Patiently waiting-2

Well guys and gals, it's the first of November and the "October Lull" has come and gone. In my previous blog I had commented on how I thought that this was one of the most productive times of the season to be in the stand. And although the A.A.O. team went the entire month without harvesting a buck, I still stand by my statement. I sat many times over the last 2 weeks and saw far more deer up moving around during shooting hours than I did the entire month and a half before. I saw a handful of shooter bucks and numerous younger bucks. I was able to either rattle or call in at least a dozen different bucks as well. Although the rut hasen't kicked in full swing yet, the bucks are up more and on their feet longer throughout the day. And I contribute this to one reason....the lack of hunting pressure due to hunters waiting for the "October Lull" to pass. Sure with the prerut phase beginning, the younger bucks are up more. But, if there had been more hunters in the area, they would still choose to move either at last light or wait for darkness to far and then move. Deer are not stupid nor do they have to move during daylight hours during any phase of the rut. During the day or at night, the does are still there and bucks know this. In fact, I remember a few years back when we had a heat wave come through during the first part of Novemeber and all I kept hearing from hunters was that the rutting activity was very slow or nothing at all. This was very true during daylight hours, the warmest hours of the day. But because of all the trail cams that I use, I was able to monitor deer activity not only during the day but at night as well. The rutting activity wasn't slow, it was just happening at night...the coolest part of the day. My point is that deer will find a way. They are not on a schedule nor do they have to put themselves in harms way just because the rut has kicked in. If I had to think of 2 things that a person could do that I KNOW could improve your hunting success through the later weeks in October and into the peak phases of the rut would be this-#1- Keep the hunting pressure to a minimum. This is key to most any hunters' success. I know that everyone has heard this a million times before from about a million different people. But, if so many people continue to give this advice, there must be a reason. It's very simple, keeping hunting pressure low equals more deer movement during shooting hours. And #2- Keep your doe population in check! This is important for so many different reasons. Besides having a healthier deer herd this will play a huge role in how the bucks in your area act during the rut. Less does means more competition for the bucks which in turn will cause them to act more aggressive towards each other. Not to mention that it will cause them to come to your calling, rattling and decoys more frequently. Which puts you in a better situation to harvest that buck you've been chasing all season! But now we can put the "October Lull" behind us and move forward into November. And there is no doubt that November is a great time to be in the woods with the rut being in full swing at some point during the month in most states. So everybody get out there and enjoy what is about to unfold during the next couple of weeks! It's one of the most amazing times of the year as far as having the chance to see some of those bucks you've been watching on trail cams as well as seeing bucks that may roam into your area from neighboring properties. Good luck and be safe out there eveyone and more importantly, get your kiddos out there with you as well!