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Rut Reports


eyeslayer20

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Hunted last 3 weekends and only saw 1 good buck the 1st weekend out. gotta be more than just that one...had 12 does and fawns in the field one night so I hope a couple of them get ready soon. taking this Thursday and Friday off instead of during gun season knowing I'll have the farm all to myself...crossin my fingers to take my first deer with a bow - this is my 3rd season...I may take a doe here soon if I don't get something with antlers walking around soon.

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I hunted hard all day Saturday, Sunday, and today until 11 without much to show for it. Been seeing a few deer but all smaller bucks and does. Not a lot of chasing going on yet. Every deer I saw was between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM with the exception of 1 buck at 9:30 AM.

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Going out this morning for an all day sit. Will post the report tonight.

Spent all of legal time hunting yesterday, plan on doing the same today.

Saw the same giant 12 point I saw a couple days ago, I thought I had my stand in a good place to intercept him but no such luck. He was 95 yards away according to the range finder.

Let a really nice 8 point walk within 25 yards while I was sitting in a ground blind eating a sammich. I was tempted to take him, but I am holding out for a 10 point or better. I hope that 8 makes it through the season and stays on my property. He could be a giant next year.

Lots of scrapes showing up.

I made a mock scrape and have a dripper on it. Plan on hunting from a ground blind since the wind is going to be perfect for that spot today.

Hoping to lure in that 12 pointer.

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Saw 2 does and 4 fawns last night, was a bit surprised that I didn't get at least a small buck wandering through. Did a little grunting and nothing.

Nada this morning. Kind of disappointing as I got out there early this morning and never even heard anything walk through. Still better than being at work!!!

2 monster corn fields got picked about 2 miles East of me and they were picking the third (last one) as I drove in this morning. Also have one monster one south of me. Hopefully that one gets picked next.

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My buddy spent the entire day on stand yesterday on our farm in Ottertail County... never saw a deer.

He is currently out again, not a deer today either....

So much for prerut/rut daytime activity... Maybe we are in a core area with homosexual bucks... I dont get it at all..... I dont even bother taking the 2 or 3 days off prior to rifle season to archery hunt any more. Simply have never seen squat for rut activity.

Extremely puzzling...

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My buddy spent the entire day on stand yesterday on our farm in Ottertail County... never saw a deer.

He is currently out again, not a deer today either....

So much for prerut/rut daytime activity... Maybe we are in a core area with homosexual bucks... I dont get it at all..... I dont even bother taking the 2 or 3 days off prior to rifle season to archery hunt any more. Simply have never seen squat for rut activity.

Extremely puzzling...

Typical late October reports. Some folks see wild chasing scenes while others see nothing resembling rut behavior. One hot doe in the woods can make the deer go wild, and some areas seem to "pop" earlier than other areas. Where we hunt, it always seems like the second weekend of gun season sees more bucks throwing caution to the wind, chasing and tending does. Other than that, its a slow progression to the high-point of rut activity.

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Hunted this morning till 10:30am and no bucks came thru. Pulled my card from my camera that is just below my stand on the trail the deer use most and what do you know...a shooter came thru twice once at 730 last night and once at 230am this morning. Same deer for sure, still at night. I will be there this afternoon and most of the day Wed. Hope he comes in before I go up north rifle hunting Thursday!

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All my OT. relatives Hockey and there farms over the last 5 years or so same as you, absolutely 0 daytime rutting going on, they live on farms, are retired so they have little to do but scout etc. and talk to their brothers etc. Things have changed in the farmland area and my gut says as the doe population got waxed pretty good there's simply less of them for bucks to fight over, no need for a buck to travel and cover all the does in the area so the few that are here and there they take care of them primarily at night, same with rifle season, the past 5 years or so none of us really are seeing that hot daytime doe which drags the daytime buck along, when we get him he's a loner for the time being. If we do have that hot doe it's generally with little to no shooting light left and you can hear him grunting, but rarely will surface out of usually the red willow with any time left, these does what remains of them are very smart also, they know we're there or so it seems, right place right time and it'll happen.

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Sat from 10:30 until legal light yesterday over a clear doe and fawn trail with fresh scat running past an alfalfa field. Never saw a single deer. The last corn field in the area was being picked yesterday just one field over -- hoped that would create some motion also but no such luck.

I have daylight does and bucks on camera in the area. Some even at high noon. But not a single sighting for me in the last 5 sits. Puzzling, frustrating and exciting knowing that one of these times they will show. Hoping to get out at least two more times before the orange army. I think tomorrow I'll try some light rattling...

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Thought the switch had been flipped on Sunday after seeing many deer and a few bucks with the does. Monday it was like it was switched again, but to OFF. Sat from 7A to 6:30P and saw two deer, both bucks, both between 12:30 and 2:00. Not shooters. Hoping this weekend has them turned back on.

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In maylast 8 sits to include 12 hours or so in the last 2 mornings, have only yeilded 1 doe and one buck, each 50-60 yards away. Both were on different trails, going in different directions. I threw everything I had at the buck to try and get him to turn around, and nothing!!! The deer are here, 4 decent bucks on my cam, all from sun down to sun up. None of them look to be to big in the neck. I am going to try a sit tomorrow from 9am until ?, the reason, went into town today around 2 PM and saw 8 different deer, all does, and none seemed to be worried about a buck in the area. I agree with a post I read abouve, it is hard to saty focused, and upbeat, but I will keep putting up the good fight!!! Good luck to everyone!!! Oh yeah, I think it makes it worse because I am looking for my first archery buck!!!

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As I was coming home tonight and pulled in the driveway a deer ran off. Couldn't see the head but just had that look of a buck, and it was alone. Go 20 yards up the drive to where it ran from and there was a fresh rub that wasn't there this morning when I left. Not saying it was for sure a buck, and that he was making the rub and I interrupted, but sometime today. It gets better from here on for the next 10-12 days, if you can escape some of the gun pressure.

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Had 4 live decoys (does) come out at 4:30 and watched them feed for 1.5 hours. Was hoping at least a small buck would give them a push but nothing.

Finally after they left I gave a couple grunts. Heard a crashing in the thick stuff and waited a good 10 minutes before something finally came out. Was thinking it would be big but it was 2.5 year old 8 pointer. Had him at 20 yards and let him walk.

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Had a little 6 pointer chasing a young doe around on Sunday night, she wasn't interested, but it was fun to watch.

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Saw about 25 does in the field tonight. One big boy, a couple basket racks, and two spikes were also in the field. Bucks weren't interested in the does, bucks weren't aggressive with the bucks, and does still had fawns with. Safe to say nothing exciting happening here yet. Won't be long.

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Dang I wish the first two weeks of November were about 2 months long. Then a guy could mix in a little muskie fishing with his bowhunting! It's just such a neat time to be in the tree. I let a 135-140 class ten pointer walk ten minutes into my first sit on Sat morning. Didn't want to ruin a perfectly good hunt that early!

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Saw a nice buck tonight. He wasn't chasing. Noticed about 80% of my trail cam pics of does are of them by themselves. Getting there.

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Today's word of the day is SLOW. Saw two little bucks and a doe. The little bucks seemed to be cruising, one a nice little 8 pointer. Neither buck showed any interest in the doe. Little 8 pointer came back after I grunted at the doe to see if anything was following her. All sightings were between 9:00 and 10:00 am. No deer sightings on the way home. Did a little scouting this afternoon after I got too cold. Found a few fresh scrapes, but was also surprised to see some pld scrapes that had not been visited. Put up another stand in an area closer to where Ithink the big guys are bedding for the day. I will get back out Thursday, then hang up the bow and join the orange army. Hoping for better things to come.

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Have hunted hard Mon and Tuesday. All day sit Monday and from 1 til dark on Tuesday. Woods is full of rubs and sign scrapes. Two days of sitting and haven't seen a single deer. Flock of turkeys and a cat.

Had to take the girlfriends son out for supper last night for his bday and afterwards I decided to take a drive and see if there was anything out and about. Caught 6 different bucks just coming out onto the field edges. Only 1 of them was with a doe. This was a 9pm. Think they are moving a tad big lat with the full moon.

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Still alot of nocturnal movement with scattered daytime movement. Sat all day yesterday with no mature bucks spotted, one spike in the a.m. and 8 deer in the p.m. with 3 more 1-1/2 year olds. None chasing does, just walking around. Zero midday movement as of yet, but that will change soon. Gonna sit all day tomorrow and Saturday as well as 1/2 day Sunday.

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Hopefully the action will break open soon, trick or treating tonight, bow in hand Thursday-Fri afternoon and then out with the boom stick this weekend. There has to be a mature buck out there with my name on it.

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I dont think the big boys are really trying that hard yet, it seems the bucks that are chasing seem to be the smaller ones. It should be any day now the big boys will be moving non-stop doe to doe. And I just hope he comes by me!

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I saw 2 walking in at 12:30 and at least one of them was a small buck, I'm guessing both of them were. Not sure if they were cruising or if they were bedded where I was walking in.

Had 2 adult does and a fawn come in at 4:15 and that was it. Surprised that I've had 2 decent doe groups around me the last 2 night and no bucks pushing them. Such is the life of a deer hunter I guess.

I grunted and bleated and had nothing respond tonight either.

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Yesterday I was working in a great wooded area near North Oaks. Two guys on our crew saw a big 8 chasing two does around in the woods off the back deck, and they said he was grunting hard. About two ours later around 4 I saw a nice 10 running nose down through the same area of the yard. I hope they are on their feet in my area of SE MN since I took tomorrow and friday off to hunt all day!

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Friend of mine went out tonight, after seeing zip the last week like me, he finally saw two nice bucks tonight during shooting hours. They were pestering does but would not respond to his grunt or his decoy. They stayed about 100 yards away, but hey, its something.

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I dont think the big boys are really trying that hard yet, it seems the bucks that are chasing seem to be the smaller ones. It should be any day now the big boys will be moving non-stop doe to doe. And I just hope he comes by me!

yup. yesterday had a doe and 2 fawns come by, 20 minutes later i see a buck 75 yards away, grunted, he turned towards me on a dime grunting to beat heck, just a basket 7 with his nose to the ground. he picked up the trail of the doe and fawns and followed that away. Half hour later i hear the grass thrashing behind me on the edge of the woods, figuring its the same 7 pt making his way back around but nope really nice buck working a scrape. he came into the woods and walked along the trail leisurely 40 yards away. tryied grunting.. nothing. snort wheezed, he'd stop look and keep walking. wanted nothing to do with anything at all. this morning, seen the same 7 with his nose to the ground but nothing too intense and that was all i seen for the day.

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Spent 12 hours on stand today trying to get some meat for the freezer.....

Seen one fawn and a fat raccoon..........

I hunted a fresh area on a new property. Couldn't believe how slow it was today...

......but that's huntin' grin

Good luck out there guys!

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