Has rut started

[snapping turtle]

Have seen little in the way of true rut activity till this am.

Had a older doe and two young ones stop and lay down at 9:30 am close to stand. Every ten minutes or so the older doe would stand up go the the field and squat. After two hours or so they moved down to the creek area and crossed where they always do.
A small fork horn came towards the spot the does laid down head low and smelling hard enough for me to hear it in stand. 30 minutes later another came thru or maybe the same one. Headed to the creek then several minutes later was chased out of the creek area by another buck. She was most definitely in heat.

Eating an an apple right now and checking INGO from the tree stand. Hoping the bigger one and the does come back thru the area.
I doubt the two bucks are shooters for me but those three does laying down that scent could bring out a nice one.

 

[avboiler11]

Checked my cameras this past Monday - some new bucks on there but no ovbious signs of chasing. Found two new scrapes and had seen one previous.

Missed this awesome morning (buddy said all kinds of chasing at his place around Salem) but in stand now - we'll see how the evening goes.

 

[phylodog]

I’ve been in the stand since daybreak and there is nothing moving here today. Saw two does as soon as we got into the stand and one more about an hour ago. Figures I’d have a day like this during my first all day sit.

 

[Hoosier Carry]

Those all day sits are brutal when you don't see anything.

I sat wed,thurs, and Friday as much as I could and seen 2 bucks total. Both were in seeking stage but would not respond to calls. Been a crappy season so far for me. Did manage to kill a coyote though, so there is one of fifty gone!

 

[snapping turtle]

Nothing the rest of day but falling leaves. Snuck out after dark hoping I did not give myself away crossing a fence to cut down travel time.

That spot is a normal doe magnet. Surprised they did not stay longer but the other side of that creek has a nice southern slope they like to lay on.

 

[avboiler11]

Saw seven does this evening from 4:20-6p...no chasing bucks. Four of the does were by themselves, though...

 

[edwea]

Saw a solid 8 point chasing a doe this morning on the way to church. He was about 20 yards behind but closing in fast.

 

[Willie]

More cruising and following than actual chasing in my area. I've seen a couple good ones..

 

[snapping turtle]

Out now but rain seems to have them holding tight. Got 30 minutes left max.

 

[bwframe]

Just watching the backyard a bit. Unless it's all nocturnal, I'm not seeing much going on. I have a half dozen does in the surrounding area that I may see anytime, but mainly at night. Normally, during the peak of the rut, bucks will turn up to chase. Nothing noticeable this year, yet. Maybe I missed it?

 

[avboiler11]

Saw six does this morning (group of four and two loners)...no chasing. The scrapes I've found in previous scouting don't appear to have been hit in the last week, either.

I did see one cruising buck at 9am this morning; came up behind me and he traveled just below the top of a small ridge behind my stand, moving away from me, and flat ignored my grunts. Looked to be at least 'decent'.

I forgot to take Tink's with me to the stand, I reckon tomorrow I'll put a little out and see if that can get the attention of the boys...

 

[CountryBoy19]

Just watching the backyard a bit. Unless it's all nocturnal, I'm not seeing much going on. I have a half dozen does in the surrounding area that I may see anytime, but mainly at night. Normally, during the peak of the rut, bucks will turn up to chase. Nothing noticeable this year, yet. Maybe I missed it?

I did a little evening scan around my house last night to monitor the nocturnal activity. No chasing going on but I had 7 deer browsing on 3 sides of my house at ranges from 60 yards to 125 yards. Unfortunately, with the cloud cover it was hard to detect anything further out than the 125 yards so there could have been more that I just couldn't spot ... it was hard enough to spot the ones I did see (mostly had to find something and see if it moved)

 

[mikebol]

We hunt down around Shoals, Indiana. Not seeing much chasing yet, some pronounced rubs but not seeing regular activity to their scrapes yet. Buddy saw an 8 point "interested" in a doe but didn't chase it, didn't respond to a grunt either but stepped out of the thickets when he rattled. Bucks we're seeing are not swollen and still seem to be very early in the rut.

Mike

 

[snapping turtle]

The older doe’s will get into heat first. The younger a month later. With the one i watched for a couple hours squatting in the field ever 10 to 15 minutes she was in heat. Heat equals rut for sure.

Nighttime activity seems higher with moon light. See more deer during the day during a new moon phase. This may be partly do the human eyes not seeing deer on moonless nights as well but it does not account for deer moving more from dawn till dusk. Need to check the moon phase and recheck the deer tracks to see where they are moving in and out of. Should be a good time to scout around a bit with the rains of late. No rain for a while means those tracks were not showing as well.

 

[luvall]

Thank for all the eyes and ears out there. Keep us informed now that we are just days away from gun season.

 

[bobjones223]

I am getting some nice bucks on the cam but all are nocturnal...they are new deer that I haven't seen all year so I am assuming rut is the driving factor.

Picked up a 13 point non typical when I pulled the card today with five brow tines and one horn coming out the side of the rack...I WANT HIM....BAD!

Saw a very impressive 8 pointer standing in the drive at 3:50 this afternoon...he really just looked at me like "what are you doing on my property"

Hopefully Saturday will be fruitful?

 

[bobjones223]

Sorry another double post!

Tell the feds to stop bouncing the posts off their servers and maybe these would stop!

Never had a problem with double posts until about a month ago now it is almost every time?

Hmm what happened a month???

 

[luvall]

First day of gun season and Orange County shows no sign of rut. Does are not being chased and bucks are not cruising.

 

[Dirty Steve]

Peak of chasing activity near me (Morgan, Johnson, Brown, Monroe Co.) from what I saw was around October 30 and active breeding was up until last weekend.

Dirty Steve

 

[clfergus]

My brother said he watched a nice 6 point chase a doe around for a solid 30 minutes up and down a field about a week ago. That was in Lawrence county.