With the whitetail rut coming, what 5 days do you believe a bowhunter should definitely be in the woods?
In Oregon, the late season bowhunt does not start up until November 21st this year in my area.
If I could be in the woods legally hunting, I would have said November 11 through 15.
I am hunting Ohio the first full week of November based on the gents that invited me out there and their success and observations.
It appears to differ from state to state. In Mississippi from what I gather the rut doesn't start to kick in until January.
In California the rut for Blacktail starts in September.
I only picked one, but really, all of the above! I seem to have had my best luck a little earlier so I put down Nov 1-5. Does aren't ready yet but the bucks sure are looking around and trolling for ladies. Seems that once the does actually come into heat a buck will hang with them in some secluded corner and they don't move much until he is done with her.
Toward the middle of the month seems like it is more feast or famine for me. It can be incredible, but as often as not early in the month is better.
If we have cold weather i like the first 5 days of nov, but if its warm they chase all night,Then i would pick the second week. By then the bucks in full rut.Hard to pick the best days I will hunt every day for the first 2 weeks of november.Then its time for the kids to hunt .The main reason i like the first 10 days is my bucks are in their core areas.
QuoteOriginally posted by longbowben:
If we have cold weather i like the first 5 days of nov, but if its warm they chase all night,Then i would pick the second week. By then the bucks in full rut.Hard to pick the best days I will hunt every day for the first 2 weeks of november.Then its time for the kids to hunt .The main reason i like the first 10 days is my bucks are in their core areas.
Please let it be cold, please let it be cold :pray: for cold.
Since I too will be hunting Oregon and am unfamiliar with whitetails I will say the best days will end in the letter Y.
I voted other, the last 5 days of october here. our rut starts around the 19th or so and by the end of the month them boogers are all lworked up cause the does ain't ready and just blow'em off for a couple weeks. I just found my first scrape over the weekend and it was fresh as they come. :bigsmyl:
Her in my part of Texas it appears the best day tohunt is everyday!!!! But 19-25 Nov is when I kill the biggest bucks.
It changes a little every year but a few days before and after the full moon is the time to be there here.Will be the last days of Oct and first days of Nov this year when the odds go up for horns. :)
Pre rut, whenever that is in your state.
another 2 cents is all.
God Bless.
I've shot 6 bucks on Nov. 8th, so I guess you know how I voted :D
Any day that you ain't got work to do. :)
Other'n that, I use the almanac to pick and choose days.
Farmer
Nov. 1-5 if the weather is cool. Bucks are moving and the hunting pressure is lighter, As the rut kicks in and gun season approaches there is way too much hunting pressure and I just seem to have less success.
In my neck of the woods I've seen more big bucks killed Oct 30 and 31. Those are going to be my MUST HUNT days this season. But if I could I'd streach it into the whole month of Nov. Who am I kidding I'd take off from Sept 12 for our opener to Feb 20 when the season closes just because I hate going to work during hunting season.
I think they are all good, but I would choose Nov. 1 to be my groundhog day (movie) if I could.
Just because...
i like the last 5 days of October
If I could only hunt ONE day a year it would be November 6th... I picked the 6th thru 10th...
The late season for whitetails in the area I hunt here in WA opens on November 10...so that's the perfect choice for me. That second week has always been pretty active in the past.
QuoteOriginally posted by Blackhawk:
The late season for whitetails in the area I hunt here in WA opens on November 10...so that's the perfect choice for me. That second week has always been pretty active in the past.
Lon,
Is there much public land to hunt for late season whitetails in your area?
Thanks,
Paul
My favorite single day is also Nov 8th.
However...my old friend and huntin' bud always used to claim that when it came to big bucks, the kind that you never see but once or twice a season, his very best days were the 14th to the 17th of November. His theory was that the big boys didn't always get cranked up with the younger bucks earlier in November but come the second week they'd start getting serious but were still awfully careful about it. By the end of the second week the willing does were getting a little scarce and the big boys who were "gettin it" all week wanted more and so would start to roam farther from home and get caught out in daylight a lot more often. This guy was the best deer hunter I've ever hunted with personally and most theories of his made good sense to me anyway.
The week of veterans day is my favorite. I will be in a tree from light till dark this year during this time. A week of all day hunts can get exhausting, but it is worth it. However, I have seen some of my biggest bucks in late November, when you get a situation like Dave just described.
I agree that all day in a stand can be exhausting, but the anticipation of seeing a 160 inch horney whitetail helps. Besides, the daylight hours are a lot shorter.
Paul,
I sent you an email regarding your question, but the short answer is yes. We have lots of national forest lands in the northeast and north central part of the state.
anybody else want to vote?