1.) Bob Peck - 11/14/2016

Just checking.

I've hunted my brains out (what little are left) using vacation time to hunt the traditionally reliable "first two weeks of November" rut here in Virginia.

I've primarily hunted the National Forest and private land and completely underwhelmed. NO rubs, NO scrapes, very little sign, very little camera footage (still & video) and very few sightings. I am at the point where I started convincing myself I either missed an early rut or possibly experiencing a deer apocalypse. The scant few deer encounters have been the farthest thing from rutting behavior (male and female). Too casual, too relaxed. Bucks following but not pursuing hard with nose to the ground. Forget estrous doe bleats. Granted, I have a doe (bow) and a buck (muzzleloader) on the ground so I'm not without venison but man! I have venison donation goals and I'm falling behind here people ... where the heck are the deer?!

So I Googled "has the rut started in VA?" and we all know Google knows everything. I even called some well-respected deer biologists and hunting "luminaries" I trust. Lo and behold ... whether you believe in lunar patterns, weather conditions, predictive cycles, mast crop variables or whatever ... from a variety of sources and reasons I learned the rut here in VA will be late and allegedly beginning this week and into next. We've had high 20-30's in the morning and then day time temps between 55-62. Very little rain and a canopy just slightly past peak and beginning to thin out.

Now that I've blown most of my vacation this is unhappy news (re: a late rut) but I still have this Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun to see if things have changed. Saturday we turn to rifle season for 2 weeks which brings out the Bubba Army so hopefully that will stir things up.

What's in your wallet, er ... I mean what's happening in your neck-of-the-woods?

2.) Alex - 11/14/2016

light scrapes here. Nothing of consequence.
This upcoming weekend is opening for rifle though.

At that point, I put the xbow away and will focus on venison in the freezer.

I'm not butchering a cow this winter with the loss of my heifer and my one pig we are keeping for ourself is the runt.

For the first time in a decade, I am headed into meat poor.

Looking for a late season deal on a steer that I can just buy and send to the butcher but deals are hard to come by this year.

3.) DParker - 11/14/2016

Nothing that I've seen. Normally we'd be hitting the peak of the rut in this part of TX by about next week or so, but I'm not seeing a tremendous amount of daylight activity in general...which is not surprising considering how warm it's been. We've had a couple of mornings down around 50 F pre-dawn, but mostly a little warmer than that. We got completely screwed out of a real winter (by southern standards) last year, and I fear we might again this year.

4.) Swamp Fox - 11/14/2016

I'd say it's slow. I have some reports of daytime buck sightings and a few kills, but up to now, slow.

5.) Triton Rich - 11/15/2016

[B]Slow all season but it picked up this past weekend. Saw several bucks chasing does and finally spotted a nice buck (near P and Y), he was locked up with a doe. A buddy of my brother's killed a biggun yesterday too.[/B]

6.) Bob Peck - 11/15/2016

Thank you all. It's reassuring that what I'm seeing (or not as the case may be) is not unique.

I'll be hunting this week Thurs-Sun sunrise to sunset. Although my weapon of choice is the bow, once the hillbillies start unloading their rifles *and* hopefully the rut kicks in, the bow becomes impractical. We're past peak right now so the canopy is disappearing daily which means wide open stretches of hardwood timber.

Our season switches over from muzzleloader to rifle on Sat. My Thurs and Fri will be hunts on the ag land I manage locally. Sat @ o'dark thirty I'm heading up into the Blue Ridge for an overnight and Sun I plan to extract around 8 p.m. I found an interesting location on Google Earth that looks promising and difficult to get to.

7.) Swamp Fox - 11/15/2016

Good luck!

8.) Bob Peck - 11/15/2016

Thanks SF.

Here are my 2 favorite quotes on luck.

[I][SIZE=3][COLOR="#0000FF"]"Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work - and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't."[/COLOR][/SIZE] [/I] -Lucille Ball


[I]
[SIZE=3][COLOR="#0000FF"]"Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect." [/COLOR][/SIZE][/I] -Ralph Waldo Emerson


And before you say anything, no, I'm not insinuating you're shallow. I simply wouldn't know. :wink

9.) Swamp Fox - 11/16/2016

"I'm not a deep man, but I know what luck is..."






"You lucky, lucky bastard!"

10.) luv2bowhunt - 11/16/2016

Lots of daylight pics of cruising bucks starting the first week of Nov. A good bit of chasing early last week, but slowed down with the warmer weather until Sat. morning. I had several 1 1/2 and a few 2 1/2 yr olds go by me last week, passed on a decent 2 1/2.

Rubs and scrapes starting really showing up last week. Now that our bow season is closed, I'm sure things will really pick up this week.

11.) bluecat - 11/16/2016

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;45451]"I'm not a deep man, but I know what luck is..."


"You lucky, lucky bastard!"





[/QUOTE]

LOL!

12.) luv2bowhunt - 11/21/2016

Bob, as a follow up, how has the rut activity been lately, or are you not hunting anymore.

Last evening I saw a nice buck out feeding in the orchard by himself.........I'm thinking we're on the downhill slope of rut activity here now.

13.) Bob Peck - 11/21/2016

[QUOTE=luv2bowhunt;45519]Bob, as a follow up, how has the rut activity been lately[/QUOTE]In a word? Nonexistent.

I hunted sunrise to sunset this past Thurs, Fri and Sat and did not lay my eyes on a single deer. Not a one. I hunted private land that I know well and covered many miles of national forest. Saturday (our rifle opener) brought a dead calm and cold morning which turned into 25 mph winds that gusted up to 35 but I hung in there. I reasoned with additional hunters in the woods and the possibility of a rut no matter the crappy conditions bucks would be moving. Nothing was moving.

I could have hunted all day yesterday but I was into pouting and feeling sorry for myself. I made jerky, drank beer and watched football. In all that hunting and traveling I saw a total of one scrape and not a single rub. What the heck?!

I've got some PTO to take or lose so I'll be back at it Wed-Sun this week.

[QUOTE=luv2bowhunt;45519]or are you not hunting anymore.[/QUOTE] I'm no Alex McCombie [SIZE=1](yet)[/SIZE].

14.) DParker - 11/21/2016

[QUOTE=Bob Peck;45520]I made jerky, drank beer and watched football.[/QUOTE]

And the rest of the day you probably just wasted.

15.) Jon - 11/21/2016

Our rut here in Delaware and Maryland was the best I've seen since moving here 19 years ago. I killed 1 on Sunday and our club killed 21 bucks this week (20 hunters).
The first 4 days was incredible, big boys on their feet chasing does all day long. The next 4 days it went to nothing (locked down I'm suspecting BUT it was warm and the supermoon was out) and then activity picked right back up with big bucks chasing again.
I think we're almost done but hope some more activity comes up this weekend, Maryland gun season opens.

16.) luv2bowhunt - 11/21/2016

I will say that it sure seemed this year that most of the rut activity was at night. My cameras showed that and most of the chasing I heard was on the way in to the stands in the dark. Also, lots of chasing in the fields at night. Rubs and scrapes appeared each morning, activity that occurred during the night.

Not sure if it was just the warm weather, or the super moon, or that there is enough hunting pressure that they just don't move much during the day. Either way, I don't think I remember a year where the contrast between day and night activity was so great.

But, there were plenty of deer on camera and lots of rubs and scrapes. Sounds like that's not the issue where you're hunting Bob, that the deer numbers just seem to be down perhaps. Either that or they decided not to have sex this Fall and will forego having fawns next Spring and continuing the species.

17.) Bob Peck - 11/21/2016

[QUOTE=Jon;45522]Our rut here in Delaware and Maryland was the best I've seen since moving here 19 years ago. I killed 1 on Sunday and our club killed 21 bucks this week (20 hunters).[/QUOTE]

I can be at your house in 5 hrs. What stand do you want me in?

[QUOTE=luv2bowhunt;45523]I will say that it sure seemed this year that most of the rut activity was at night. My cameras showed that and most of the chasing I heard was on the way in to the stands in the dark. [/QUOTE]

My cameras (11) are showing the exact same thing. I'm very regimented about getting in the stand or hunting location at least 1 hr. before sunrise and like you I've heard them scampering around but lately ... rarely in the daylight. I'm counting my blessings that I have a doe and a buck down because this is one hard slog but I'm not giving up until 01.07.17

18.) Bob Peck - 11/21/2016

[QUOTE=DParker;45521]And the rest of the day you probably just wasted.[/QUOTE] Meat + beer + football noise = near comatose napping

19.) Jon - 11/22/2016

Bob, if you want to take a road trip, I can get you in a stand and give you a good chance at a deer. Serious offer sir.

20.) Bob Peck - 11/22/2016

[QUOTE=Jon;45530]Bob, if you want to take a road trip, I can get you in a stand and give you a good chance at a deer. Serious offer sir.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the offer. Hope you know I was just kidding [SIZE=1](sort of)[/SIZE]. :laugh:

I'm a stubborn old cuss when it comes to hunting so I'm on a crusade to figure things out knowing full well I may never figure it out.

As one of the other old cusses I've met along the way once said "If what you're doing ain't working do something different."

I talked to Bob Foulkrod the other day and this was his advice "You need to go where the deer are." Cracked me up. Duh.

21.) bluecat - 11/22/2016

[QUOTE=Bob Peck;45536]Thanks for the offer. Hope you know I was just kidding [SIZE=1](sort of)[/SIZE]. :laugh:

I'm a stubborn old cuss when it comes to hunting so I'm on a crusade to figure things out knowing full well I may never figure it out.

As one of the other old cusses I've met along the way once said "If what you're doing ain't working do something different."

I talked to Bob Foulkrod the other day and this was his advice "You need to go where the deer are." Cracked me up. Duh.[/QUOTE]

name dropper

22.) DParker - 11/22/2016

[QUOTE=Bob Peck;45536]I talked to Bob Foulkrod the other day and this was his advice "You need to go where the deer are." Cracked me up. Duh.[/QUOTE]

That's Yogi Berra material right there.

23.) Bob Peck - 11/22/2016

[QUOTE=bluecat;45537]name dropper[/QUOTE]
Dang. You're right on it. :-)

I guess he was on my mind cuz I finished an article about him the basic premise of which there is a bowhunters hall of fame but hardly any bowhunters I know are even aware of it's existence let alone who has been inducted or even how one gets inducted. Weird sport we're in. You're as good as your last kill and when you're all done it's as if you never existed.

24.) Swamp Fox - 11/22/2016

[QUOTE=Bob Peck;45540]....there is a bowhunters hall of fame but hardly any bowhunters I know are even aware of it's existence let alone who has been inducted or even how one gets inducted...[/QUOTE]


Let me guess: Board meeting at the Golden Corral, possibly the first Wednesday in February, and almost definitely pretty casual about needing a quorum...


:p

25.) Bob Peck - 11/22/2016

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;45543]Let me guess: Board meeting at the Golden Corral, possibly the first Wednesday in February, and almost definitely pretty casual about needing a quorum...[/QUOTE]

Close but not really ... [url]http://www.bowhuntershalloffame.com/fame.html[/url]

26.) DParker - 11/22/2016

They couldn't even tempt you with the Chocolate Wonderfall?

27.) Swamp Fox - 11/22/2016

LOL

That's the main event at the Possum Hunters Hall Of Fame awards banquet, or so they tell me.

I wouldn't know personally. LOL

28.) bluecat - 11/22/2016

[QUOTE=DParker;45545]They couldn't even tempt you with the Chocolate Wonderfall?

[/QUOTE]

The more chocolate the misses gets, the more the rut activity picks up. Just saying.

29.) Swamp Fox - 11/22/2016

Isn't there a point of diminishing returns, though?


:jd:

30.) bluecat - 11/23/2016

+2 smarty pants

31.) Jon - 11/23/2016

I always love eating something that kids and really old folks put their hands in after licking the cream sauce off them, sorta makes me think of dropping a chocolate covered donut on the bathroom floor at a Motley Crue concert and eating it.

32.) Swamp Fox - 11/23/2016

LOL...

33.) bluecat - 11/23/2016

....

34.) Albertabowhunter - 11/23/2016

Rut, Hell, its probably going strong right now, but not in the places Im hunting.... seen a few 120-125" 4x4s and a couple forks on the weekend following does.. but nothing big that should be chasing these ladies

35.) Bob Peck - 11/25/2016

I can say from direct first-hand experience finally yesterday I witnessed the rut in progress here in Virginia. Busted a big 8-pointer in the dark just standing in the field.

2 does blasted through chased by a scrub buck @ 7 a.m. No shot @ 30 mph & no stopping them. 25 mins later a doe rockets across an open meadow. While I'm watching her a doe pops out at 67 yards. One shot from the 30-06 and down she goes with a Winchester ballistic tip round through the spine & top of the lungs. Lights out before she hit the deck. Hunted another 3 hrs. Saw nothing.

Approached the large doe to discover a very highly rut-aromatic spike. Ok I'll take it. It is what it is. Proof positive there are deer where I'm hunting *and* the rut is on. Hunting all day tomorrow and Sunday. Woo hoo.

36.) Hunter - 11/25/2016

Bucks starting to move around, lots of rubs and scrapes last few days. Won't be long....

37.) Swamp Fox - 11/28/2016

One weird thing this year---on top of all the other weird things---I've seen zero (and I mean zero) dead deer on the road this year. Granted, I'm doing less driving than usual lately, but I should be seeing some at least. I doubt the road crews and the "free meat" chefs have gotten so much more efficient than they usually are.

I did have one credible report of EHD or blue tongue around the end of October, but a few other inquiries in the same general area didn't add to the tally. It has been very dry here lately after a lot of wet, for what it's worth.

38.) DParker - 11/28/2016

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;45579]One weird thing this year---on top of all the other weird things---I've seen zero (and I mean zero) dead deer on the road this year. Granted, I'm doing less driving than usual lately, but I should be seeing some at least. I doubt the road crews and the "free meat" chefs have gotten so much more efficient than they usually are.[/QUOTE]

You know, now that you mention it, I haven't seen any yet this year either. I did however turn a raccoon into a meat-and-fur pancake when he decided to run out onto the 75 MPH stretch of highway in front of me at 0-dark-thirty when I was on my way to my bowhunting area a couple of weeks ago. I saw him near the lane divider in time to swerve just enough for a clean miss, but at the last half-second he decide to do a 180 degree turn and run back the way he came instead of continuing across the road...which put him right under both of my left-side wheels. He chose poorly.

39.) Bob Peck - 11/28/2016

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;45579]One weird thing this year---on top of all the other weird things---I've seen zero (and I mean zero) dead deer on the road this year. [/QUOTE] I've seen a few but nowhere near the blood streaked slaughter I usually see on my 2-hr. one way commute to work on the east-west I-64 corridor. This interstate bisects the mountains (I travel over Afton Mtn every day) and covered with habitat regardless of the direction. All I can figure is our forest fires (thankfully finally getting contained) have messed things up in terms of rut movement. If I hadn't downed that rut-aromatic spike, seen exactly three small rubs and exactly one scrape in many miles/hours of travel I couldn't sworn I entered a time warp and missed the rut entirely.