MassHntr

I'd like to hear from other NE bowhunters re the rut. Supposed to be prerut here in Eastern and Central MA but I've seen minimal rubbing and scraping. We've still got 50% green leaves on October 30, too. Better than last year's 70 degrees, however.

Strut&Rut

Bucks are still rubbing...prerut is just starting to pick up here in CT..

You should start seeing intense scraping sometime in the next 5 days.
Email TR, he'll give you the exact dates, but I'm guessing Mass peak rut is probably around 11/10-20. The peak of the rut should be in ~3 weeks here in CT, so we still have some time.

The hunting is just starting to get good.

S&R

Tom Mac

I hunt MA Zone 11 and have been seeing scrapes for over a week now and a guy took an 8 point on a farm in Wrentham that came into a scent trail he had laid on the way to his stand. I saw most rut activity last year around Nov. 9th +/- 3 days and the forecast for peak rut activity this year is Nov. 7-10th. This weekend should be a good time to try some scents and it's forecasted to be relatively cold as well so that should help the daytime activity.

Mass.hunter

Hello
I'm gonna get out this weekend and try some scent too. Over here in the CT river valley (Mass. zone 7.) There is minimal scraping and a few rub lines. Mostly patches of small rubs outside a primary bedding area. I'm hoping this may be a staging area for early evening feeding.

Good luck all
Jack

Bill930turbo

In SE MA night before last had a decent little buck come out into the field I was on the edge of, nether horn rattle or deep grunt would get his interest away from stuffing his face LOL. Just does last night.

trmichels

As a researcher, writer and author, one of my jobs is to know when the rut should occur. I've spent 10 years reseaching der - so that I could learnn more about their biolgy andn behavior. But, before we get into dates, let's define what the term "the rut" means.

The rut defines any activity that occurs as a result of breeding behavior, including, rubbing, scraping, breeding, trailing, chasing etc. After e-mailing the deer biologists of most states I've come to realize that 'the rut" meaning rubbing AND scraping, begins right around the last week of August for most northern and middle latitude states, earlier for many southen states.

Breeding generally begins in middle October, really kicks in about the last week of October and peaks during the second week of November (8-15th) and continues at noticeable levels into the second week of December, with breedding in many states occuring as late as January or early February.

We need to remember that during the "peak of the rut" (the one week of the year when more does get bred than any other wek) only 30% of the does get bred. That mens that the other 70% ae scattered throuhout the rut.

To find out when peak rut (peak Breeding occurs in you are, Google "Peak Rut Dates" or "Peak Whitetail breeding"

Then realize that peak sightings of bucks during daylight hours often occurs during the last two weeks of October, as the bucks cruise their rub routes, looking for trailing, chasing and breeding does.

This is often the bestime to hunt bucks, because htey are fairly predictable as to when and where they can be seen. Once a lotofdoes come nto estrus the bucks abandon their rub routes to follow the does, which makes them fairly un-predictable.

God bless, and good hunting,
T.R. Michels

Western MA Hunter

Really rocking here in Western MA and Eastern NY where we are hunting...