Nothings in Stone This morning I saw something that got me thinking… It was 4 AM just over an hour ago, a mature whitetail buck was chasing a mature doe and I mean really getting after it. Not only that but he was totally oblivious to his surroundings, in the middle of main street, smack dab in the middle of downtown. Granted my hometown isn’t too large nor is it entirely uncommon to see deer in the park area that sits nearby and is bordered by a wooded creek that runs through town. But today is December 17th, the rut is long over and most folks around would say even the second rut of the younger does is over as well. So December 17th, a dandy 10 point chasing a mature doe…. It seems as hunters we often get mighty caught up in deer patterns, the rut, moon phases, biologists predictions, etc. I will add that this morning is one of the coldest mornings we have had since the third week of November for whatever that’s worth, but it made me think…. So many folks, especially in my part of the country, the Midwest, get awful disappointed if November ends and they still have a buck tag in their pocket. Sure you still have those late season food sources to hunt over. Those are likely to be productive, especially if the weather cooperates. Perhaps we let too many outside sources do a bit too much convincing as to the cycles and behavior of whitetail deer. Don’t get me wrong there is plenty of data out there to support most of what we hear, read, and believe but, maybe we take it to heart more than we should. Heck some guys will read an Alsheimer article and base their entire fall from it. Scheduling vacation days and placing all the cards on the table. Only to be disappointed when things don’t turn out as planned. I am perhaps more fortunate than most in that regard. I have the ability and luxury to monitor deer movement throughout the fall with scouting and trail cameras and I take many of my days off to hunt, very last minute when I see things are right. Not everyone can do that and certainly the thought goes out the window when planning anything out of state. Sure, mid-November will always harbor the lion’s share of the rut here, I just can’t help but think that we often over analyze in our efforts to capitalize. How many of us would be better hunters if we didn’t read one article, or watch one hunting show and simply watched what was going on around us, in our woods, as often as possible. Allowing that to influence all of our decisions and shape our approach to the season. Instead of listening to what a guy from Georgia or New York or wherever has to say on the subject and taking it as stone cold fact. Well wait, he does have a PHD and has studied deer for 20 years right…. Deer… that’s it, they are just deer. All though there is no doubt that certain environmental factors do come into play and effect what they do, they have no calendar, no watch. While turkey hunting with my godfather one spring, an incredibly astute hunter and woodsman, I was growing frustrated by our lack of luck. It seemed none of the gobblers could be swayed by my lovesick calling and all had other intentions in mind. I turned to him looking for an explanation for their behavior….. he heartily laughed and said “son, they’re just turkeys being turkeys.” Yep, and deer will just continue being deer, doing what they do, when they want to do it.
I totally agree with your look on things tacklebox. Yesterday evening was one of the coolest we've had also. I get home around 4:30-4:45 depending on traffic. I closed the gate and rolled down the drive. I was just creeping along wanting to see what was in the beans, if anything, I get to the corner in the drive that turns towards the house and there they are, 2 bucks, one young one and a larger one out front, both heading towards the timber in a hurry. Gun hunting is allowed in our area and I'm sure like most areas in this part of the state those deer have been pushed. It was good to finally see them in the daylight again instead of all the night time pic's I've been getting of them. I'm going to hunt my in-laws this afternoon which is in the city limits. Hopefully with it going to be cold tonight they'll be out for a snack in the greens. We'll see. Good story tacklebox.
Last year dec 20tg I tagged a nice 3.5 nose down mouth open grunting something fierce. It happens longer than most think, weather permitting .
Above all, they are unpredictable. How many people would have told me not to use a buck decoy on Dec 5th, that they only work for the first couple weeks of November. My buck came into the decoy just as hard and aggressive as I have seen.
When I was a teenager I remember asking my Dad where the deer would be. He turned to me and said, "the deer are, where the deer are!" And that truly sums up hunting. Get out there and enjoy the hunt. Thanks for the story TB. Need any help?
I made a comment not long ago that "you probably don't know as much as you think you do about deer"...or something very similar. I said "you", but I meant "we".
In a perfect world - one in which we're allowed generous time off from work and other duties to hunt, and can go at the drop of a hat - this works. However the reality for most people is that this isn't the way things work out. We hunt weekends with the occasional "hunting vacation" thrown in there - many times planned weeks or months in advance. In those cases your best bet will always be to base your decisions off the larger trends. Those trends have been the same for decades. Whether they're written or talked about by people with years of biological experience or not the fact of the matter is daytime buck activity ramps up during late October, peaks in November and then fades out as you head into December across much of the US. Sometimes you get lucky and hit things right, other times you don't. That's the game we all play. One buck chasing one doe through town before daylight during mid December is neat to see, but I'm not sure I'd take that as any sort of indicator that you should be in the woods hunting today rather than any day during the last week of October or first week of November.
Deer hunting is like fishing in a good river, anything can happen at any given time. The best expert can't predict what's liable to hit your line but the possibilities are nearly limitless. As long as you have a hook in the water you have a chance to catch something. I read a study somewhere a while back that said that far more does were bred a lot earlier than most people think, based on fetus studies from dead does collected. The claim was many get bred way back in September. They're like cattle, they cycle back in if they don't get bred or a breeding doesn't take so you never know when a buck may happen on a hot doe. The bucks are certainly aware of this too so you know they are going to be on the lookout constantly until conditions determine their time is better spent feeding and resting...that's really late this year.
Agreed, and the bolded part of your statement wasn't really what I was implying. Only that it CAN happen at anytime. Really from the first of Oct and well thru Dec. I acknowledge most folks cant just not go to work in the morning at the drop of a hat as I often can. I am lucky to have that luxury.
This is a comment that was made on my FB page to the post above by Cory Foth, a very gifted taxidermist and the guy really knows his deer. He is also from about 10 away from where I live. "Really simple math. The rut is a bell curve. With a conservative estimate of 5 to 1 does to bucks, there is no possible way all mature does get bred during the first cycle. This rutting activity can and will sometimes be seen into February with accounts as late as March. 28 day cycle in the does; count back 28 days from today and you have your first or second (mature does will come into heat in October sometimes) times she's been ready. That date would be Nov 19. Just about the time most of us are getting discouraged!" - Cory " I'll add there's only a window of about 3 days where she is capable of being bred. Couple that with the courtship / chase and one can see why all does cannot possibly be bred the first time around" I will also add that I have had more mature bucks on camera in daylight in the last 7-10 days on one of my properties than I have there all season. Mind you it has had little pressure and what I have put on it has only been on the edges. The recent gun season has pushed all those deer into a new "sanctuary" if you will, where they seem to have zero qualms about moving during daylight.-ME
The more years I hunt the more I agree with you. Even though it is few and far between, guys were I hunt have been killing some dandy bucks over the past couple of weeks, some of which were harassing does. I'll be out with my lucky horseshoe the next couple of days just hoping a guy like me can get lucky......
Anything cam happen at anytime...was proven this past Sunday. Obviously my info is different being in the South. I took both of my boys with me hunting out of a box blind Sunday evening as it was nearly 70°. We had 4 does out in front of us. At last light this joker came out, grunting and in full chase mode...he stunk too. I was able to pull off the kill with both of them with me. So December 13th, 70°, North Ga. Full stink, chasing, grunting. Sometimes, stuff happens that doesn't make sense....but I'm not complaining one bit.
I have always thought that the rut in central Arkansas started around Thanksgiving and through the first two weeks of December. Over the last six years I have seen more buck movement during this time than early November. But, I am a little south of Iowa and Illinois. Saturday morning I saw a small six point dogging a doe like she was in heat.
I also saw two bucks chasing a doe and fawn this morning. Looked like they were more interested in the fawn. While I also agree the rut has tapered down a lot since the main rut... our winter has been pretty mild and a few of the doe fawns will be coming into heat now or soon. That will trickle along through December and keep the bucks interested. I've seen that year after year, especially during mild winters which we are having now. I've also seen bucks chasing fawns in March during very mild winters. I've also seen September fawns following very mild winters. Seasonal weather does play a large role in behavior of the deer this late into the season. While I will be targeting food sources, I will be targeting doe/fawn groups. I don't plan on shooting any doe. I will also be bringing along the grunt tube, rattling antlers and using scents for the bucks still on the prowl. I like having my bases covered. I have been doing a lot of scouting lately. From what I am seeing... late season is looking pretty good for killing a rutting buck yet !! Tim
Yup, completely agree with the bell curve of the breeding season...and to be honest I love hunting the first 1/4 and last 1/4 of the bell more than the middle in many ways. Bucks are antsy the first half, more receptive to calling and hitting scrapes and corridors more in my experience...then the last 1/4 they are trying like heck to get that last little doe action before it is all used up. Every year, since we've ran cams, we get atleast one or two BIG MATURE bucks that slide through around Christmas time doing just that....and are gone never to be seen again. Nice write up TJ, keep writing man!
