Realtree's Deer Hunting Forecast | Nov. 8-14

This is arguably the best week of the year to be a deer hunter. Breeding peaks from Nov. 10 through 20 in most of the whitetail’s range (mule deer, too), and during the next few days, bucks will be searching in earnest for the first receptive does. It’s time to burn some vacation time, pack a lunch, and hunt all day. Archery hunters should focus on travel corridors in areas with plenty of does. Gun seasons are opening by the day, too, and though travel corridors remain a good bet, it never hurts to sit where you can see a little more country when you’re toting a firearm.

If there’s a downside to hunting the rut, it’s that the action can be fairly unpredictable, as several of this week’s rut reporters noted. It’s not unusual to endure long spells without seeing a deer, particularly as peak breeding begins. Food sources often seem to go cold, and bucks that you recognize from trail cameras can seem to disappear. It’s all to be expected. Stick with the plan and stay in the woods, even when it’s slow.

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MOON AND WEATHER

The rut occurs regardless of the weather, but a good forecast can get deer up on their feet more often during daylight. For much of the country, this week’s weather forecast is the best in several seasons. A blistering cold front is set to sweep through the middle of the country during the weekend. Here in western Kentucky, daytime highs are supposed to plummet some 30 degrees between Saturday and Monday. In my experience, a front like that can actually be too much of a good thing, and shut movement down temporarily. I look to Tuesday, Nov. 11, as being choice. It’ll still be plenty cold, but bright sun and a warm southern breeze will feel nice, and I’d bet money it’ll have deer on their feet. Of course, it being Nov. 11 helps with that, too.

The full moon occurred Nov. 5, and the next new moon will be Nov. 20. Realtree’s Fish & Game Forecaster predicts excellent evening movement all weekend, with a peak in activity around 4:40 p.m. on Saturday. The movement outlook remains good throughout the week. We again give the deer hunting forecast this week a full five out of five stars. Get out there and hunt, because it won’t last forever. Now, let’s take a look at the action in each region.

Northeast region Rut Reporter Timothy Kent says hunters across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New England are seeing a sharp uptick in daylight buck activity. Kent says some mature bucks even seem to be locked down with early does, but he cautions that the main show still isn’t here quite yet. Conditions have been outstanding, Kent says, and telltale signs of the rut have included scrapes going cold and does going noticeably absent around visible food sources. Kent closed his report with, “This is not the week to stay home or play it safe. Bucks are on their feet, the timber’s opening up, and every cold morning could bring your moment.”

Read the full Northeast Rut Report here.

Midwest region Rut Reporter Darron McDougal says there was a lull in the action in his Wisconsin stomping grounds in late October, but things are picking up now. Sources in Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, and North Dakota reported increases in buck activity. Little bucks have been moving in a frenzy, and older deer are beginning to cruise as well. The next five days should be prime in the Midwest, and we expect to see some giant whitetails hit the ground.

Read the full Midwest Rut Report here.

It’s true that there’s a later rut in many parts of the Southeast, but most of it follows the standard mid-November timeframe, as regional Rut Reporter Stephanie Mallory highlighted this week. Hunters in Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Arkansas are reporting action that’s right on schedule, with bucks cruising and some early chasing taking place. In other places including parts of Alabama and Louisiana, the breeding is still weeks away, but bucks are beginning to lay down an abundance of rubs and scrapes.

Read the full Southeast Rut Report here.

I spent the past week hunting a lease in central Texas, where bucks were definitely on the move. Feeders and box blinds are part of the program in the Lone Star State, but that strategy wasn’t working this past week, as bucks and does alike were focused on things besides scattered corn. What worked was frequent, aggressive rattling. I called up half a dozen wild-eyed bucks during the week; I didn’t see anything that I wanted to shoot, but it was a ball nonetheless. Southwest region Rut Reporter Miles Fedinec has been putting clients on some giant mule deer in Colorado this past week, and he says new bucks are showing up by the day.

Read the full Southwest Rut Report here.

Northwest region Rut Reporter Jackie Holbrook says the mule deer rut is about to fire on all cylinders up in Montana. She and her husband spent a week hunting backcountry muleys in late October, and saw some 30 bucks, despite wicked weather that included 50-mph winds. Holbrook says they saw just about every type of rut behavior you could ask for, too, from seeking and chasing to fighting and rubbing. The whitetail action seems to be running just a bit behind the mule deer in the Northwest, according to Holbrook’s sources who’ve been hunting them.

Read the full Northwest Rut Report here.