Rut Progress Report in your neck of the woods!

[KentuckyTJ]

The rut time variations around the country have always amazed me Pat. I hunted a place in Livingston Alabama a few years back and their rut is in mid January.

[Pat B.]

I understand the rut in deep south Texas is around Christmas and ours only 200 miles away is so much earlier.. Crazy!

[wapiti792]

On here too! 4 different bucks last night just cruising. Had a nice buck last night standing next to my deer target when I pulled in the drive. Looking for love in all the wrong places I assume.

I found a huge scrape near one of my blinds, car hood sized. Hope he shows tonight. Got a perfect wind for that stand.

[centaur]

Well, well...found the first scrape of the season today. Now, things might get interesting!

[The Night Stalker]

I have not seen any rutting activity or scrapes but a 2.5 yr old 8 point got hit down the road.

[buckeye_hunter]

Starting to see dead deer up on the highway. It usually signifies the rut is starting. I have heard multiple reports of bucks harassing does locally.

[woodchucker]

The woods are all tore up!!!!! Charlie(CyclicRivers) & I found the 1st scape of the season, 2 weeks ago... I'm finding new scapes & rubs almost every day, and the bucks are running the snot outa the does!!!!!

I haven't seen any lonely littleones, so the bucks don't have them in "lockdown" yet.....

That Old Familiar Smell, is in the air!!!    

(and all I have left, is a couple of doe tags...  :rolleyes:

[KentuckyTJ]

Buckeye_hunter,

Did you all have a muzzlerifle season open when you started noticing the roadkills?

Ky had one going on when I started noticing them. I wonder if that is a factor or a combo of pre-rut/muzzleriflers invasion?

[Slickhead]

Seen more bucks and the temps have fallen.
Not seen scrapes (other than my mock)
going out in a few hours so we'll see if they respond to horns and grunts.

[bluegrassbowhunter]

Real nice weather this morning,was a heavy frost on.
Had a doe come into a scrape this morning sniffing around & a little while later a 3 year old 10 shows up & works it.He leaves then comes back & works it again 15 minutes later.I had a camera on the scrape,when I come out tonight I'll pull the card & post them up.Having new bucks show up daily.

[leftyfred]

Here is SW Missouri, we have had the bachelors crusing together in the daylight.  One daring lad had the fortitude to make a nice big scrape 14yds from a stand I have set.  Just don't know what is best time of day to hunt?  Morning early seen the aimless wandering off of the trails, middle of fields, and evening is all does?  When and where?

[far rider]

Seeing scrapes , fresh ones. Haven't spotted any bucks chasing yet , but we are getting some cool weather this weekend.

[buckeye_hunter]

TJ,
Come to think of it, it was around the muzzleloader season that I noticed more dead deer on the highway.

I was also looking up the county by county statistics and there were 30% more bucks reported killed in my favorite county just after the muzzleloader season. It's either the bucks are moving earlier or some got shot on the weekend and reported on Monday. I'll leave the speculation alone on that.

Our overall deer harvest is still down 3% so far. Maybe less does will get more bucks up and moving? I'll find out soon!

Rob has reported seeing some mature bucks up and moving during daylight near the standing cornfields.

[kbetts]

Picking up, but I was dissappointed both this morning and this evening.  Guess I need to go deeper.

Lots of scrapes.  Ones from a week ago seem abandoned but new ones pop up in the same areas seemingly overnight.  Only found one real big one and it's out on a hedgerow about 300 yards from where I park.

[HugeBull]

I hunted yesterday morning and had a small buck in a scrape about 40 yards from my stand.  I hadn't hunted this area and just climbed a tree in a likely looking area.  My next stand will be 20 yards closer.  

I too am seeing more deer and more bucks from the highways, dead or alive.  Was turkey hunting last Sunday and had a whole "family" cross the road just in front of the truck: one buck, a few does, and several yearlings, 8 in all.  I guess he figured the odds were in his favor, better than that pic of the young bucks . . .

[ISP 5353]

Watched a lone 8 point make a scrape and beat up some small trees at about 35 yards behind a screen of brush.  No shot, but it was good to see him.

[kennym]

Saw  2 good ones last nite, rattled/ grunted em in, but they are still pretty cautious . They made it to 20 but it was just too dark. A 9 pt and a short tined wide 7x7.  

[T Folts]

Last weekend I had a buck 15 yards up wind of me and he stunk to high heaven, very strong rut smelling, haven't seen any chasing yet.

[ishoot4thrills]

A few evenings ago I hunted from the ground near a deer run/trail through the woods. Had a 1 1/2 year-old six pointer come through and make 4 rubs within 30 yards of me and then made a little scrape about 12 yards away! It was awesome. Then he wandered around and offered me a shot at 12 yards and I was able to draw on him and then I let the string back down. Could've had him while hunting from the ground but there's a nice 140" or better ten pointer that posed for a single pic on my trail cam that I'm after. Went again this morning and there was a new scrape about 10 yards from my lock-on stand. Saw the same six pointer again and then had a buck with only one antler run past me while I was getting the sd card out of my trail cam after the hunt. He ran right past me at about 7 yards. Looked to be an 8 pointer if he would've had both beams intact.

Things are really gettin' good right now around here....

[TRAP]

Had a pretty good show this morning.  Watched a big wide racked mature buck and a smaller 3-4 year old 8 pointer dogging a doe in the edge of a CRP  field.  The bigger deer ran the 8 pointer into the woods with me but stayed in the field with his girlfriend.  They all hung around this secluded  corner  for 30 minutes or so untill the doe took off and they all ran out of my life (for now).

The doe's button buck yearling hung around under my tree and watched the entire show with me and then meandered off in the direction they headed.

God I love this time of year.

Trap