seen some of the smaller younger bucks with their noses on the ground. 4 does come strolling through the hard woods and a fork was in tow about 4 mins behind, and a small 6 point was 3 mins behind him, both nose on the ground.
i was able to change course on the fork with a grunt but i think i was over aggressive and he ran off, proving he's the less dominant in the core area i hunt, i was able to turn the 6 point towards me, and with some aggressive calling, he left his does he was chasing, and a food source and came right into my call, proving to me he may be the king ding-a-ling in the area. havnt seen any of the shooters out yet in daylight, but i seem to spook them off when getting in and out of the woods.
i believe we are in some good pre rut right now, with the beginning of full rut within a week away, as long as the weather stays frosted in the morning and cool during the day.
all i know is i need to get climatized to this weather, b/c it was barely 30 degrees out the other morning and i was frozen to the core, so bad i needed to leave and go home and warm up,