October Rut Tracker Volume 4

Tracking the Rut

                                                        (25%)

The Hunting Page rut tracker moved again this week, it’s moving closer to the magic 90% nor so number. is moving closer to that magic 90%. This week’s movement is  primarily buck driven, our buck sightings are up dramatically over prior weeks. The bucks are up and about and showing up at unexpected times in unexpected places. That’s the good news, the bad news is the majority of the bucks sightings have been with younger age bucks, when the old boys start showing up, the rut will be in full swing and we’ll be heading for our deer stands.

The does are still feeding aggressively and the bucks are beginning to have more on their minds than just food, they are staying close to the does hoping for an invitation. The bucks feed for a minute or two and then invade the comfort zone of the does and fawns, sometimes they drift into the doe’s space other times they “rush” in the rushing has not yet turned into a full blown “chasing”, that will come later. Scrapes are being opened and bucks are constantly jockeying for position as the “baddest boy” in town, it won’t be long now until out-and out woods warfare begins.

The principal activity of the whitetail herd remains packing on the pounds, fall foods are everywhere and 90% of the deer are still fulfilling “the need to feed”. Eventually they will shift from “the need to feed” to the “need to breed”. The Hunting Page will let you know when that happens.

We are getting reports of the occasional  “early breeder” which drive every buck within a mile absolutely crazy the early breeders comprise roughly 5-10 % of the doe population in most areas, the other 80-90%  of the does will be ready to breed sometime in the next few weeks. The Hunting Page Deer Watchers out there every day and our cameras are running 24-7, when we are ready to call “Rut On” you’ll be the first to know…. Stay tuned.

Right now, your best hunting strategy is to find what foods they are working and hunt them, catch them coming or going actually on the feeding site if you can manage it. Thus far, evening sightings are outnumbering mornings by a factor of roughly 3 to1. Hunt only evenings? Heck no, we believe the best time to be in a deer stand is anytime you can get in one, but if you want to play the percentages, hunt food and hunt evenings.