Realtree's Deer Hunting Forecast | November 4-8

The action can happen quickly this time of year in the deer woods, and if you have some time off for Election Day, you’d be wise to climb into a stand after casting your votes. Our regional reporters have been checking in from all corners of the country with updates on whitetails and mule deer, and in many places, the rut is kicking off right now. This week’s information is still trickling in, but updated regional rut reports will be posted on Wednesday.

Typically, the first week of November offers some of the best hunting action of the year as bucks seek and chase, desperately searching for the first receptive does of the season. Much of that seeking action will be on the part of eager young bucks, but a mature deer could make an appearance at any time.

Generally, hunters can expect to see scraping activity temporarily wane this time of year, and doe sightings around primary food sources often decline, too, as the ladies get tired of being harassed by spikes and fork horns. For whitetails, the most productive strategy is usually built around pinch points and travel corridors that funnel deer movement. The idea is to log hours on the stand while numbers of deer are up on their feet, and hope the right one eventually cruises past within range.

Open-country mule deer hunters often have the advantage of increased visibility, meaning they can keep daily tabs on groups of does, which are the surest attractant for big bucks. I found myself in that situation late last week in western Colorado, where we bounced around alfalfa hayfields, glassing groups of does and fawns. A mountain snowstorm shut us out of one morning’s hunt, but after the storm passed, the sun popped out and the temperature plummeted. Deer were up on their feet and moving almost immediately, and I shot a good 4-by-4 muley buck with forked G2s as he cruised down a fence line, checking the hayfield we were watching for does.

The weather certainly seems to be the wildcard this season. After I left Colorado, I-70 was closed because of snow. I drove through heavy wind and rain across much of Kansas and northern Missouri, but it felt like May by the time I got home to Kentucky. As I write this, on Nov. 4, it’s 70 degrees and the wind is howling. That won’t stop the rut from happening, but it can definitely slow daylight activity.

THE FORECAST

The moon phase is waxing crescent this week, with the first quarter moon happening Nov. 9. The full moon will be Nov. 16. From the lunar standpoint — and it being the first week in November — the next seven days should be an outstanding time to hunt. Realtree’s Fish & Game Forecaster predicts good movement throughout each day over the next week, with peaks in activity during the typical early morning and late-evening hours. Above-average temperatures are forecast across much of the country, with minor cold fronts breaking things up every few days. We’d rather see cold and clear mornings this time of year, and maybe a few chilly evening rains, but in November, you have to hunt the weather you’re given. We give the next week’s hunting forecast 4.5 out of 5 stars. It’s time to be out there.

REGIONAL HUNTING UPDATES

Midwest Rut Reporter Darron McDougal traveled to Kansas this past week, arriving on Oct. 28. On Nov. 1, with the temperature in the 70s, he shot an outstanding buck at 12 yards as it came in to challenge a decoy. McDougal’s contacts in Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, and Wisconsin reported good bucks up and on the move, with peaks in the action centered around cold fronts. Although warm weather presents challenges, McDougal summed things up with excellent advice: “Grind it out, folks. It’s November, and anything can happen.”

CHECK OUT THE MIDWEST RUT REPORT HERE

Southeast Rut Reporter Stephanie Mallory reported a mixed bag of action across the region, partly because of the South’s widely varied rut timing but also to the extended snap of warm, dry weather. Mallory’s contacts in North Carolina and central Florida reported good activity recently, and Realtree’s Tyler Jordan says things seem to be off to a good start where he’s been hunting in Louisiana. But elsewhere in Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia, hunters are struggling to see much rutting action because of the seemingly endless stretch of warm, dry, windy weather. Said Realtree’s Michael Pitts of the action in Georgia: “I have noticed on cameras that bucks are chasing does, but it is all being done under the cover of darkness. (…) We need a drastic weather change to be able to see it all in person.”

READ THE FULL SOUTHEAST REPORT HERE

Northeast Region reporter Timothy Kent says the temperatures flirted with 80 degrees in the Northeast this past week, leaving many hunters scratching their heads. Still, there were some promising updates, including one from a Pennsylvania hunter who arrowed a mature 8-pointer that was leisurely freshening scrapes on a 70-degree day. Kent noted that many active scrapes have been abandoned the past few days, and mature deer are spending much of their time hanging near doe bedding areas. He also noted a “grim uptick” in the number of dead bucks on the highways; a telltale sign that the big show is just around the corner.

READ THE FULL NORTHEAST RUT REPORT HERE

Hunting guide and outfitter Miles Fedinec says that across much of the Southwest, the rut is on for mule deer — something I can attest to after having been in Colorado the past few days. Fedinec’s contacts there, as well as in Utah and Arizona, reported good action from the past several days, and are predicting the first estrous does within the next week or two. The Texas Hill country rut is on fire right now, and the pre-rut action is heating up across the Edwards Plateau. Gun seasons just opened in northern Texas, and Fedinec said that although it was warm and rainy in some areas, a few giant bucks were taken nonetheless.

READ THE FULL SOUTHWEST REGION RUT REPORT HERE

Northwest Regional Reporter Jackie Holbrook was in the woods on Oct. 26, hoping for a big mule deer buck or a bull elk during Montana’s general season opener. Holbrook says she and her husband were into game early, with a herd of elk chirping nearby in the pre-dawn. They saw a few mule deer after sunrise, including a small buck, and were successful on a 5-by-5 bull a little while later. Holbrook says they saw more than 50 mule deer the next couple of days while packing out the bull, but nothing mature, and rutting activity was minimal. A few days later, Holbrook and her husband set up for whitetails in a lowland ag field and were again successful, this time on a nice 5-by-5 buck (or 10-pointer as we easterners would call it). Though the hunting has been good, Holbrook says the peak of the rut is still several days out for mule deer and whitetails in most of the Northwest.

READ THE FULL NORTHWEST REGION REPORT HERE