I live in Iowa and am going to hunt my sister's fiance's land on the Mississippi near Dubuque. The rut began late this year due to the warm weather and it is now shotgun season and they are still in a rut of some sort b/c my uncle saw a buck chasing some does. I am going up the from Dec. 22 - 24 for late season muzzy. I have been reading and they say that rattling can work well late because the bucks are fighting for the last receptive does and smaller yearlings that are just going into rut. I also heard you can still use scents that late, such as doe in estrous. What do you guys think about this?

Thanks,
Joey

Try it and see every area is different. Remember tht the rut is not determined by weather but by photoperiod. If someone saw bucks running does then get some wildlife research center golden estrus and maybe some trails end. The gold estrus works great for me had a buck come two hundred yards to that and a bleat can.

I've been taking it easy cause i got a buck opening day but i am very interested in how the deer will react to rattling late in the season. the second rut should be upon us soon and i love to rattle, use calls and scents. it just gets me more involved into the hunt. I've had o.k. success with them. I'll let you know how it works out. good luck and hope you bag a slob

Kepp us informed Jimmy and good luck to you !

dd

I was hunting in Central NY last week and saw a group of 6 bucks running all around a doe. She was racing all over a field and the group of bucks were milling all around the area. I counted ahead from when the rut happened on this property and it was 28 days. I went back the next day at first light and started to rattle. On the second attempt a doe came out of that area and ran towards my concealed position. I heard a twig break and an 8 point was coming at me cross wind from the rear. He was trashing trees all the way in and I dumped him at 40 yds. It really works when there is a good buck doe ratio.