Rut behavior

[fletcher]

In 15 years of north central transition MN/WI bowhunting: observations are late pre rut is the time...lots of daytime trolling by bucks, not many does in heat, this is not peak breeding but peak seeking. I do feel the big boys are first to iniate this activity as they also will likely breed first... I am not as keen on breeding phase as bucks can be "henned up" and locked in on a doe. Peak breeding can be over in a couple days if conditions dictate. 10/30-11/7 is usually the time to burn a weeks vacation and SIT ALL DAY ESPECIALLY COLD, CLOUDY, BAD WEATHER. Waiting to see solo does can be too late IMO, the buck in my avatar was chasing a doe with a fawn on 11/3 a couple years back @ 130 in afternoon. More action late mornings.. scent bombs, grunts,rattling, doe bleets, and decoys both doe and buck can work all have a time and place. YOU HAVE TO BE AMONG THEM AND HAVE CONFIDENCE TO PASS BUCKS BECAUSE ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN DURING RUT

[harvey lee]

I have had my best luck and my largest book bucks all shot from the 8th of November to the 15th. Where we hunt in ND, I rarely see the bigger nocturnal bucks until the 10th of November.

The B & C buck in my avatar was shot on the 13th of November chasing does.

Different everywhere I guess.

[HunterLee]

Well i guess i need to get a word in here. For seeing bigger bucks, it seems I agree with Harvey Lee, The second weekend of MN firearms seems to be the best, but why I believe I see more is because of the "lock down", when the big boys get a doe to himself and have her out in the open keeping her away from everyone else.

In my opinion the best time to wack one with a bow would be the chase, cruiseing or whatever you want to say. When they are looking around and moving to find that doe. That seems to happen more right before gun season.

The last two days are when people should be out, and it will only get better. I spend quite some time driving around, and the last two nights I have almost hit two decent bucks. Granted it was dark out, but I travel those roads very often and this has been the first sightings of bucks. So, I would be hitting the woods as much as possible until the guns start to go off.

Also the bucks should be reacting to calling a little now, my brother had two medium bucks doing some heavy sparring. Have noticed very few scrapes/rubs yet though. Last year about a week later than now I snort wheezed two different bucks into bow range. One was a dandy of an 8 or 9pt, gave his belly a haircut. He was stompping the ground and pawing like a bull. The other was a smaller 7 point who didn't get real aggresive, but came to within 10yds.

Take it for what its worth, but thats how it seems to work around here.

Good luck and get in the tree.

[fletcher]

Good luck and get in the tree.

Roger that

Give us another month and we can talk about Pearl Harbor Day and the second rut, which can be small window but dynamite.

[96trigger]

Yep, its all apples to oranges. I personally like the part of the rut where the bucks are cruising for does. They can cover a lot of ground. If you can get does in front of you, the big guys will show up. This has always been the first week in November for me. I have gotten nice shots, at least good looks, at good bucks every year for the last 3 or 4 years during this time. I can't really say a whole lot about the rest of the rut. I will experience it for the first time this year as we are going 3A instead of 3B. Normally, I only hunt the 1st weekend of firearm opener with my bow, then I waited until 3B to go out again. I am hoping the week of firearm season is a good as you guys say. With all the work and scouting during bow season, I'm hoping that I can get a guy pretty well patterned. I hope to get him before the firearm season, but if not, I have the winchester ready to go.

[B. Amish]

don't forget to watch your trail cams. i've started getting pics of random bucks in the middle of the night checking scrapes. that tells me they're starting to leave their home ranges looking for a little action. soon they'll start doing that during the day.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

But this is Minnesota, guys! We don't have the rut or big bucks in this state, just a bunch of small spikes and does, remember?

[B. Amish]

But this is Minnesota, guys! We don't have the rut or big bucks in this state, just a bunch of small spikes and does, remember?

that's why you see the wide range of responses as to when the rut is in MN. it shouldn't be this complicated. some guys haven't even seen a scrape or rub yet. others have seen bucks chasing does.

[96trigger]

Geographically, this state is more diverse than most. I wouldn't want to try and manage it, and still make people happy.

[Bear55]

Ok here is my take on the rut, most of it has been covered but here we go, most people agree there are 3 phases of the rut. The seeking phase, the chasing phase, and the breeding phase. I think the seeking phase slowly starts in early to mid Oct and peaks in late October when we start to see those new bucks showing up on trail cams. The seeking phase slowly blends into the chasing phase which gets started late Oct and peaks at least in my area from Nov 7-14, this is when buck are chasing does and most people refer to it as the peak of the rut. In my opinion this is your best chance to shoot a mature buck. Shortly after the peak of the chasing phase we have the breeding phase when deer sighting drop dramatically and like other have said the big bucks are locked down with a doe. This can be a difficult time to hunt but still at any moment lightning could strike and a big buck could be on the move. Now we have to remember that all of these phases can and do overlap so don't be suprised to see does bread in late Oct and bucks chasing does in late Nov. Basically what it all means to me it from mid Oct to November and even into early December (2nd rut) anything can and will happen so it is never a bad time to be in the woods. Good luck to everyone this season.

[Bear55]

But this is Minnesota, guys! We don't have the rut or big bucks in this state, just a bunch of small spikes and does, remember?

Thankfully more and more guys are letting little bucks grow up and if you are lucky you can experince a real rut. Years ago you alwasy heard stories about big bucks chasing does but it was rare if you ever got lucky enough to experience it yourself. I'd say most of the hunters in this state haven't experienced all that much rutting activity that is common in some of our neighboring states. Its actually a sad story but hopefully times are changing and as people become more educated about deer hunting they will learn to let those young bucks grow up.

[96trigger]

Quote:

Now we have to remember that all of these phases can and do overlap so don't be suprised to see does bread in late Oct and bucks chasing does in late Nov.

I think when the last two overlap, hunting is at its best. You get bucks chasing and bucks tending, basically, you get bucks all over the place and like you said, at any moment one can pop up.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

Originally Posted By: BRULEDRIFTER

But this is Minnesota, guys! We don't have the rut or big bucks in this state, just a bunch of small spikes and does, remember?

Thankfully more and more guys are letting little bucks grow up and if you are lucky you can experince a real rut. Years ago you alwasy heard stories about big bucks chasing does but it was rare if you ever got lucky enough to experience it yourself. I'd say most of the hunters in this state haven't experienced all that much rutting activity that is common in some of our neighboring states. Its actually a sad story but hopefully times are changing and as people become more educated about deer hunting they will learn to let those young bucks grow up.

Actually, I was being sarcastic because I think it's a bunch of bull-phoohie! There are plenty of big rutting bucks in this state and I know I see signs of it all the time. I just thought this thread was funny because of how much I read on here about there being no big bucks and no real rut in MN, yet there is a thread dedicated to rutting activity and talk of when the big ones come out to play and how elusive they are, ect..... Things that make ya go hmmmm....

I'm hitting it hard from here on out! Gots me some vacay time to burn and plans, plans and more plans! I can't wait until 4 O'clock!

[harvey lee]

Thats the best way to catch a nice buck. Spend all the time in a stand in a good area and wait.

[96trigger]

Quote:

Actually, I was being sarcastic because I think it's a bunch of bull-phoohie! There are plenty of big rutting bucks in this state and I know I see signs of it all the time

Some of us know that there are big bucks in MN, we see them every year.

Unfortunately, in some parts of MN, the time, land, genetics, or deer population are not the same. In some areas, their might truly be very few big bucks for whatever reason. It makes me thankful for where I am and what I get to hunt.

[InTheNorthwoods]

Quote:

Actually, I was being sarcastic because I think it's a bunch of bull-phoohie! There are plenty of big rutting bucks in this state and I know I see signs of it all the time

Some of us know that there are big bucks in MN, we see them every year.

Unfortunately, in some parts of MN, the time, land, genetics, or deer population are not the same. In some areas, their might truly be very few big bucks for whatever reason. It makes me thankful for where I am and what I get to hunt.

I don't think many of the people who make comments on the lack of big bucks in MN are speaking to the complete lack of big bucks, but rather to the idea that there are far less than there could be.

I currently hunt ND and MN. I hunt both private and public property in both states and run trail cameras approximately 300 days a year. In ND I have a far greater number of mature or big bucks on camera than I do in MN. However, I have found that the deer in MN in general have better genetics and much greater potential. The biggest difference is that I see far fewer bucks in MN attain the age necessary to carry big racks. It seems thath there is about a 2:1 ratio between ND/MN of bucks reaching 3.5 or better.

In my opinion, it has everything to do with the mentality of the hunters and in MN compared to ND. In MN, it seems like there are more "orange army" hunters, or guys that come out of the woodwork and hunt only the firearms season and stay out of the woods the rest of the year. There is nothing wrong with this, but they have a different mentality and more often than not killing a deer is what makes their hunt successful. In ND, you have to apply for a tag, and when you draw a buck tag I believe it makes people more selective passing on the small bucks. Additionally, it means that not every hunter can shoot a buck, so there is less pressure on the antlered deer.

So again, its not that MN doesn't have big bucks. We sure do, but the problem I see is that the young buck population in MN gets pounded much harder than surrounding states limiting the number of bucks that have the ability to mature.

I guess that is not the model I would like to have, but I am not going to tell people that if that is what they like that they are wrong either.

[vister]

i think half of the rut is a marketing scheme! to get fools like us to buy all of those special scents, wicks, the list goes on! sure there are different phases, but those are not date specific. its the general time of the year that we are supposed to be focused on. if you're not in your stand, you wont see a thing.

I've been laid off since mid february, and believe me, i've done a lot of bowhunting! but the action is just starting to pick up, as the seek phase of prerut is taken hold. once scrape and rub lines start appearing, things are happening.

but don't get me wrong, the next few days, this fool will have scents hangin from those wicks i mentioned earlier. anything to help!

[Bear55]

InTheNorthwoods you pretty much nailed it. No one has ever said we don't have large bucks, we just have a lot less of them than other states. As soon as the mentality changes MN can reach its true potential. I'm not sure how we got left behind but it seems like all the states surrounding us sure learn a lot faster than we do.

[gr8icefishinmind]

InTheNorthwoods you pretty much nailed it. No one has ever said we don't have large bucks, we just have a lot less of them than other states. As soon as the mentality changes MN can reach its true potential. I'm not sure how we got left behind but it seems like all the states surrounding us sure learn a lot faster than we do.

By many people shooting the first thing that walks by there stand!!! I would rather not shoot a deer, or shoot a doe, than shoot a small buck. People need to learn some deer management and that would help out tremendously!!

[Scoot]

Guys, I'm not trying to be a crab, but let's get this back on track... if you've got info on how "rutty" the deer are acting in your area or if you've got other info that's relevant, please share it. If you have info/opinions about QDM or the size of bucks in the state, please find an old thread that beat this to death or start a new one that does the same thing once again. Sorry, not trying to be rude, but that's not where I wanted this to go...

Have a great weekend and go shoot a big ol' buck!

[harvey lee]

Scoot, I'll give you a good report for North Dakota as soon as my son and his buddies get back from the ranch.

[Stratosman]

I'll be out all weekend and hopefully will have a good report..

[james_walleye]

I'll be out all weekend, it will be interesting to see if 3-4" of snow makes a difference tomorrow morning. It will be unique to hunt in that on October 24th.

[Wanderer]

Scoot,

Thanks. I was about to go there too.

I stopped at the little bait shop in St. Francis tonight to pick my doe and this time, buck scent too for this upcoming "Happy Time" we're about to be in.

I almost have a hard time believing I'll just be chasing grouse in the Ely area instead of being on stand! But the stand it is for the next few weeks after this one before I head to South Dakota and look for those "close" 200 yard shots. BTW, last year the week before T-day was pretty rutty in SD. Glass all you can but when you spy that running doe, look a couple hundred yards behind her to see if he's a shooter.

Happy Time coming up!!!

[ac777]

Was out tonight, saw about a dozen deer, no bucks though. A lot of the does were with fawns still and didn't seem close to being in heat. But who knows, have seen a few rubs around, but not a huge amount yet.