Not a good year...
11-14-2004, 08:15 PM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Bismarck ND USA
Posts: 322
Not a good year...
I'm at a loss here guys. I've been in the woods 10 times in the past 2 weeks and have seen absolutely no signs of the rut. Normally, the rut would have started 2 weeks ago, and peak about 1 week ago. Unfortunately, the weather the past month has been 10-20 degrees above normal and most of the corn crop is still standing. The deer are not leaving the corn and certainly are not moving during daylight hours. There have been many boring hours on stand lately. It's gotten so bad, I even joined the "orange army" this weekend and took my rifle to try to shoot a deer[&:][8D]. I've seen deer(no shots at any of them), but every buck has been alone.
This is the time of year I always look forward to, but this year has been very disheartening. I hope the rut in your area is going strong. For me, I will start dreaming of the rut next year. Until then, keep the stories coming.
ps. I apologize for joining the "orange army." I promise, it's only temporary.
[8D]
This is the time of year I always look forward to, but this year has been very disheartening. I hope the rut in your area is going strong. For me, I will start dreaming of the rut next year. Until then, keep the stories coming.
ps. I apologize for joining the "orange army." I promise, it's only temporary.
[8D]
11-14-2004, 09:04 PM
#2
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: creemore Ontario Canada
Posts: 5,525
RE: Not a good year...
Rangerstud!
I kind of agree with you about the rut ,Our's usually start's last week and is in full swing now .I've been out 4 times this weekend and had a doe and her fawn standing right in front of me for 5+ minutes ,I sat patiently watching for a buck to follow but nothing appeared.I seen no other deer the other 3 times out ,I would of expected to see all kind's of dseer running around at this time .The weather has been so inconsistant this fall it's been hard to find good day's to hunt .I know in past rut's I've seen deer everywhere but not this season .I seen a buck chasing a doe last Wed on my way to work so I figured this weekend was going to be great ,but for some reason it just doesn't feel like the rut is on .
nubo
I kind of agree with you about the rut ,Our's usually start's last week and is in full swing now .I've been out 4 times this weekend and had a doe and her fawn standing right in front of me for 5+ minutes ,I sat patiently watching for a buck to follow but nothing appeared.I seen no other deer the other 3 times out ,I would of expected to see all kind's of dseer running around at this time .The weather has been so inconsistant this fall it's been hard to find good day's to hunt .I know in past rut's I've seen deer everywhere but not this season .I seen a buck chasing a doe last Wed on my way to work so I figured this weekend was going to be great ,but for some reason it just doesn't feel like the rut is on .
nubo
11-15-2004, 11:13 AM
#3
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Bismarck ND USA
Posts: 322
RE: Not a good year...
nubo,
Last Thursday, we finally had lows in the single digits and highs in the upper 30s (which is normal), so I thought the rut would really be going strong. How wrong I was. I saw 1 doe the whole morning, and she had no bucks on her trail. My dad was out that morning and never saw a deer. I saw lots of does with fawns(and no bucks to be found) over the weekend, which definitely is not normal for this time of year. It's definitely not a typical year here in the north country. It is supposed to finally cool down to normal for an extended period of time come this weekend so I'm hoping against hope that there will still be some signs of the rut going on. Maybe the warm weather delayed things a couple weeks?
Last Thursday, we finally had lows in the single digits and highs in the upper 30s (which is normal), so I thought the rut would really be going strong. How wrong I was. I saw 1 doe the whole morning, and she had no bucks on her trail. My dad was out that morning and never saw a deer. I saw lots of does with fawns(and no bucks to be found) over the weekend, which definitely is not normal for this time of year. It's definitely not a typical year here in the north country. It is supposed to finally cool down to normal for an extended period of time come this weekend so I'm hoping against hope that there will still be some signs of the rut going on. Maybe the warm weather delayed things a couple weeks?
