[ebarnes1993]

I recognized your name from FB. I don't do FB anymore but Jeff is one of the most effective hunters I ever talked to. You can probably guess who I am from FB based on my opinions.

I guarantee if you take a screenshot of my comments on this thread and send to Jeff, he would know exactly who I am.

Is your Facebook account still active or deactivated?

 

[Bowhunter 1188]

Is your Facebook account still active or deactivated?

Deactivated.

 

[Bowhunter 1188]

I Don't mean to get into anything with you, great to see younger guy's so passionate with deer hunting, I just thought it hilarious that you would try to school Todd Bromley.

Todd has forgot more about hunting big bucks than most hunters will ever know. Maybe read his books and magazine articles before you try to school him. No, if Todd say's something is changing, something is changing and it's not something he is doing, it's a change in what the deer are doing.

I wish I was young. 😁

I wasn't trying to school him. But I have also noticed many hunters, some near 70 have shifted to October kills. They just have become more effective in October. The rut is still the same. Buck : Doe ratios do change, however which can influenced observed behavior on a more micro level.

 

[ebarnes1993]

Deactivated.

Dang, I don't think I know who you are then....before I say something to Jeff, can you give me a clue? Were you and I facebook friends when your account was active?

 

[Bowhunter 1188]

Dang, I don't think I know who you are then....before I say something to Jeff, can you give me a clue? Were you and I facebook friends when your account was active?

PM sent.

 

[loridr]

I wish I was young. 😁

Don't we all (-: Me, I'd just like to be 65 again.

 

[ChrisLD]

Man I hope you have one tied to a tree! Or at least enjoy it that much.

I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it! I guess if I was just trying to shoot any buck I wouldn’t spend the time doing it, but I’m trying to hunt the biggest deer I can find in multiple wma and counties. There aren’t tons of them to hunt and I’m not the best deer hunter. I need all the intell I can get …

 

[Bowhunter 1188]

I would really like to see the PGC show how many more buck are being shot in October vs November now and throughout the years. Might be skewed with the intro of crossbows but it would be an interesting stat. 15 years ago most people I knew shot their buck in November. Today, they're mostly all October kills. Quite remarkable.

The rut has been "over rated" for me for nearly 20 years. If I didn't have as much time to scout or went to new areas in the state to hunt with little knowledge of the area, I bet I would not have success in October and have to rely on patience in the rut again.

 

[ebarnes1993]

I would really like to see the PGC show how many more buck are being shot in October vs November now and throughout the years. Might be skewed with the intro of crossbows but it would be an interesting stat. 15 years ago most people I knew shot their buck in November. Today, they're mostly all October kills. Quite remarkable.

The rut has been "over rated" for me for nearly 20 years. If I didn't have as much time to scout or went to new areas in the state to hunt with little knowledge of the area, I bet I would not have success in October and have to rely on patience in the rut again.

That would be very interesting to see

 

[yellodog]

My experience is that hunting scrapes and buck beds is best in October, so if you're a guy who studies individual deer, or several, October is your time. Bucks are still sticking close to home and can still be fairly predictable. Iv'e shot quite a few in October wearing shorts and a tee under light outerwear, but an October cold front will get them on their feet predictably. I really have no opinion on moon phases.

November means bucks traveling, I'll be in funnels or travel corridors, expecting to see a mix of regulars and strangers. If iv'e got good access to bedding areas I'll hunt them too. Iv'e not had much success mid day like others have. I hunt a lot of new to me areas without much Intel, and nov 1-10 seems to be when I see the most buck activity. Later in the season, after the 10th it really seems to drop off. Iv'e shot my biggest bucks on the 5th-7th, most I'd never seen before.

 

[yellodog]

Here's a thought.

20 years ago, most guys just went hunting and hoped for the best. They found acorn trees, rubs and scrapes, put up a stand and hunted. Everyone knew November rut was the time to go.

Now, everyone has cameras, a hit list, and can study "their" deer. Since those deer are more predictable before the rut, they can actually develop a plan and start hunting earlier.

I watch a FB page called big bucks of Ohio, or something like that. Lots of whoppers killed early in October, I'm sure cus they are patterned and predictable.

 

[crousey71]

I Don't mean to get into anything with you, great to see younger guy's so passionate with deer hunting, I just thought it hilarious that you would try to school Todd Bromley.

Todd has forgot more about hunting big bucks than most hunters will ever know. Maybe read his books and magazine articles before you try to school him. No, if Todd say's something is changing, something is changing and it's not something he is doing, it's a change in what the deer are doing.

Loridr- I wish I had a miniscule amount of knowledge TBrom and other seasoned hunters on here lost over the years. You and Byron for the local area here- the intimate knowledge all of you gentlemen have cannot be easily replaced.

 

[yellodog]

Buck : Doe ratios do change, however which can influenced observed behavior on a more micro level.

Not just b/d ratio, the number of deer in total. Lots of deer means less traveling to check bedding areas, food sources, or other places does hang out. When there's lots of does everywhere, bucks just don't need to move as much to find them.

The best rut activity iv'e ever experienced was in Ohio in the early to late eighties. Few deer, but bucks constantly on the move. I'd see the same buck 3 or 4 times in a day, and buck after buck, day after day. I shot one with a small drop tine, fairly unique, that my buddy had seen the day before over 2 miles away. Almost no other bowhunters, which might have been another factor. As time went on there were more deer and more hunters, and rut activity slowed a little more each year. By 2000 it was almost like hunting in Pa.

 

[NECK SHOT]

Not just b/d ratio, the number of deer in total. Lots of deer means less traveling to check bedding areas, food sources, or other places does hang out. When there's lots of does everywhere, bucks just don't need to move as much to find them.

The best rut activity iv'e ever experienced was in Ohio in the early to late eighties. Few deer, but bucks constantly on the move. I'd see the same buck 3 or 4 times in a day, and buck after buck, day after day. I shot one with a small drop tine, fairly unique, that my buddy had seen the day before over 2 miles away. Almost no other bowhunters, which might have been another factor. As time went on there were more deer and more hunters, and rut activity slowed a little more each year. By 2000 it was almost like hunting in Pa.

yeah I agree about Ohio! I owned property in Perry county. I remember driving out 70 and counting 50-60 deer dead on that road in early November every year.
drove through there out and back to Missouri early November and didn’t see a deer hit on there. Same for in the woods there too. Nothing like it used to be in the 90’s

 

[Bowhunter 1188]

Few deer, but bucks constantly on the move. I'd see the same buck 3 or 4 times in a day, and buck after buck, day after day. I shot one with a small drop tine, fairly unique, that my buddy had seen the day before over 2 miles away. Almost no other bowhunters, which might have been another factor. As time went on there were more deer and more hunters, and rut activity slowed a little more each year. By 2000 it was almost like hunting in Pa.

There are still parts of PA with very few deer. But you're 100 percent right about how the rut can show different signs in certain regions of the state that are over run with deer. We have one spot we used to hunt that had so many doe but never a shooter buck til the end of October. The mature buck avoided that property when the leaves were up until it was time to check for doe. The cover was excellent. We were perplexed why we wouldn't see nice buck there on camera until later in the season when we first started hunting it. It would not be a spot to fill a buck tag consistently the first half of October, although I did once.

 

[Bowhunter 1188]

Here's a thought.

20 years ago, most guys just went hunting and hoped for the best. They found acorn trees, rubs and scrapes, put up a stand and hunted. Everyone knew November rut was the time to go.

Now, everyone has cameras, a hit list, and can study "their" deer. Since those deer are more predictable before the rut, they can actually develop a plan and start hunting earlier.

I watch a FB page called big bucks of Ohio, or something like that. Lots of whoppers killed early in October, I'm sure cus they are patterned and predictable.

This is spot on. The timing of the rut has not changed. Nor has buck behavior changed with consistent Buck : Doe ratios. There are absolutely pockets of the state where activity leading up to the peak breeding will vary. But nothing has shifted to different timing for peak breeding. People, even veteran successful hunters, have become more effective at killing buck in October.

 

[NECK SHOT]

If you watch the Penn state blog (deer study) and watch the buck movement and rut movement of collared bucks. Over the years October 24 or within a day or two the buck movement like clockwork starts to pick up! Around November 3 it goes off the charts. Around November 15 it starts to decline rapidly. Same every year, my cameras tell me the same thing. Whether you there to see it or not is up to you.
2022 and 2023 my best daylight movement on my cams was on Sunday.

 

[NECK SHOT]

Scrape week around here is always during the early muzzy season. October 24 to Halloween.

 

[yellodog]

This is spot on. The timing of the rut has not changed. Nor has buck behavior changed with consistent Buck : Doe ratios. There are absolutely pockets of the state where activity leading up to the peak breeding will vary. But nothing has shifted to different timing for peak breeding. People, even veteran successful hunters, have become more effective at killing buck in October.

Pockets? Most of western Pa is over run with deer, and that's definitely changed things around here. The spotted (that means late born) fawns are reappearing in archery season after a 20 year absence. What's that tell you about a shift in breeding and the adult b/d ratio?

 

[LONZO]

If I had to pick hunting the rut in November or hunting the last 10 days of October hands down i would take October. Vast majority of my kills have been between Oct 21 and Nov4.