Realtree's Deer Hunting Forecast | Oct. 31-Nov. 7

It’s Halloween, and if ghosts, ghouls, and chainsaw-wielding madmen don’t get your heart racing, then maybe the sight of a big whitetail buck charging into a rattling sequence will. No doubt, this week is one of the best of the year to be in a stand in most of the country. Across the Midwest, Northeast, and most of the Southeast, bucks are charged on testosterone, working scrapes, and beginning to cruise for the first receptive does. Our western region Rut Reporters reported much of the same on the mule deer front, with the late stages of the pre-rut just about to give way to the main show.

Last weekend, my son and I hunted in northern Tennessee during the Volunteer State’s two-day youth-only rifle season. It was rainy and cool both days, and on the second morning we caught a heavy 8-pointer checking a group of does in a sprawling clover field. My boy happily shot that buck, one of his biggest to date.

After that action, I left for central Texas, where I’ve been bowhunting the final days of archery season before Saturday’s gun opener. I’ve been rattling frequently and have called bucks into bow range every setup, though I haven’t seen the big one I’m after so far. Meanwhile, doe sightings have been few and far between, even around corn feeders. That’s usually a sure sign that the ladies are being hassled by young bucks, and the start of the breeding cycle is only days away.

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MOON AND WEATHER OUTLOOK

Many hunters have enjoyed some cool, seasonal weather during the final weeks of October, with some areas getting another dose of much-needed rain. Nationwide, the long-range forecast looks mostly stable and seasonal to slightly warmer than average, with short bouts of precipitation mixed in. I’ve seen rut weather forecasts look much worse. The moon peaks full on Wednesday, November 5 (often called the Rut Moon), and Realtree’s Fish & Game Forecaster predicts good movement, particularly at midday, through Monday, with spikes of excellent movement at 6:40 a.m. and 1:40 p.m., respectively, and again Thursday at about 7 a.m. and 2 p.m.

This should be a stand-out week for deer hunting and it could well be the best one of the season. We give it a full five out of five stars.

Midwest Rut Reporter Darron McDougal reported a sharp uptick in buck activity in his home state of Wisconsin late last week, and his other contacts in states like Nebraska, South Dakota, Ohio, and Indiana all say that the action is picking up significantly. Some sources even hinted at an earlier-than-normal rut this year.

Read the full Midwest Rut Report here

Northeast Rut Reporter Timothy Kent says the whitetail woods have taken a clear turn into the chase phase, with hunters across New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania reporting a dramatic increase in daylight buck activity. Kent says there’s been a decline in doe sightings around active food sources, but mature bucks started moving in daylight around Oct. 23. One source said, “It’s been six or seven years since I’ve seen the pre-rut this active.”

Read the full Northeast Rut Report here

It’s a mixed bag of rut activity in the Southeast, according to reporter Stephanie Mallory, who hails from Alabama. That should come as no surprise to veteran southern deer hunters, though. In places like Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina, the action is red hot, with bucks checking scrapes, moving in daylight, and beginning to cruise for does. The action is a bit behind that in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana, where Mallory’s sources say that the deer are still mostly in feeding patterns, though some rubs and scrapes are beginning to pop up. Abundant mast throughout the Southeast region has the deer herd fat and happy, but not always visible around open food sources.

Read the full Southeast Rut Report here

I can speak firsthand on the action here in Central Texas: We’re about 10 days away from the big show. Southwest Rut Reporter Miles Fedinec says bucks in the Hill Country are already rutting good, while South Texas hunters still have a month or more to wait. On the mule deer front, Fedinec reported seeing mature bucks showing up alongside herds of does in Colorado while hunting the second rifle season opener, and he expects new bucks to continue trickling in over the next couple weeks. Keep your eyes on the does.

Read the full Southwest Rut Report here

Northwest Rut Reporter Jackie Holbrook says that Halloween brings out the “grey ghosts,” which is the nickname many local hunters give to the elusive blacktail deer that live in the thick forests of the Pacific Northwest. Alaskan hunters are noting a significant increase in movement among Sitka blacktails, while the mature bucks aren’t quite as active down in Oregon and Washington. Holbrook says that some good mule deer are on the move in Idaho and her home state of Montana. The whitetail action typically happens a bit later, but many of Holbrook’s contacts are concerned over the lingering effects of multiple EHD outbreaks over the summer and early fall.

Read the full Northwest Rut Report here