KSHUNTER
PMA Member
As hard as it will be, next year I'm bumping my vacation back and going to hunt a little later in the month. The last 4 years that I have taken off for the rut I have been hunting in the range of the 5th-16th. For me the first couple of days is pretty good, tons of little bucks, but very very little mature buck activity.
Then around the 13th or 15th it seems to bust loose, and get very good.
My last three bow kills, all mature deer have been 13th, 14th, and 15th(not in that order). This years hunt was much the same, started on the 6th and hunted everyday up to the day I killed on the 13th. First mature buck I seen was on the 12th, with two mature bucks dogging a doe. I hunted hard, kept stands pretty fresh across several properties, spooked very few deer, and racked up 60+ hours before seeing a shooter.
The days after I killed I was out driving around my hunting area moving hay, fixing fence, and so on. I was out in my hunting area driving around a good portion of the day and literally seen deer all day long with bucks out cruising anytime of the day. You know the activity you dream of while spending time on the stand. I seem to observe this every year after about the mid of the month.
My personal opinion is this; we have a good population of does, and really limited hunting pressure so in turn a good population of bucks and a good age class of bucks. I think as does start coming in the bucks lock up pretty hard really quick and they don't seem to travel much to find that first doe. Then about the 15th or so they start breaking off the does, have to travel farther to find the last few does, the weather is starting to cool off, and bam great daylight movement in my area. I'm in southern KS, usually it is pretty warm in late October and early November, but this year was cooler but I still never seen the early action.
Do my observations sound like they have merit? I still believe in hunting as much as time allows, which for me is limited to weekends until I take my week of vacation, but I always seem to get down to the wire before I kill, or if I don't kill the activity seems to pick up the week when I'm back at work.
Just wanting some feedback, it's going to be hard to set out the "Best Days", but I have never had good luck during that period.
Have any of you guys ever seen this, or is your best movement early in the month and just slide off slowly from there?
Thanks for any input.
Then around the 13th or 15th it seems to bust loose, and get very good.
My last three bow kills, all mature deer have been 13th, 14th, and 15th(not in that order). This years hunt was much the same, started on the 6th and hunted everyday up to the day I killed on the 13th. First mature buck I seen was on the 12th, with two mature bucks dogging a doe. I hunted hard, kept stands pretty fresh across several properties, spooked very few deer, and racked up 60+ hours before seeing a shooter.
The days after I killed I was out driving around my hunting area moving hay, fixing fence, and so on. I was out in my hunting area driving around a good portion of the day and literally seen deer all day long with bucks out cruising anytime of the day. You know the activity you dream of while spending time on the stand. I seem to observe this every year after about the mid of the month.
My personal opinion is this; we have a good population of does, and really limited hunting pressure so in turn a good population of bucks and a good age class of bucks. I think as does start coming in the bucks lock up pretty hard really quick and they don't seem to travel much to find that first doe. Then about the 15th or so they start breaking off the does, have to travel farther to find the last few does, the weather is starting to cool off, and bam great daylight movement in my area. I'm in southern KS, usually it is pretty warm in late October and early November, but this year was cooler but I still never seen the early action.
Do my observations sound like they have merit? I still believe in hunting as much as time allows, which for me is limited to weekends until I take my week of vacation, but I always seem to get down to the wire before I kill, or if I don't kill the activity seems to pick up the week when I'm back at work.
Just wanting some feedback, it's going to be hard to set out the "Best Days", but I have never had good luck during that period.
Have any of you guys ever seen this, or is your best movement early in the month and just slide off slowly from there?
Thanks for any input.
