Hunting Recap 11/18 – 11/22/2013

It's been a week of me attempting to spend as much time in the woods as I can, but work duties keep getting in the way.  The week of rut has so far been the week of disappointment.   It started with Monday being blown out in the afternoon and I saw more deer walking into the woods and driving home and none while it the woods itself.  Tuesday morning was very slow I only saw a couple deer early and nothing else all morning.

Wednesday morning I hunted with a good friend of mine and it was an exciting morning but no harvest.   At first light we had a buck come through the woods between us and I was ready and he was walking in and would have presented me a nice 20 yard shot.  But.... Before I got that opportunity he walked out into a clearing and stopped behind a tree where I couldn't see his head. At this point I know he is a buck but no idea how big and it's just barely legal shooting light so I never got a great look at him.  When he stopped he looked in my general direction, snorted and ran about 30 - 40 yards and then slowly walked through the trees. I never ever got a great look at him so I do not know how big he really was since I never got my shot, but from what I could see in the glimpses I got was he looked to be a decent 8.  Later that morning my friend watched another buck chasing a doe for a long time and then he disappeared.  I saw the doe later on he was chasing but not him.  I saw a number of other does and small bucks throughout the morning until I got down shortly before noon.

Thursday morning, I went out and saw 4 fawns, 1 doe a long way off, 3 spikes and a 4 that had a broken rack  with only one side left.   Only thing I got a shot at was fawns and one of the spikes.   Great morning, lots of action, but again no shots at does or a mature buck..  At this point I was starting to question what I was doing wrong!  Thursday afternoon I headed out got in my treestand and as soon as I got in I had to get down and go to work.

Friday morning,  I headed out with a different friend and it was a yucky morning today, warm and rainy and just not a great deer sorta morning whereas the past few mornings were cold and crisp and great for deer movement. I didn't see a deer until almost 9AM when I watched 2 does walk a long way off and into some thicket and a few minutes later a single fawn came up the hill and bedded about 80 yards away.   My friend however, had  what he thought was a doe but turned out to be a button buck come through the woods around 8 AM which gave him a nice clear 15 yard shot which he took and was able to harvest that deer.  He had a spike come through a little while later but that is all he saw as well.  We got down and took care of his deer which took a good chunk of the day.  Hunted my private land this evening, not much moving mostly just fawns feeding by the feeder and the food plots.

Not sure where the mature bucks are and if they are going to make an appearance this year.  I have a feeling we have been subjected to a trickle rut this year which means we may never see the impressive rut we were all hoping for but rather just days here and there of bucks chasing the does.  So it might really have to be in the right place, at the right time.  Let's hope things pick up in the coming days.

Anyone else been out and had success?  Seen rutting activity? Or have you seen mostly what I am seeing?

Good luck to anyone hunting tomorrow (Saturday),  I hope to get out in the afternoon.

2 Responses

  1. john
    Hey, I have been experiencing the same thing....I see more deer moving around my neighborhood than when I'm actually hunting in the woods. While hunting on public lands this morning I've seen and heard more birds than deer. And now I"m seeing only few deer signs, e.g., deer trails through tall grass, maybe one scrape, and little deer poop. I'm going to have to try a new location.
    • admin
      John, I have been seeing deer in businesses and neighborhoods than I have in the woods. Deer sign has been coming and going, I saw a large amount show up a couple weeks ago and now I am seeing scraps being "touched up" and rubs showing up here and there a lot the past week. This time of year you have to find some does and you are likely to find a buck. I always go back to the spots I saw lots of does early in the year. and then just change tree locations. Sounds like you might should try a new location. Public lands are hard, I can tell you that first hand since I hunt pretty much all public land spend most of my time in Loch Raven. Good luck to you and keep us posted how you are doing!

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