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- Find the Does. Your next move might not require a move at all if you have scouted well. During the breeding or lockdown phase, bucks relentlessly search for estrus females.
- Hunt the Downwind Sides. Keep in mind that during the breeding phase, bucks become highly efficient. Instead of boldly walking across a field, they might skirt the downwind edges or inside corners to scent-confirm any estrus females.
- Find a Love Nest. You do have another option and whether you make it your main play or a backup, consider looking for a buck love nest. Once bucks find a doe, do they want to parade it through a crowd of potential suitors, or spend more time alone?
- Find a Drifter. By scouting and setting up stands or blinds near highly visited food plots, agricultural fields or the routes in between, you stand a high chance of meeting up with a home territory buck.
- Pre-Rut
- Love Is in The Air
- Rut Fest
- Persistence Pays
- Last Call
Dates: October 24th – October 30th Author’s take: With the new moon falling on October 27th, these days should see great morning movement as well as earlier movement in the afternoons. I’d certainly be in the woods the last five days of October, especially if you have slightly below-average temperatures in your area. Like anything with whitetails, ...
Dates: October 31 – November 5 Author’s take: If you only have five days of time off and experiencing the most active deer movement of the year is as important as tagging mature deer, I’d start on the fourth. Head to deer camp on Friday the first and get ready to sit in a tree for ten hours a day for the next nine days. Bucks will be running rampan...
Dates: November 6 – November 12 Author’s take: With the moon building into full on the 12th, these will be the best days of the year. Midday movement begins to increase, especially amongst mature bucks. In my experience, I typically notice things slowing down and moving toward lockdown beginning about November 10th, but this week is your best chanc...
Dates: November 13 – November 18 Author’s take: In my experience, these days have been very hit-or-miss, and it really does become a “light switch” event. Midday is going to be key; if you have a few days you can afford to take off, I’d be looking at the 13th, 14th and 15th. If you put in the time, this can still be a great time to tag a mature dee...
Dates: November 19th – November 24th Author’s Take: At this point mature bucks are still searching for late-estrus does but are a bit more wise in expending the little energy they have left. The moon is fading fast these dates, and I would focus on getting in early and hunting the mornings through midday on the 21st – 24th. These hunts can be long,...
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Apr 5, 2022 · Average gestation from our data, covering almost 50 years, is 198 days. So, a doe conceiving on Nov. 15, 2021, will fawn around June 1, 2022. The tighter the fawning period, the less impact of predators, so we try to manage deer herds to have a short, concise conception curve, which in turn produces a short, concise fawning period.
- Dr. James C. Kroll
Nov 6, 2020 · MADISON, Wis. – As Wisconsin heads into what is known in the hunting community as "peak rut," or the primary breeding season for deer, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) would like to remind those participating in deer hunting season to practice safety when using treestands. According to surveys, 25% of bowhunters have ...
Oct 19, 2023 · Here comes the rut! Welcome to our annual Regional Rut Update, our weekly reports on whitetail activity from experts in the field. From pre-rut to post-rut, we’ll help you harvest the buck of a lifetime. This is the first of seven weekly reports from whitetail contributors Doug Howlett (East), Darron McDougal (Midwest) and Josh Honeycutt (South).
Oct 6, 2022 · STAGE 5: The Post Rut. Late November to early December. In most places, the last days of November and first days of December are pretty uneventful in terms of rut activity, with a couple notable exceptions. In areas with unbalanced buck-to-doe ratios, a percentage of adult does might have been missed.
Oct 23, 2023 · This just reinforces what I’ve seen for decades: The more time on stand during the rut, the better the odds of encountering a trophy buck. GPS telemetry research reveals that most bucks focus on two or three areas intensely—rotating between them—when searching for estrous does.
