I know some of you may not hunt October but for those who do, do you experience the October lull? Do you experience it every year or just occasionally? Since in recent years biologists have found the rut to be fairly consistent and based on photoperiod, why do we sometimes experience an October lull? Does the moon come into play? Air pressure? October for me has been great some years and completely dead other years so I'm curious to see what other hunter's experiences are.
Haven't recognized any lull in activity since I've been hunting ( over 40 years) during bow season (October)
I don't think it's so much of a lull as a transition in pattern. Bach groups are breaking up and food is in transition. They're are not where you'd expect them to be. IDK
I don't feel there is a lull. I think its just a change in food source. Find the food and you will find the deer.
October is a month of change, crops change, acorns drop, pressure increases, hormones increase. I think mature deer don't move as far and focus should be bedding but deer are killable.
That's what I enjoy about October. Everything is coming to a headway. I think it's intense. Like the calm before the storm. The hair on the back of my neck is standing up just thinking about it. The best is when that first hard cold front rolls through... man I'm getting Stoked!!
I hunt every chance I can, Sep-Jan.... Learn something every hunt, and don't sit the same stand over and over, and keep scent as minimal as possible. I've killed bucks in every month of the season.
I've killed deer in October too, yet other years I see barely anything. I've tried following the food, that doesn't seem to change anything, which is why I was wondering if there was more to it. I personally love October, especially the second half.
I think the guys that said it's changing food sources, hormones, etc...nailed it. I think the notion came from guys hunting their preferred rut stands and having low traffic. The low traffic though is mostly because of changing patterns, food sources, photoperiod changes, etc... So like most things, there's some truth to it and also some misconstrued bs.
I always try to find acorns and I seem to find the deer in October. I still get a bunch of pics on my cams as well in October sometimes they go from being out in the daylight all September to going nocturnal in the beginning of October...coincidence, weather/moon phase, etc...my pressure...who knows really. I hunt October very sparingly only where I see signs of activity where acorns are dropping and I can get in and out without pressuring the deer. Otherwise I wait for cold weather. Last year we had some good cold fronts at the beginning of October in the Midwest/Great Lakes and a lot of bucks got killed. My wife had a baby early October so I sat on the bench. I typically start hunting more Halloween and after.
see the key is scouting take a week off of hunting and take a walk drive around what ever find fresh sighn hand a trail camera check it in a week and don't hang a Stand make a blind out of natural stuff if there isn't much activity if a lot of activity goo stay in a stand
I had one of the best hunts of my life a couple years ago and I didn't shoot a deer! It was first week of October and I set up in a small 2- 3 acre wood lot with some really old oaks growing it. In 2 hours I had 22 deer walk past me at 20 yards or less. Just at the right place and the right food source.
One of the things that can put a damper on daytime movement here in VA in October is the temps. At the same time if you can find some acorns near a water source it can be amazing. I do prefer the end of October but lull or no lull hunting the rest of the month isn't too bad...it sure beats working
people are commenting on great hunts during the first and last of October. I love the first week and the last week of October. However the true Lull is usually around the middle of the month. 10th thru around the 22nd or so is defiantly different on my farms here in West Tn. Biggest Buck to date was Oct 25th, 2nd biggest buck was last week of Sep. got several does during the Lull, but no good bucks, but i still get after them the whole month. you never know.
I agree with others, I have experienced it numorous years where its like the deer just vanish but now that I'm more educated and consider myself a better hunter I believe its a big transition period for them. Food sources are changing, bucks are splitting up, etc. In years past I would find myself hunting the same ol' stands, but the past year I have learned to move and find them closer the thick bedding areas, acorns, etc.
