i just got in from cleaning/quartering 2 doe I shot tonight. The first one went down in sight so when a second offered me a shot, I took it. Second was a 50 yard pile up as well. Usually our rut starts around the 20th and this year is no exception. I have been hunting a farm where we want to take a lot of doe lately so as to stay out of the one where I have a remaining buck tag until I saw some confirmation that the seeking phase was on. While I have seen some harassment from some younger bucks earlier in the week, today I saw a 3 1/2 yo at 4:00 out in the middle of an open field at least a mile(literally)from any cover at all and he seemed to be on a mission. Then later this evening I saw two other 2 1/2 yo harassing doe as well and preoccupied with what the doe were doing. So with that being the case, I have shot my last doe for a while and will hunt hard the next 4 days on the farm where I still have a buck tag and see what might be passing through. I will be out of town for about 5 days around Thanksgiving, which should be the prime time to be out....but oh well there are other things than hunting....I am looking forward to the next several days and then catch the last 4-5 days of the rut when I get back. Anybody else's rut just starting to get underway?
I was thinking that i Ohio was a little bit behind the game, but last night i saw two bucks chasin hard. Seems a little late for them to just be starting now.
I have not seen a rut, I am not kidding. As of today, this has been the weakest rut I have seen since I started hunting in Virginia 18 seasons ago.
Depends who you ask around here, some say the chase is just starting, others claim it was over 3 weeks ago. Last weekend at our lease was the first sign of seeking/chasing I've seen. Rifle season starts tomorrow so all bets are off ...
yeah i am really yet to see an agressive rut, since i have only seen a few deer chasing this year. I think Ohio might be on the ass end out and maybe in a week or two we might catch the does that didnt get bred the first time around here.. Youth season gun starts this sat and sun. and shotgun starts the 30th of Nov...so i gotta get it done..dont want to pick up a gun this year..
Ditto here Brett. I can't EVER remember the first 3 weeks of Nov being as dead as this has been I sure hope it picks up from here out.
Wow! I am surprised to hear these posts. I saw pretty intense rutting activity in our area between the 9th and the 12th of November. We had some warm weather in the Midwest around Nov 4-7 that seemed to hold things up a bit but by the middle of the next week around the 8th or 9th it was poppin pretty heavy in North MO. Even with the temps being on the high end of average. I saw numerous bucks moving and looking for does, three bucks came right past me chasing does and I even saw a 2.5 - 8 point and a 3.5 - 8 point sqaure off for a brief moment. The 2.5er realized pretty quickly he had made a mistake and bolted up the hill and out of the area.
Here in IL I haven't really seen too much rutting activity. My dad saw one buck that was with a doe, but other than that we haven't seen much. A lot of the does still have their fawns with them, which is never a good sign. We haven't really noticed a distinct rut around us for probably 4 or so years. It's kinda disappointing because nothing is more entertaining than watching 3 bucks chase after the same doe back and forth across the timber in front of you.
Last Saturday I was able to watch 8 different bucks chase around 4 does in this big bowl like ravine. It was one of the neatest things I have ever seen in the woods. I watched them for about 15 minutes or so, before they all finally ran up the opposite ridge. There was grunting and bleating and all kinds of vocalizations going on between all the deer. Truly an amazing sight.
im so glad to see this thread.. i thought it was jus me not seein any actviity.. ive hunted everyday the past 2 weeks an have yet to see any chasing on stand.. seen one lil buck chasin drivin in on the 4 wheeler..
Same here, but the last couple of days, I think i'm starting to see some heating up a bit. I hope the rut came here late.
I was seeing the the rut pretty hardcore the first 7-8 days of November. I think it has pretty well peaked out by now in Ohio.
Today is the first day I've seen a buck chasin here in sw ohio granted I haven't been out as much as I'd like
Ruts been goin on for a steady week here, got two more decent weeks of rutting here. Seen plenty of deer, a little chasing, and plenty of territorial deer.
It's long done here in mn. I havnt saw a buck in daylight in over two weeks. My neighbor shot a 7 point buck as it mounted the doe 2 weeks ago. It's over up here man.
