Late Rut?

[MNBIGBEAR]

Just wondering what type of rut activity everyone has been seeing around them. I hunt in northeastern MN and have seen some rubs and a few scrapes but not as many as usual. And as far as the does, I was seeing alot of single does at the beginning of the rifle season but not one of them was paired with a buck and now it looks like they are regrouping with the fawns. Just wondering if there could be late season rut here in the coming week or if it is come and gone.

[maros91]

I think it has come and gone. Where I work (central MN not the NE part of the state where you hunt) that week before opener the deer were moving and there was a bunch of car killed deer. Didn't get to hunt but one afternoon (opening night) and had a buck chasing a doe all over. I had to work during the gun season.

[phorn]

I shot a 8 pointer last night and his neck was large.

[mntatonka]

We had bucks chasing does quite a bit in the southeast, and hot does running like crazy

[hunter322]

I was out all weekend and dindt see a dam thing!

[slimngrizzly]

Things have been very slow on the cameras! The rut isn't over, but prime time is. Just takes being lucky in the right place, right time now.

Start keying on food if it gets as cold as theyre talking!

[HNTNBUX]

Driving in central MN tonight I nearly hit a buck chasing a doe across the road. Last Tuesday night was the same thing. I only saw one buck chasing during November while on stand. So I have seen "more" chasing after season than during.

Hopefully they will still be chasing or searching for those last couple does in Iowa next week.

[Bear55]

Never say never but mostly likely in the NE the rut has come and gone. Get out there and hunt but focus on food sources, you still might catch a buck looking for doe action but they will all be looking for food right now.

[Musky Buck]

Correct Bear55, food source it now before the below zero weather gets here, we saw a buck chasing Friday night and some fawns may come into heat yet maybe, I wouldn't worry about the rut like Bear said, focus on food where the does and fawns will be and he'll show up scent checking things out before deciding to eat or chase a girl. He won't stay too far away from the gang, but may hang up in the thick waiting for dark to actually enter the field, with snow now you can gain that 1/2 hour after sunset a bit better. A lot of corn has come out since rifle ended and our neighbors said their last field had a lot of deer bedded in it so it's the nocturnal battle like usual with muzzy, but a lot of deer survived rifle season now do you have a plan to survive the cold coming, my best muzzy day was -8 and -23 wind chill they had to eat and stayed in the field into shooting light which brought his demise a 1/2 hour later, stomach packed tight with corn, it can happen, even after lots of deerless sits.

[BLACKJACK]

I was out scouting on Sat afternoon, checked a couple of scrapes, and they had wet spots in the middle where some buck had been there recently and 'freshened it up', so they're still checking scrapes. BUT I agree with the others, with the cold and snow coming, food sources will rule. The does will be there and the bucks will follow to check for any hot does and then to fill up.

[Musky Buck]

Not sure on the late rut much but saw 31 deer from 4-4:30 last night on a short jaunt to pick up my processed deer so rut or not they were really up and moving last night, can't say any were bucks but some were further away hard to tell. 11 was the largest group of them I saw.