On_Point

On our local property I hunt deep in the timber on the ridges during pre rut. The bucks run from one ridge to the next searching for hot does. I was out last night & saw several young bucks pushing does around. With the cold front moving in & temps over the weekend in the 20s & 30s the deer woods should really come alive. Im really looking forward to Friday evening & all day on stand both Saturday & Sunday. Deer are gonna die!

Outdoorcountry

Yeah, it's on for sure! I follow Charles Alsheimer and his hunting by the moon theories. From my observations they seem to hold true year to year. He basically strips it down to the rut is around the 2nd full moon after the autumn equinox (AKA the rutting moon) which this year is November 6th.

He breaks the rut down to 3 phases: Seeking Phase, Chasing Phase, & Breeding Phase. Right now (Seeking phase) is my favorite time to hunt because the bucks are getting anxious but the does aren't interested yet. You can bleat, grunt, and/or rattle and those bucks come in on a string.
Once the does start to go into estrous, the bucks chase them but the does still aren't ready to breed. This time is frustrating for me to hunt because you see a lot of bucks and they are running around but you can't get them to stop for a shot! From my observations, this phase is short (1 day), The breeding phase is equally frustrating for me because the buck is glued to the does side. If she's bedding, so is he. If she's eating, he just hangs next to her and waits. They really don't move much. Although you can beat the snot out of some rattling antlers and if your buck to doe ratio is 2:1 or better, you can bring in some bucks looking for leftovers!

I took a walk though the woods on my lunch break Tuesday (My lease is only 5 miles from work). I found a scrape line and one of the scrapes was 5 foot in diameter! I'm looking forward to hunting there this weekend! Get it the woods boys! It's on!

dmax4me

I'm headed back to Ohio tomorrow morning. I'm hoping things are starting out there. I can't wait to check the trail cams to see what has showed up.
I'm not getting any trail cam pictures here at home in PA. There are so many acorns in the woods that they have no real need to move very far.
Good Luck this weekend Guys, it should be the start of what we have been waiting for.

RisnerPSE

It was a pretty decent weekend on stand. Seen about 15 deer and could have shot 3 different bucks. All of them to small. I saw 6 different bucks but no sightings of any shooter bucks though. Two of the 3 followed the doe pee on boots boots right to the tree. No chasing or bucks in any hurry Where are the shooters? Dad hasn't even saw a deer in his last 5 sits.

Mottz

My 1st outing without seeing a deer. Landowner was harvesting the field I wanted to sit in so I went to a different stand. Circled the area to come in with the wind at my face so I thought it would be good. Fresh cut milo/corn field next to a creek/pasture. But the thing I didn't count on was the cows were already in there. So I think I was in for failure from the beginning

On_Point

I got a doe down this weekend. Long hours on stand, Im beat. Ill post pics & add my harvest to the scorecard tomorrow. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Talk to yall tomorrow.

Outdoorcountry

Nice job on the doe Jason!

I dropped another doe Friday night. I was surprised I did not see more aggressive behavior from bucks. They weren't moving until dusk. I did see a nice size buck chasing does in a clover field last night though. this next week is going to be prime!

Come-on Team 7! Lets put some bone on the ground!!!

On_Point

Had a great weekend in the deer woods. I harvested a good doe & my little brother got his first buck.

kellyguinn

I cracked a limb on my xbow while drawing it back. Excalibur has one being shipped today. If it gets here by this weekend I should be out in the woods again. Missed a really good 8pt with the smoke pole, hit some scrub oak and sent the sabot on a different path. looked for 2 days and never found any sign of him being hit. Got a camera out there now. The area that really seems to be hoppin right now is a 1/2 mile walk and no place to hang a stand. the switch grass and scrub oak is all 3 to 4 feet high. Trying to find a cheap light weight tripod to carry out there but I just cant get myself to spend the 400$ on a stand to leave on the public land lol. Anyway Wednesday I had them rubbing and fighting all around me before sunrise. It made for a very intense morning. Started to see the first scrapes Saturday. It should be on this next weekend.

Outdoorcountry

I missed? a dandy last night! He was feeding in a fresh cut corn field and I grunted. He came right to my stand and put his head down at 7 yards broadside. I pulled back, put the pin on his shoulder, and touched the release. He ran about 40 yards and looked back toward me. He paced back and forth about 4 times. He would take 2 or 3 bounds and then stop and wobble. I thought any second he would go down...but just disappeared down a hedgerow. After I got down, I saw a limb that may have deflected my arrow. I backed out and brought back 2 friends who helped me track. Usually a hurt deer will go for water and there isn't too much of that around this year so We checked a couple ditches and a pond in the area but no sign of blood, arrow, or buck! I'm heart-broken today!

BTW...Jason, Nice job to you and your brother and an awesome harvest!