On my private property in Wisconsin, trail cameras were void of bucks 2-1/2 years old or older for an entire week. Being that I had seen a big buck chasing a doe on Oct. 23, I wonder if the week of inactivity that followed was an early lockdown. That’s the only explanation I have that makes sense.

Around midday on Halloween, I found numerous fresh scrapes on some nearby public land. It rained throughout the night, and the precipitation subsided by daybreak the next morning, Nov. 1. I was ready to roll by those scrapes, and despite a good wind direction and freezing temps, I didn’t see a deer, even after rattling. I moved around throughout the morning and rattled at a handful of other spots. Nothing.

I didn’t hunt that afternoon, but I took a peek at the field on my private land. On the neighbor’s field, two nice bucks were grunting, nudging does, and posturing at one another just before dark. But their focus soon shifted back to feeding. In my field, a young buck walked toward a doe and was grunting, and a bunch of does and fawns were out, too. The next evening, Nov. 2, I hunted my place with a perfect wind and didn’t see a buck. Only a few does and fawns came out before dark.

In Minnesota, Ray Howell of Kicking Bear Foundation explained that things seem to be lagging as the rifle opener draws near.

“The rut seems to be a little bit behind yet,” he said. “We still have smaller bucks on their feet, and the bigger ones are starting to show up on camera, but way after dark.”

Realtree’s Tyler Jordan spent a few days bowhunting in Kansas after his successful Montana rifle hunt.

“In Kansas, the younger [bucks] and some big bucks were cruising,” he said. “We saw a lot of young bucks on scrapes. We hit a cold front, so I’m sure that bumped things into gear a little. I’d expect it to only get better, but the deer were definitely roaming. There weren’t as many deer coming to feeders, but that’s to be expected this time of year when there’s a lot of chasing going on.”

Meanwhile, Dale Techel, who manages the Michigan Deer Hunters Facebook page, said that things are cooking pretty good in the Wolverine State, but it’s not full tilt yet.

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“Talking to hunters across the state, the cool temps over the past week have fired up deer movement,” he said. “But many bucks are still doing a lot of their movements at night. Scrapes and rubs are reported all over and are being used heavily now. I’ve heard a few reports of bucks chasing, but overall, we aren’t fully there yet.

“It will be interesting to see how the season ends up. The Michigan DNR has reported that deer harvest totals are down 12% compared to this time last year. Warm temperatures early in October, EHD, and the northern Lower Peninsula’s winter ice-storm damage are factors in the decline. Regardless, the next two weeks should be a great time to start doing all-day sits.”

Geoff Still of Iowa Trophy Hunts, an outfitter that runs hunts in Iowa and Missouri, said the dam’s about to break.

“We’re seeing lots of young bucks on their feet lately,” he said. “They’re bumping the does around that aren’t quite into heat. The older bucks always seem to let the little bucks have their fun for a few days. I’m seeing a lot of bucks with broken tines and main beams, which means they’re fighting a lot. We have trail cameras on scrapes, and all of the bucks hitting them are 3-1/2 years old or younger. Any day, the switch is going to flip. I believe the rut will be on full tilt by Nov. 6.”

Finally, Ben Matykiewicz, the big game management biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish, reported similar observations, noting that buck activity is rising, primarily in the dark.

"We're seeing some increasing rut activity," he said. "The bucks have been creating and tending rubs and scrapes for a few weeks now, and signs of fighting have started popping up, with many bucks having broken tines and main beams. We're starting to see more activity during the day, but most of it is close to the opening and closing of legal shooting light."