Damon

Traditionally I take the 1st week of November for vacation and the Rut, there is really no particular reason as there are may theories as to what to believe when it comes to the Rut. Here in Wi Gun season starts the 3rd Saturday of November, this year the 19th, with the Rut Moon coming very late this year (nov 14th) and we cant hunt the Friday prior to that so I generally leave that week alone,just wondering if anyone is changing their philosophies up this year with that late Moon?

Hatfield Hunter

taking my normal vacation beginning Nov 5th for 9 days first qtr moon always has been good for me I have found after 49 years of bowhunting we shoot more bucks from nov 5hth through the 12th than any other time PERIOD ! Just my 2 cents HH

TN Lone Wolf

I'm not going to be able to hunt as much during the week this year. I'm starting work on a Master's degree next month, and I'll be working a position at the college to pay my tuition. Weekends only for me this year, it looks like.

olsaltydog

From the opening of deer season in Sept till the close of it Jan I will be hunting as often as I can. With 3 young children, work, and family visits I don't plan specifically for hunting and just get out when I can.

Topgun 3006

Same here in MI! It gets started around Halloween and peaks about 11/10 and then starts winding down for the next week or so. Once in a while it will be a little later and the first few days of our rifle season that starts on 11/15 will catch them still hot on does, but not very often. When it does it's usually been a very hot Fall right up to and into the rut that year.

kellyguinn

If you follow the moon then it should be late rut this year. I just get out when I can though. Since I hunt public (and its some of the best quail land in the country) I have to try and tag one before quail season lol. A lot of the quail hunters that come in are pretty rude. I've had them even look in my blind window while I was in it.

Oldtimr

When you have overlapping seasons for different species that is what you get. I can remember when PA had spring turkey season, then small game season in which you could not take a turkey, then turkey season which did overlap a bit with small game season, then a 3 day bear season, then archery deer season, then firearms deer season, then after Christmas Flintlock deer season and late archery season which ran concurrently. Everything was pretty much separated. Now we have spring turkey then early grouse and squirrel, then small game season which overlaps with archery, then special doe season, then early muzzleloader season, then bear season which is much longer and goes into deer season in some places, then the two week deer firearms season then extended doe season in some counties, then late grouse and squirrel season then the flintlock muzzleloader and late archery season and late rabbit season starts after Christmas. It is getting so seasons overlap so much that hunters are tripping over each other hunting different species. I did this from memory so I probably missed something. Oh yeah, I forgot about the elk season, however short it is. Yet hunters are still belly aching they want more hunting opportunity. I will give you one example. One day in small game season a few of us had planned to meet at a spot that had been stocked with pheasants, it was public land but not hunted hard for pheasants. I arrived before my friends, it was still dark. I left my dog out to do his business, put him back in his crate and waited fro my two friends. After a while I saw headlights and a car pulled into the parking lot, then another and another etc. Until there were about 12 vehicles in the lot. I got out to talk to the hunters and found there were archers, early muzzleloader hunters, some senior and Jr hunters with center fire rifles for deer as well. It seems we had forgotten that this particular Saturday was the opening of the Jr, Sr, handicapped, and active military special doe season, as well as the opening day for the early muzzleloader season and archery season was also in but we knew that and few people hunted archery at this spot. Needless to say, I was not going to turn my dog loose in that mahem, I called my friends on the cell and told them we needed a plan B. We met at another spot and had a good hunt but this is the kind of goat rope having a lot of different species open at the same time. As for me, I liked it better the old way when a season was for one thing and I think that the Game Commission trying to satisfy everyone has lessened the hunting experience for a lot of hunters. Yeah yeah, I know there will be those who disagree, probably a lot but having seen both, I prefer the way it was.

MaineRida

In Maine deer season starts mid Sept,(expanded archery) by the end of September beginning of October I see bucks looking very interested in does. This interest lasts through December but peaks somewhere in November. If you hunt food and does, they will come. Regardless of the peak of the rut....

A good week is any week you can spend extended time in the woods. When I have to piecemeal little bits of time in the woods the results are not as good.

Fieldmouse

During the rut, as much time as you can spare, you need to be in the woods. I don't care what time of day you can get there, you just need to get there. One important note, if you're in your stand and watch a buck chase a doe say 100, 200 yards away, get down as quietly as possible and move over to that area. Chances are, you will see more bucks running the same line and if you don't move, you will be watching them too from a far. Any noise/disturbance you make will be minimal.