I hunted everyday from Oct 30 to November 19th. Also hunted Nov. 26th and 28th. By far, this was the worst rut I've ever seen in November. Oct 30 and 31st I saw great rutting action, then the switch turned off for me big time in November. I saw a few decent ones in November, but nothing like I should have knowing what was in the areas I hunted. It seemed like a trickle rut with very little to no chasing, seeking, or tending seen while hunting in November. I did quite a bit of long range observation from the "observation tower" in the evenings the last 2 weeks of October, and I wish I would have taken work off then instead of November! I think most of the breading was done from October 18 to October 31st this year, or at least that's when the bucks were most visible to me, and unfortunately I didn't start hunting til the 29th
! There were a lot of big ones shot from Oct 20th to Oct 31st around here too.
Most people I"ve talked to and read about have had the same experience with this years rut, but what's even weirder than this year's rut is that I've heard other people say they had a great rut this year like sureshot1 did
I wish I knew what caused such a weird rut and why a few people had such great hunting. sureshot1, what kind a stand locations did you and your buddies seem to have the best luck in this year? Funnels, doe bedding areas, food sources, ridge tops, valleys, etc, etc....?? Doe you have a high, medium, or low doe population in the areas you had the best luck this year?