October Lull

[landtracdeerhunter]

Anybody experiencing it yet this year?  It seems to be happening on our property.  Day-time movement by deer has gone down dramatically. 

 

 I'm free open and don't take to getting stuck in a rut. Get out, expand your horizons, and take some different stances. Think like a deer and you'll see' em.

 And for God sake, ENJOY!

[Fantail]

Lull could mean you've been patterned.

[LuckyPickle123]

Lull could mean you've been patterned.

 

You hit the nail on the head there.  These deer pattern us 10 times better then we pattern them.

[phade]

What about the " bucks still nocturnal " theory ?  Is this the common trend for most this time of year ? I have a steady flow of does in the evenings but I have not seen horns during the day yet. I do see bucks on my camera at night but nothing within the first hr after last light. Even with all the doe movement am I in the wrong spot ? I pretty much need to hunt within 100 yards of my plot or I am treading into bedding areas. Everything is uphill form my foodplots and the deer are bedding on the ridges above.

 

Bucks may increase nocturnal habits based on pressure, and sometimes weather, but rest assured, they have to get up and move in daylight. Biology requires it for the most part. They have to be up to eat at least every 4 hours at a minimum.

[phade]

Yep, hunt them at night!   JK. Get as close to the bedding area as you dare. This is where you'll most likely see them during shooting hours

 

Be careful. Talk like that will cause some members here to accuse you of whitchcraft and call for your burning at the stake.

[Arrow Flinger]

Be careful. Talk like that will cause some members here to accuse you of whitchcraft and call for your burning at the stake.

 

 

My bad. I forgot that nobody here can take a joke

[phade]

My bad. I forgot that nobody here can take a joke

 

I was talking about the bedding part.

[Arrow Flinger]

I was talking about the bedding part.

 

 

I must have missed that one. Guys don't believe in hunting bedding areas? Its probably been my most successful tactic the past 20 years.

[JFB]

Agree fully with those saying pressure contributes or causes "lulls". Remember when people used to say the lull was near the 20th or so of October before the heavy rut kicked in? Now suddenly the lull is being experienced way earlier by many and we're only into the 16th. Pressure! You can hunt nearly every day in 60 and 70 degree weather and not expect a lull due to pressure. Personally I miss the old opener. Now we deal with 30 days of overhunting pressure before the heavier part of the rut forces deer back on their feet toward the end of October/ beginning of November. 

[Chevy]

Smart Guy: been hunting hard since 10/1 in the woods every day even when it's 70's degrees but just can't close the deal.

 

Dumb Guy: Waits till things cool off and strolls into the woods and hits his stand for the first time this weekend and nails a STUD.

 

Dumb like a fox!  

[Arrow Flinger]

I've always went by the idea that the more time you spend in the woods the better your chances of shooting a deer. Call me crazy?

[jjb4900]

the "lull" is gonna come a lot sooner now that they opened the season Oct 1st...........deer woods are gonna be tainted before it gets good.

[Geno C]

100% MYTH. Always has been, always will be.

I agree phade... This said October lull guys complain about is funny. I've had some of my best hunts ever during this so called lull. The way I see it is those bucks are moving, you just have to know where and why and they will be there.

[LuckyPickle123]

Smart Guy: been hunting hard since 10/1 in the woods every day even when it's 70's degrees but just can't close the deal.

 

Dumb Guy: Waits till things cool off and strolls into the woods and hits his stand for the first time this weekend and nails a STUD.

 

Dumb like a fox!  

 

Best of luck to you lol.  Let me know how it all works out.  Unfortunately you cant stop all the other hunters from hunting your surrounding area the days that you choose not to go out.  So, you are not really gaining anything.

[LuckyPickle123]

I agree phade... This said October lull guys complain about is funny. I've had some of my best hunts ever during this so called lull. The way I see it is those bucks are moving, you just have to know where and why and they will be there.

 

Wasn't complaining.  Just looking for some insight on what everyone else is experiencing right now.  I just choose to not go into the thickets and potentially kick out the big dogs before rut.  The big ones treat our thickets as their home base so I would much rather keep them content and wait for the rut.  Has worked for me a lot of years.

[Geno C]

Wasn't complaining.  Just looking for some insight on what everyone else is experiencing right now.  I just choose to not go into the thickets and potentially kick out the big dogs before rut.  The big ones treat our thickets as their home base so I would much rather keep them content and wait for the rut.  Has worked for me a lot of years.

 

no i know, i didnt say you were... i think we are a week or so to early for guys to start sating things about the "October Lull". i think what you are experiencing is normal with the weather and maybe your area perhaps.

 

most cases where you find these big boys in the thick areas are due to the bucks knowing where to find those "doe bedding areas" and where they are likely to find those first available does. Those bucks usually DO NOT call those areas their bedding areas or HOME so to speak. most cases, those doe bedding areas are to crowded for a mature Buck to call home. if you were to kick one out on the way in it does not mean he wont be back. he wont leave that area because he knows those doe will be in soon and may want to hang around longer and harder then you think especially if you have an older doe in there. its not area specific for many reasons but one being Mature Doe, they will usually come into heat first. if your area generally has young doe and yearlings chances are that spot will pop closer to when things hit hard during the rut or later in the season. you dont want to save those spots for the "RUT" the rut is fast and when they come chasing they can come in quick with no shot ops or to late in the season or rut they could be in lock down. prior to that point, when they are out looking hard and cruising perhaps checking a few doe they know might be close to coming in is the time you want to be there. dont believe all that lull crap, its just that, crap... many big ones hit the ground during that time and its due to guys knowing where they will be and how to hunt them. im no expert and still trying to learn this style and i have been doing so for 3 years, this being my 3rd season. hopefully i can capitalize. i have seen some monsters end of october, full moon when guys report nothing. infact i have had 3 different shooters in one morning and many other 7s and 8s same morning. so just pay attention to the sign, a good way to watch the deer is through a trail cam and pay attention to those white hocks on the doe, when they start to darken up those big ones go nuts. atleast from what i have encountered and seen first hand. when they are snow white chances are they are not quite in yet...

[NYSuperSportsman]

I have had very little luck in October.... I have had most of my luck in November. I have had years where I pretty much hunted every day of the bow season and killed my deer in early Nov. Lately I am out of college and have a full time job and I only  hunt the weekends and holidays. And I still kill my deer in Nov.... I know that intrusion can't possibly help. Therefore this year I hunted another property the first weekend. Last weekend I hunted the fringes on my property a few times. I am not going back until Nov 1. I am taking a long weekend the 1st weekend of Nov and a long weekend over Veterans day. I feel this will give me great odds and my property will have basically not been hunted yet....  I don't know the scientific facts of the October lull. But my property in the 11 years that I have bowhunted it, has never been very good in Oct. Hunting is situational there is very little that is black and white. Go out there and do what you want to do and have fun!!! Good luck! 

[LuckyPickle123]

Those bucks usually DO NOT call those areas their bedding areas or HOME so to speak. most cases, those doe bedding areas are to crowded for a mature Buck to call home.

 

I have also heard this from another experienced hunter Geno.  But you gotta think, is there possibly a thick area that only a Mature buck can keep to himself and keep all does out so he is content?  I mean there are some beautiful blowdown thickets that I've killed some big bucks coming out of during the rut.  Obviously does bed in their quite a bit.  But you believe that these mature bucks go somewhere else where they are alone.  Im not doubting you, I just want to know what types of spots I should be looking for that mature bucks call home away from the does.

[Geno C]

not in all cases a mature buck will be alone. but most of the time i would say yes, unless the area is not overly crowded. But again, you keep referring to "the rut". its a completely different time of year and you may catch them bedding up anywhere. they kind of abandon their home when that time of year is coming or here. you would catch that buck in is "home so to speak maybe during the summer months or when that rut whines down.

 

and their home may not be away from all the does but say you have a thick area that generally holds a lot of doe and maybe the occasional scrub buck here and there, my guess would be that thats not the spot you want to hunt early october looking to capitalize on a mature buck doing his normal thing prior to any rutting activity. now come late october into november then yeah thats the spot that buck will be cruising looking for some hot doe. 

[LuckyPickle123]

thanks for the insight Geno.  I always like to learn a thing or two

[Geno C]

im still learning myself

 

but i have been using these tactics for awhile, this will be my 3rd season. i personally focus more on where the does bed and the age groups in them. i wish long island deer were more like upstate deer or out of state deer, in where they dont generally look up at every tree. sometimes these mature doe can be tough and they look up all the time. not good when i want a mature buck to come in on a doe but she looks up and leave and takes him with her lol.

 

i kust went in tonight to just bush in a new stand trying to limit a doe picking me off, its crazy...

 

ill get it one of these days but your welcome

[Witty]

No October lull for me, I'm just a really bad hunter lol

[Five Seasons]

I must have missed that one. Guys don't believe in hunting bedding areas? Its probably been my most successful tactic the past 20 years.

The joke was more along the lines of "a particular bucks bed" not "bedding areas".

Need to be real careful with bedding areas or those bucks will go nocturnal.

And pickle, depending on your property size and where the food sources are, your property may very well be a sanctuary early on if left unhunted or even walked on. You should leave part of it as a sanctuary anyhow. But depending how how hard and well the neighbors hunt they could be doing you a favor by driving them to your land. Again this mostly depends on food sources this time of year.

Edited October 17, 2013 by Belo

[phade]

The joke was more along the lines of "a particular bucks bed" not "bedding areas". Need to be real careful with bedding areas or those bucks will go nocturnal. And pickle, depending on your property size and where the food sources are, your property may very well be a sanctuary early on if left unhunted or even walked on. You should leave part of it as a sanctuary anyhow. But depending how how hard and well the neighbors hunt they could be doing you a favor by driving them to your land. Again this mostly depends on food sources this time of year.

 

 

Question for you - you posted in the pic I took of me in it with a buck in his bed, and you totally avoided any conversation about it. Why?

 

You can't see the forest for the trees. I on the other hand, can't wait for legal crossbows, simply for your sake.

[JFB]

Although I think pressure accounts for lulls, the other interesting factor is that the recent Solunar tables (which suggest peak activity times for each day) show them being mostly at night in my area. But the first couple weeks however, there were actually several days that it suggested the peak movement would be during prime time morning and evening hunts. 

 

I'm believing in those tables more and more. Mostly because I know professional bass fisherman (who fish to feed their families) use them to help determine when to fish their best waters when fish are active. Something I'll be observing.