Now that the rut is pretty much over, do you guys go back to hunting morning/evening or all day sits? I know this sounds like a rookie question but I'm normally tagged out by mid November have feel like this is going to be a longer season for me.
Question?
- Thread starter Alphamax10
- Start date
Second rut. When was your heaviest rut activity? 25-30days later you need to be ready for it. They will still move. Maybe not quite as vulnerable as the main rut, but they will move. In years of higher doe to buck ratio, it seemed like I saw more big boys on the second rut than the main rut. The last two years I have seen more on the initial rut. Maybe it is because I have more time in the saddle and have learned more/put myself in better positions. Maybe it is simply because we have less does and the big boys are out seeking harder. I don't know. Don't claim to be an expert. Seems to me if you have a high doe density, the second rut is when the better odds of seeing a mature buck out cruising will hit.
motorbreaker
*Supporting Member I*
I've had luck hunting close to doe bedding areas this time of year. I'm sure there are still hot does here and there. Best time of year to see a breeding party if your lucky enough. As far as when to hunt, It could happen anytime of day so an all day sit will give you the best chance if your able to do it.
I pretty much abandon mornings at this point. My spots tend to be best during the evening all year and the later the season goes, the truer that becomes.
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Hunt when you can. The first of November, December and January have been awesome for me for the last several years. I don't know why, but for several years running, even the first week of January, scrapes open up and I've seen really nice bucks following does. The rut is obviously most intense the first part of November, but some years that is not the case. The rut is a LONG process, and you never know when the right doe will come by. Besides, if you like to hunt, why wouldn't you be there every chance you have? I get a little nutty if I don't kill by mid-November, but I don't know why. There is good hunting to be had all the way to the bitter end.
You need to stick it out longer than the next guy. I killed my buck this past Saturday and he was 10 ft behind a doe, she led him straight to me. Hunt those doe bedding areas.
Ditto, the most negatives I see in still hunting for a buck after the first rut/estrus cycle is your target bucks might be dead,wounded or busted up by now and most of us are usually burned out or burned up our vacation by now TOO!
The peak of the rut is over. As long as bucks have their antlers they will look for a doe that needs bred. About 20 to 30 percent of this past years fawns will come into estrous in December and January, so you never know when a Buck might show up! Stay at it!