Virginia rut??
 

Hello fellow Virginians. My season has been slow to this point. Seen some does but nothing in range. Has anybody noticed any bucks in rut? What is the general start date for Does in heat for Va?

I watched two 8 pointers feed together just out of bow range this morning. I think the rut is still a little ways away in my area. The small bucks are starting to chase the doe now.

Typically the rut in Virginia usually falls between the 1st and 3rd week of November. Look for it to heat up anywhere in that time frame. I know it's a general statement but you have to keep your eyes and ears open and check back in here (and other forums) and listen to the chatter around your neck of the woods. Some of the best intel you can get is when the deer hit-by-car rate goes up above average. Look for dead deer along the side of the road. Chances are if there are dead deer along the road every mile or so then the rut is probably on (those in NoVa disregard: ) Also, another place I get intel from is other hunters in my area. Stop by and talk to them, most guys will let you know what they're seeing, just not exactly where they're seeing it. More times than not, when the rut in full gear, there won't be any question about it. The woods has a tendency to come alive. This year I'd put my money on the 2nd and 3rd week of November. This is the first time in a long time where the general firearms opener has not started on the second Saturday in November. Giving the deer an extra week of ML season may actually let us see a really good rut in full swing this year.

VA

I agree, been slow lately. Have seen a few yearling bucks out cruising, but have yet to see anything older cruising around just yet. Been a little warm for my liking.

As for when the rut will start. I always thing Veterans Day (plus or minus a couple days) is ideal.

Friday in Nova is supposed to be a high of 53 degrees, and I am hoping to see some cruising. I have seen an increased number of rubs last week, and others have commented on seeing the same.

I personally am hoping it kicks in early. I don't have a muzzleloader, only a bow and a rifle, so I am at a little bit of a disadvantage if there is no cruising before muzzleloader opener. I know for a fact I saw rutting/chasing the Friday before muzzleloader opener last year. I'm debating on taking one or two days off next week.

Thanks for the info guys. My hunting buddy saw some small bucks moving around some does but nothing shootable. We have a size limit on the hunt club. I have talked to other hunters and they have not been seeing much either. Hoping the cold air coming in gets them up and horny! I will be gone this weekend but hope that by next weekend things are changing for the better!

It has been real slow for me as well this year. Heck, I have seen more coon this year than deer and that is unusual for me. I am taking off work on Friday and see if my luck changes. Best of luck to the rest of ya.

mackesr, I too am really hoping Friday gets things going. Major cold snap, should be good.

Been to Quantico a few times in the last two weeks it still seems slow even thought I have seen a pick up in srape activity not many rubs but a ton of scrapes this really confuses me when the deer don't move much or rut is kinda slow

It'll happen, just don't over hunt your best stands before they have an opportunity to become great. Patience is key right now.

Has been very slow in Tidewater and spent all of last Saturday in the stand on the eastern shore up by the MD border. Zero sightings on Saturday and and the week prior just a doe and a couple of fawns.

I went hunting friday with friend who is a beginner. I didn't see squat but he saw a buck chasing a doe around all morning. He had my crossbow and I told him not to shoot beyond 30 yds, he said they were between 60 and 100 yds, and he had about 15 sightings of them over the course of three hours.

From what he described it sounded like they were paired up all morning, and then bedding down near each other. We were texting each other, and after a few hours I snuck in to try to call them in because he didn't have a call. I let out a few doe bleats and heard them come towards us, and then I heard the buck grunt about four times. It was the first time I've ever heard real deer vocalizations, so it was really cool. It also means that I know he wasn't pulling my chain about what he was seeing.

So anyway, point being that this is the first sign of chasing/rutting I've hear of. Hopefully the weather is good next week, I may take a few days off.

Yeah I think the big deer will be chasing and rutting this week with the colder air moving in and it's suppose to be a nice week

I don't think the rut is in full swing meaning the seeking and chasing phase I looked at my D&DH rut calendar and it is right in line with this weekend Nov 5th as being the start of prime time seeking phase and into late next week with harcore chasing I have seen alot of scrapes and little bucks but the big bucks have not "all" started to seek and chase during daylight accept for a few as you Stonewall and his buddy have experianced Friday but they defiantly are moving alot more during daylight which means its going to get really exciting this week into next Good Luck everyone

haven't been out bowhunting this year , but this week i have been out in my stand watching as well glasing some cutovers here in Bedford Cty........notice twice today 2 different bucks doing alittle chasing, seeing quite a few rubs an scrapes......middle of next week should be smoking, as long as the days/nights stay cold......good luck guys an more important be safe..

The last few years I have tried planning hunting days during November with the aid of Charles Alsheimer's rut predictions. As many of you know, he is a field editor for Deer and Deer Hunting magazine and uses the moon phases to help calculate the rut. According to him, the "don't miss" hunting days for 2011 are from November 10th through November 18th.

If I did not need money, I would take the last week of October and hunt until the second week in December every year!:biggrin:

I agree I purchased the 2011 rut calendar from D & DH website and it say that the "can't miss" time would start Nov 5th with hard seeking and go through Nov 18th in the chasing phase if that is correct there will be alot of big bucks killed becuase that will roll into gun season in most areas Muzzleloader and the first day's of Shotgun that works for me I rather have gun in my hand then a bow even though I love bow hunting and less hunters in the woods I have not seen much deer movement it's like they are hiding unti right before the rut I honestly think the deer in pressured areas like Quantico are not going to move much therefore you have to find there core area in a year like this year when acorns are in specific areas

It has been a very slow rut so far. I have not been seeing the deer movement like I typically do for this time of year. I have to agree the rut is going to be a little later this year. In the next week to week and a half it should get heated up!

The Rut has begun where I am in Spotsylvania Va. My buddy and me almost hit bucks two nights apart in different areas. The one I saw was last night and he ran across road nose down and lept into field and began to search the area for does. He was a nice 8 pointer and thick. My buddy hunted last evening and had a spike follow his estreous drag line to his stand. He said he was walking by and smelled drag and made a bee line to him.

So get ready boys the fun is about to begin! :barmy:

With the hard frosts we have had the past three days it should get the deer moving. I have not seen many deer getting hit on I-95, which is always an indicator to me when they really start searching. After not seeing much this archery season I am ready to put the Xbow down and blow some smoke with the BP. Saturday is supposed to be sunny with highs in the upper fifties. Good luck to you all.

I went to Quantico today and they are starting to kill big bucks on base they got 3 in a span of a 4 days Oct 31st they shot two big bucks and just today Nov 3rd a guy shot a big buck on mainside that had 13 points I would say the rut is not in full swing but the big deer are starting to actually move and that is a good sign next two weeks should be great if the weather stays cold otherwise we will see a patchy rut which stinks for hunting

I hunted Quantico today Nov 5th Saturday and I saw 4 deer two of which where shooter bucks they are "not" rutting just yet the cold weather defiantly has them moving but they are not rutting in quantico I have talked to several guys and they also said the same thing that the cold weather has then up moving but the does are still not ready yet this will be the first time in my hunting career that I see the rut in mid Novmber normally on Quantico it's the first week on Nov chasing this year it's setting up to be borderline shotgun season which is great but stressful becuase I keep waiting for it to pop and it's not I had 3 does comes by and they where not even worried they where focused on food "acorns" and the two big bucks came by before the does and tried to call to them and they just ignored it and they never chased the does I definetly think we are entering the "seeking" phase but not chasing yet . Driving me nuts I talked to a guy that killed a 13 pointer on Monday and he said the buck he killed was not rutting but looked to be starting phases he had does underneath his stand and the big buck came to investigate

QKidd,

Be patient, it will come. It's gonna get good.

The best is yet to come. Around Veterans day(give or take) and on should be awesome.

It's ON! I shot an 11 pointer that should score mid-130s Sat. chasing 2 does. Last week & this week should be primo, hitting the woods again in the a.m. :)

it certainly is heating up. Killing me that I can't get into the woods this week. Come on Sat.


Glad I had a gun with me the other day or that buck was likely to kick my butt for making him think there was a hot doe looking for a one night stand. :happy0001:

I had not been seeing very many deer during archery season. This Sat. I was on stand and a big seven pointer was nice enough to stop by and make a scrape about a hundred yards in front of me. I had seen a small spike about an hour earlier in the same spot. My new CVA wolf with 110gr. of BH209 and 250gr Barnes T-EZ did the trick! The bucks neck would not fit in a five gallon bucket and he was stinking pretty darn good. Weighed in at 180lbs. I would say the chase is definitely on. Going back out tomorrow thru sat.

Man, I don't get it. Only saw a handful of deer on Saturday (briefly, at that) and yesterday I went out and didn't see anything all stinkin' day. And those high temps were annoying as crap.

Maybe I'm just a crappy hunter!

I hunted last Saturday. I had a small buck chase a doe about 150 yards in front of me. I grunted at him and got him to come into range, but was unable to get a shot due to it being too dark to see. He was grunting back the whole time. I went again on Tuesday. I shot a buck that walked out on the field. He seemed more interested in food than looking for does. He stunk though. I mean the tarsal glands were strong on him. That tells me, the rut is just beginning or is in a start and stop cycle again

Probably just some bad luck. Happens to all of us from time to time.

People are starting to report seeing some chasing and some pretty good bucks are starting to go down in my area. I almost took this week off but am glad I put it off until next week. Starting tomorrow I have 10 days off!

Hey VAHunter - yes, that's the hard part...WHEN to take off. I'm a contractor, so when I don't work, I don't get paid. To come home empty-handed after not earning any money is a pretty crummy feeling. I have off tomorrow but I don't have to take it and not sure I will. The temps are supposed to be up next week as well, and I have two days off then. Just not sure what to do.

deerdoghunter - I really hope we do not have a stop and start rut again. But with these temps, we very well might.

Knocked down a doe the other evening. Hunting yesterday morning I left early to help a buddy track a small buck he shot. Walking out I saw a doe running down the hill to my left. I got ready to aim when I saw her look back and I saw a huge Buck chasing her. Needless to say I am putting a climber in that area. I walked back later and saw big scrapes and scratches. Its funny I was originally mad because my buddy's shot echo sppoked the does that was grazing to me. Had he not shot I would not have walked out early and saw the big buck! Saturday morning can not come soon enough!

Long story short is that the Rut is on!!

Man I feel for you and I'm sure your luck will turn around. In some ways though you have a good situation....I have to plan my days off a year in advance.....Heck, I'm already looking at moon phases and such for next year...LOL.

Look at it this way....we can't control the weather, moon phases, nor the mating habits of the whitetail. Bout the only thing we can do is get out and hunt!

I'm glad all of you are having some luck.

I've been hunting hard and I burned myself out a little in the early season with several days of being completely skunked. I've seen about 1/4th the number of deer this year that I saw last year, which gets discouraging. I did get a small buck last week, which I am thankful for, but I was really hoping that this year would be the year that I'd get a decent size buck. The rain, the rut (later than it was last year), the temperature, and now my job all seem to be working against me. Oh well it isn't over yet.

Still a lot of season left to go. Keep up the hard work as it will eventually pay off.

I plan to be on the stand first thing saturday morning in one area and move to another spot for the evening sit.

Also gotta check my trail cam tomorrow after work or today to see what kind of activity I got going on.

I hunted all day yesterday also, 2 different spots. Didn't see but a fox & a yearling in the a.m. and in when I was climbing my afternoon tree, a 3 pointer came in to investigate. A doe and another yearling followed a couple hrs. later. W/ the full moon, the deer should be feeding heavy at night and not moving as much as they normally would during the day. What really makes me wonder though is I'm not seeing the dead deer on the side of the roads like I was 2 weeks ago (in Northern VA).

My buddy killed a really nice 8pt and I shot a Mac DADDY 6 pt on Friday. It was a great Veterans day considering I'm a Veteran. I'll post pictures when I'm done hunting (vacation time) in a few weeks. This upcoming week is really going to heat up with rut activity! Spend ALL DAY in the woods.

I hope so. Weather forecast is rainy in my area on Tuesday and Wednesday, then a huge temp drop - high of 49 on Thursday and maybe colder on Friday.

I might pull one last all day sit until after Thanksgiving. I'll miss the rifle opener and Thanksgiving weekend due to family commitments.

The bucks around me are in full rut. Have been seeing 2 bucks, at least I think they are 2 different ones, chasing does all around my area. Had to pass on a nice 8 ptr last night that was trailing a doe at 30 yards from me. I shot a smaller buck on Saturday and I have to shoot a doe before I can shoot another buck. I knew I would regret shooting the smaller buck but didn't think I would regret it the first time I am back hunting after shooting it.