And just like that things can change in the whitetail woods….I had more scrape activity last night than all season put together till this point. One very familiar old friend made an appearance, better late than never…should be fun!
Really interesting observations tree_ghost. I guess being as far east as Mboro, your timing/behavior last year was different than ours. Due to the severe drought, we had a rare late rut. And the deer were in such poor shape, we picked up little chasing until right as breeding was kicking off in late November. This year is just like 2021, when we had a bumper acorn crop, although this year is even more exaggerated. In 2021, I picked up a flurry of chasing around food plots Oct. 20 to Nov. 3, but then things went quiet until the rut kicked off at its normal time around Nov. 12. This year, bucks have been chasing since late September, and right now it's just crazy. Does this mean the rut is early? No, just means the deer are in excellent health and have a lot of extra energy to burn.
Can't eat the antlers
I wouldn't pass up on an addition of this much meat to the freezer either.
So why are some mature bucks still grouped up this late? Granted, sample size of only 4 bucks, all the other mature bucks are by themselves as per usual. But I've NEVER seen any mature bucks grouped up this late in October. August/ early Sept... that is normal. But not now. And not really sure what it means, if anything. Again, everything else is normal... chasing by 1.5 and 2.5y/os. 3.5 and 4.5's working scrapes at night....
I know the feeling!
No idea Mega. It's a crazy year, and I honestly believe this year is still being influenced by last year (in the areas hit hardest by the drought).
Agreed
Alright! Congrats to dad!!!
Congratulations to your father. I would like to see the deer that he was fighting that busted his beam.
We had a giant in 2021 that broke off half his rack. We called him "moose" because of how thick and palmated his antlers were. I would have paid money to see who broke his off. It broke between 10/29 - 11/2.
I haven't seen huge improvements in the antlers of older bucks, but my yearlings have better racks than I've seen in years. Yearling spike incidence is way down, and I've got several 7 and 8-point yearlings.
Headed to Ohio for my first sits of the year this Thursday. Weather looks greeeeaaaaat
if all else fails grab some sunscreen and an umbrella.
The highway by my house is bloody in many places with dead dear
