Cashing in on the early rut

[Boogieman1]

My opinion, which is based on hunting down south. Is weather makes or breaks that last week in October. A cold snap during that time frame can make for some of the best hunting of the year. On flip side lows in the high 60s or 70s pretty much throws a monkey wrench into the plans and cheats me out of a lot of hunting hours. Still have a chance at first/last light, but all day movement is at a hault. For a strange reason I always get a pic of a daylight monster on Halloween, unpredictable and always random but interesting none the less.

I have killed more bucks between 10-1 on cold days than all other time frames combined. And I've also hunted that time slot way less than any other time. Hence, why my opinion is I need cool temps to get them moving in my area and phase of the rut really doesn't matter as much as the forecast.

I actually tend to do better the 2nd rut which takes place here in Dec. I attribute this to we always have better hunting weather than we do in Nov when it tends to stay hot. From last week of October through last week of Dec if the highs are below 55 I'm in a quality stand and I'm sitting all day!

Why do you think deer are on their feet more in this 10-1 timeframe? Natural movement or being pushed by exiting hunters? Do you find 10-1 productive just during the rut, or all season?

I went through two years of trail camera photos and found most movement around 10am.

I believe there's a lot of possible reasons for it. A lot of hunters leave there morning stand around that time and go walking around and possibly kick up deer. I also feel bucks are conditioned to generally not come across hunters at that time of day as well. During the rut after they have been bedded awhile I see them get up around this time and cruise the edges of doe bedding. I consentrate my efforts on the rut so I naturally see more of this movement during that time and only with cooler temps. Not to say it doesn't happen at other times of the season or conditions but this is when I spend the bulk of my time in the tree.

[Bigb]

My best hunting days seem to always be the 4 days before and afternoon November 9th. Give me a cold blue bird day and I tend to have good luck seeing mature bucks.

That being said, I'll be off for a long weekend October 25th to 27th. I'll be honest, if the temps are at or above normal its a bit slower for me. Last year I was in the woods that same weekend when a cold front came through and bucks were really on their feet. I saw 3 mature bucks and none gave me a shot but two were quite close. I went back to my cameras in January and checked those cold front days and it was the first day(s) of the year the mature bucks were really moving, especially in day light hours.

I think the last weekend in October is good, you just need the weather to cooperate to get them moving in day time hours.

[Blackmagic33]

I think the are main reason for the 10-1 activity is nocturnal activity increases once hunting season starts as a result of increased nocturnal activity mature bucks are "resting/recovering" during your normal morning hunt time 645-10 after this recovery period it's time to get back to work and start seeking out does or pursuing their opportunity to breed.

I'm curious to hear what the private guys think and if they experience similar movement on land with minimal pressure.

[Deerslayer31]

I think the 10:00-1:00 times are the best during the rut as well I think a lot has to do with bucks waiting for the does to bed down before they start cruising around that has always been my experience hunting the rut