I believe it. The days are getting shorter and deer particularly the bucks aren't coming out into the food sources until well after dark. In my neck of the woods they hold so tightly to the bedding areas during this time that you're fortunate to get a glimpse during daylight. The past 3 years I've hunted the first two weeks of October and have seen a grand total of....drum roll.....2 bucks during that time. I know they are there (sign is abundant) but they are bedded up so tight until after dark. Hopefully this year they will be on their feet the last week of October and first week of November.

I do expericance a lull around the first two weeks of OCT.Our season opens Sept 15 and they are feeding in the crop fields then when the mass crop falls or they start harvesting roll crops the deer seem to disappear for a week or two. But I do not change stand locations. Because within 2 weeks there are usually back in great numbers after a week or so. I still see deer during this time just not the numbers I see the last 2 weeks of Sept.

the ruts not in yet, the days are still long and the nuts are just starting to fall dont waste to long in late morning hunting. the deer are not ready to be "DAYWALKERS" find a good oak thicket and you will see deer. a good bedding area is also great.find the beds in sept. bust deer and set your stand in shooting range of the beds.

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Ive experienced it every year since I started bow hunting usually start seeing it kick in the 2 week in Oct and usually lasts about a weekand cansometimes run till the last week in Oct, then after that Watch out. I stick it out none the less thinking that some foolsih monster buck is going to screw up and give me a chance to be proven wrong, but it hasnt happend yet not in 12 years anyway.

Whether there is a lull or not, I am going to be out there trying to figure out what the deer are doing and where. Maybe this year will be different.

Mast crops close to bedding. This makes sense. Why pass up all those acorns on the way to the fields?

I have never really believed in a lull so to speak.

I think what most hunters experience is just pure coincidence based on several factors.. of which..

1.) foliage dissapearing.. causing deer to get back into bedding deeper into the wood.
2.) pressure by man.. causing the same.. and more nocturnal behavior.
3.) Different sources of food.. ie the acorn crop.. honeylocust.
4.) The beginning of the first female estrous cycle.

And I'm sure there's more. The important thing to realize is most hunters hunt relatively small areas of a deers homerange. This is just a transition period of whitetails.. some incured by man.. some natural.

Adapt to your conditions (if you can) and you'll get back on them.