2018 Rut Report

[Cabin Fever]

8F
Went out to check cams today. A few scrapes have opened up since last weekend and I noticed more rubs. Cams showed small bucks on the move during the day. Got pics of a couple mature bucks but they were only on cam between 7:30pm-1:00am around the cornfield. No bucks with does or even that seemed to be trailing does.

It'll happen.....

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[nyslowhand]

So ... IRC this happens every year, someone in you area says it's on, chasing, fighting, breeding. You look around your stand and see a literal vacuum. Suppose these solicited observations could be put into a general rut trend, but to put much accuracy overall of when it's on would be misleading.

Like Cabin Fever mentioned - Be there & they'll come, eventually!

[Robhuntandfish]

7F 

saw two bucks locked up in a field on the way home. 

[OldNewbie]

8W (Southern Tier):  This week with colder weather seeing many deer in the recently cut corn fields around dusk. Including some smaller bucks (4-6 point). Saw one small buck with a broken fork cruising alongside road, nose down. Another on trail camera, cruising by with nose to ground at 3 AM.

[bhunterED]

Found some new ribs and a scrape this morning. Also saw two doe with a button buck.

[Thornthrower]

Just had a 6 pt come through chasing a doe in Newstead.


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[BowmanMike]

No rubs and no buck sightings in 4F. Could be just my luck though...

[Canis Latrans]

20 hours ago, nyslowhand said:

So ... IRC this happens every year, someone in you area says it's on, chasing, fighting, breeding. You look around your stand and see a literal vacuum. Suppose these solicited observations could be put into a general rut trend, but to put much accuracy overall of when it's on would be misleading.

Like Cabin Fever mentioned - Be there & they'll come, eventually!

That's why it's important to collect as much data as possible. What you're describing this time of year is pretty much an outlier. There will come a time in this thread where it's not just one or two people seeing rut behavior, but most. Of course a doe is only hot for a day or two and that will cause a localized spike in behavior around her, but when half the people posting are seeing it it's a hint to be out there, and a better one that the lunar calendar nonsense.

I've already noticed I'm not the only one who hasn't seen much rubs or scrapes yet. Everyone is saying they have been opening up in the last week or so. A thread full of people from NY saying they are seeing lots of bucks checking scrapes during the day would sure give me more confidence to hunt over a scrape and I'm sure it's useful to others. 

[Canis Latrans]

4G

Saw a spike buck feeding at 2:30 pm on acorns. Had about 10 does with fawns come in at 4 pm through 6 pm. This is a screenshot of me trying to get my first self filmed kill shot. 8 yards away and just as I started squeezing the release the battery in the camera died. Lucky deer.

Edited October 19, 2018 by Canis Latrans

[chas0218]

8W I've had more bucks showing up at night but still in bachelor groups. Got a double main beam that just showed up.

 

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[CanastotaCamo]

Report from 7J. Pulled a cam after a quick sit this morning. Have seen nothing at all during daylight hours. That being said... look at the pictures 1 minute apart. I’m assuming he was on her tail.


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[Shadd Rapp]

The bucks are chasing in 7R this morning. It’s noon and I’m still seeing does on their feet.


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[loworange88]

7M/7J border Madison county.  Sunday I saw a mature buck creeping through not really on a mission, but who knows.  A few doe came blasting out of the woods where he was headed about a half hour after I saw him.  Then shortly there after, a young spike buck was actively chasing around a group of small does.  There was an open scrape near my stand....yesterday morning barely any movement, and the scrape had some leaves in it.  Perhaps it'll pick up again quickly.  I hung some cameras by the scrape, and over in the area where I saw the mature buck pass through.  We'll see what turns up.

Edited October 19, 2018 by loworange88

[CanastotaCamo]

New scrape popped up on the perimeter path around my property. Located on a thin tree line that separates my field from my neighbor’s cornfield. Sure wish they would cut that field.


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[bhunterED]

It's in full swing here.

 

https://youtu.be/rBC37i86Rm0

 

[outdoorstom]

6A. I watched a spike chase a doe through the woods this morning. This evening a 4 pointer was chasing does at full speed in the bean field. 

[Canis Latrans]

10/25/18
4J

Found the first scrapes of the year today. Have seen bucks in groups at night. Does and fawns seem to be splitting up I watched two fawns for over an hour before the mother came around. 

[BowmanMike]

Still not much happening here in 4F. Still hunted yesterday and saw only a few rubs.

[BizCT]

Not seeing much in 3N. Rutty neck in Pics tho


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[grampy]

4-H......hilltowns.  Buck sign continues to pop up. Doe are still with their fawns. Young bucks are starting to cruise and follow the doe, but the doe want no part of them yet. Couple decent bucks on cam but no BIG ones yet, and most all buck activity is at night. Overall, still pretty slow here.

Everything is still right on schedule for peak buck activity, happening around November 10th. Just like every year around here.

[philoshop]

I had a young, agitated buck trying to knock over my wood stacks yesterday morning by ramming into the logs with his head. I'm not sure if he thought he was some sort of Western wild sheep banging heads  with an adversary or whatever. He seemed to be helping in straightening out the rows, so I let him go for a while  before chasing him off.

I actually find deer much more interesting since I stopped trying so hard to kill them. They're dumb as tree stumps, for the most part, but they can make you look like a fool at any time. Other than being sentient/self-aware we're not much smarter than they are. Certainly not in the woods.

[OldNewbie]

Only bucks on my cameras are small ones, coming by in the wee hours (1-3 AM).  Along with fishers, coyote, fox.. Few deer around in my small patch though plenty in the surrounding fields around dusk. Nothing resembling rutting behavior that I have seen. 8W

[Eric J]

Scrapes opening up in 3P along with Many rubs....

[doebuck1234]

8G- couple fresh scrapes this morning along with rubs I didn't notice last time on some saplings.had a buck grunting sounding like he was chasing a doe this morning before light.its on!

[Hock3y24]

7s bucks feeding, will respond to calls and rattles.