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Question for you experienced whitetail hunters

sofakingfast_1

sofakingfast_1

Active Member
well me and my friend were out this morning checking traps and seen 3 fresh scraps within 20 yards of each other. pretty cool looking with 3 inches of snow around it. but anways he swears up and down that deer arent still in rut. and that no one has ever rattled in a buck during first shotgun season. i told him he was wrong it happens every year. he has been hunting since he was 6. and ive been hunting for a few years. so he has more experience than me and likes to remind me. but im pretty sure that a FEW bucks are still rutting. Am i wrong? and im sure a few people in here have rattled in a buck in december havent they? fyi im from southeast iowa. i dont know if its different in other parts of iowa or not.
 
Deer are in Rut until they are dead....That is my conclusion. I have seen bucks work scrapes until they drop their horns. I have seen bucks chase does in January. The bucks are always looking.
 
usually around a month after the peak rut there is the second rut. that happens when the does that did not concieve during the first round come into heat a second time....bucks love it....ive seen a few bucks chasing this week up here in wis and one was grunting just like in early nove....good luck guys
 
I've seen a bunch of scrapes get freshened this week. There are still does to breed.

A couple guys I know that are veteran bowhunters told me that they have had more success rattling in bucks the last week of December than any other time of the season. They said this has been consistent for 30 years. They siad if you are hunting between X-mas and New Years, DO NOT LEAVE THE HORNS IN THE TRUCK!!!!
 
there that term is "In Rut"

the bucks will show rutting activity as long as they feel un-bred does still frequent the area.....

the deer dont live on a schedule, if you are seeing scrapes it is for a reason.

obviously hunting since he was 6 hasnt taught him much about deer behavior outside of November.....i have found open scrapes while shed hunting.....explain that /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

there is no RULE, it is nature, stranger things have happened
 
Well, this morning, real big buck in a wide open field with a doe he wouldn't leave, WELL after daylight...some are still hot for sure, and the big guys are the ones finding them.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Kansasdeerslayer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've seen a bunch of scrapes get freshened this week. There are still does to breed.

A couple guys I know that are veteran bowhunters told me that they have had more success rattling in bucks the last week of December than any other time of the season. They said this has been consistent for 30 years. They siad if you are hunting between X-mas and New Years, DO NOT LEAVE THE HORNS IN THE TRUCK!!!! </div></div>


Awesome guys thank you. im going to print this out and show it to him so he will shut up. So im hunting here in southeast iowa. And im going on a hunt christmas morning. Should i seriously try rattling? Should i use my big heavy set of horns or my young buck set?
 
im not saying rattling wont work, but i have not had much success that late in the season and id be real surprised if you rattle in deer that time of year.

but...

i have had lots of success with calling, bleat can, grunt call etc.....however, id spend more effort on your spot rather than the calling

get on the trails that lead from bed to feed and vica-versa, you will see deer on that pattern, especially if the cold and snow stick around.

dress warm and sit as long as possible!

good luck
 
I saw a buck chasing a doe on Sat. morning, went rigbt passed me at six feet! I was on the ground so it was def. a close encounter. He was tending to her, and let some impresive grunts out.
 
I rattled in a large/mature buck the Friday before shotgun season opened several years ago. The proof's on the wall; under the right conditions it can be done. If your area hasn't been pressured during bow and shotgun seasons, I don't see why it wouldn't work.
 
I was out driving around lastnight and seen a buck right on a doe. It was one of those rut chases where she moves and he cuts her off and wouldnt let her do anything. I was 40 yards away and he couldnt have cared less that I was there. As far as rattling in deer the last day before shotgun season last year my filming buddy and I rattled in 6 bucks in less than than 8 hours. One was a impressive 12 with a drop that we would conservatively guess him in the mid 170's. I ended up shooting my 140 10 that evening too which also was one we rattled in.
 
It is not uncommen for a few does to cycle as late as January, so yes it is not uncommen to see a buck chasing a doe during either shotgun season. We saw a few last weekend.

I guess the point I was going to touch on is what causes a buck to respond to rattling. The more does you have to bucks the less effective rattling will have. Keep in mind rattling is a natural aggression the bucks have when competing for does. If there are a substantial amount of does in your area many bucks will be content with what they have in front of them. If you have fewer does or even one for one, you will see many bucks respond to rattling, whenever a doe may cycle. I tell you this so that conseptually you don't feel rut has ended when the bucks stop responding to rattling.
 
Yesterday i went out for a afternoon hunt. Unfortunatly there was a layer of ice above the snow so i probably got every deers attention within 3 miles. but i went out and sat from 2-5:30. This spot i hunt is just CRAZY with does. I sat along the edge of a bean field and within 45 minutes there was 11 doe in the field.the younger ones would go out in the field and eat. the bigger does would just stay 5-10 yards inside the timber and watch. then a young 8 pointer walked downwind of me and caught my scent.he just walked off. It was pretty darn cold but when i see deer i dont really think about getting cold. My hopes arent as high to take my first "wallhanger" buck but im not going to quit trying. i sat the field edge because i wanted to see if any big bucks came out so i could see what trail they came from and maybe hunt it next time. i dont really want to walk through the woods this time of year and kick up deer left and right. What would you guys do in this situation? Hunt a different MAIN trail each time until i get lucky??Id love to post a Aerial map of this place so you guys could help me but im not smart enough to get it on here.
 
As THA4 mentioned, concentrate on the trails between the bedding areas and the food source. I don't like hunting field edges at all after shotgun season because the bucks are typically too spooked to go out in the open until after dark. Catch them in between instead. It's a bit of a crap shoot but this time of year, I'd hone in on a trail that leads to/from the most premier bedding cover you have on the ground in terms of CONCEALMENT and SECLUSION even if it is not the best cold weather or thermal cover. They've heard enough shotgun blasts to put them in the spot that gets them as far away from humans as possible with the best chance to detect intruders in the area. If there's a spot that you feel like you can't possibly get up on them without them knowing, you want to be hunting on the trail that leads out of there and to food, without getting close enough to make your presence known.
 
ive killed many a deer in december and in january and ive seen bucks havin their way with the does going into march . so the conclusion is-they choose when and where there going to not us so always be alert and remember this
 
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