I've killed most of my deer at the end of October but I see the most deer during the rut. I'd start putting in more time at the end of October near scrapes and try to catch a buck just starting to cruise before the does start going into heat.
Outside of the Pre-Rut & Rut I focus on a few things consisting on a mixture of: Wind direction & Speed Barometric Pressure Temperature Moon Phases Time of Year Sun/Cloud Cover That's a lot of **** to cover but it's in an order of most important to least. I'll try to touch on a few quickly. Wind direction & speed determines where the bucks will be bedding, or traveling (depending on if I'm hunting a specific buck or a general area and how I approach it. Barometric pressure is a new one for me, which I picked up from Mark Drury. Essentially like any temperature change deer tend to move more with high pressure and less with a lower pressure. Throw a good wind with a steady rising pressure and you are increasing your odds as seeing deer on their feet. Moon phase's aren't that important but they play a slight role in deer movement. Deer movement is enhanced around a full moon and new moons. Generally the day of the moon to 3-4 days leading up to it will be good, with peak movements during the day of said moon. The movement will gradually decrease after it's peaked. Time of year regards to what the animals are doing.. Early Fall is the predictable feeding patterns, pre rut, rut, post rut ect.. Sun and visibility- From what I've noticed the animals seem to be "groggy" with heavy cloud cover and more active with a bright, sunny day. It's not a science by any means, but this is a great way for myself to choose which days to hunt being I live a good distance away from my hunting properties; It also allows me to manage my time more efficiently.
