..they are everywhere. I think if there is an excess doe population in your area this "Frustration period" if you will, really gives you a good chance at catching a mature buck moving. 

Once the does come into heat..and with way to many does in the area they dont have to travel and leave the security of cover to breed. There are does in heat everywhere..they are screwing their brains out and no longer frustrated to the extent they were two weeks earlier.

I have three days to burn and I'm going with Nov 1,2,3, 4th on sat, and 5th on sun.
If its ends up raining and being really crappy.. i might opt for the 6th 7th and 8th

Just personal preference.

PR


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## Pure river (Sep 12, 2005)

AHHH...just read some posts! Kasting King and I are on the same "Wave length" lol 

it wont be long!!!

PR


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Pure River said:


> I have three days to burn and I'm going with Nov 1,2,3, 4th on sat, and 5th on sun.
> If its ends up raining and being really crappy.. i might opt for the 6th 7th and 8th


 I am planning for the exact same days for my vacation time.


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## ernie gooding (Aug 26, 2006)

We're headed to Ohio this weekend on out first scouting trip. I'm absolutely fired up!! 
I work for the state of WV, and we got 2 holidays the week of election day... around Nov. 7..... so I'm gonna take off from the 4th to the 12th of Nov. Hopefully I can catch some good rutting activity in there. Do the deer still hit the fields in the evening pretty hard after bow season comes in?? Around here, they run for cover when hunting season comes in. It's like they got it marked on their calenders too!


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## Pure river (Sep 12, 2005)

for starters....STAY IN WVA..we have enough people up here!! haaaa

just pulling you leg ..im sure thats how the kentuckyians feel during turkey season when we go down there!

to answer your question..i have found generally a lot of it depends on the acorn crop. Its very overlooked in my opinion by many hunters who watch deer all summer, hanG a stand on a field edge then bam..two weeks later around the opening of season..they dissapear...or they come out just at or after dark.
I would agree some of the "dissapering" is due to hunting pressure, but dont underestemate the power of the acorn!!!

If the acorn crop is down or null and void, yes..you will still see activity in the fields. Oddly enough though i think the social stress within the herd , and the breaking up of buck bachelor groups also coinsides with this time pierod. Bucks begin to branch out form their "summer" areas and begin to esbtablish other areas of their own for breeding dominance.
thus ANOTHER reason you think the "deer vanish"

the big nontypical i posted a pic of in the "show us your bucks" thread was onE a few years back that stayed in his summer area.
We did everything we could with early MOCK scrapes to hold this guy in the area. And it worked!!! he was taken on Oct 30th..4 weeks after opening day just 50 yards from where he was first spotted in the summer.

Also dont underestemate the power of "Social Stress" within the herd to send deer to other areas when season begins. Dominate does are vying for breeding dominance, as well as the bucks in the herd. 

You may see 4-10 different bucks in your food plots and fields during the summer, but after several of them get a horn in the ass a couple times by mr boss man..they tire of getting their ass kicked on a daily basis and go to find calmer more stress free areas to reside. 

sorry for the rambling...just killing time ... ready to get out of the office!

PR


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## Pure river (Sep 12, 2005)

PS.

I dont know what kind of area you have in wv..but i know there are a lot of hard woods!!!...acorns!! lol

the sweet grasses of summeer also most of the time experience a frost before season..rendering them somewhat bitter and not so sweet.

Most soy beans are picked and out of the fields by this time..corn is now hard and used as a last resort during the winter for food.

I know in the souther states, persimmon and other mast crops play a HUGE part in deer movement and transformation during this time.

Think about it...in the summer..these foods are not yet ripe OR avaliable....so they eat what they can until that time.

more rambling...is it 5:00 yet !! haaa

PR


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## rick karosa (Jun 4, 2006)

take the week of november 14 thats when the rutt is going to be in ohio


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## rick karosa (Jun 4, 2006)

> keep the sun to youre back and the wind in youre face


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## jiggin'fool (Dec 18, 2005)

watch the moon phases! heard a seminar and dug back into past years and journals to find out if was true.... I think it is the first new moon in november??? don't quote me on that but the guy said that the week around nov. 15 this year is the time to not leave the woods!!!!! with the research I did and seeing when the bucks were most active that I saw in past years he was right!!! pretty sure its the new moon though... hopefully that helps.... I have seen the biggest bucks the weekend before gun season!


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