Around home in Wisconsin, I’ve observed lots of deer since this past week’s report. I haven’t seen any buck-to-doe interaction. Some bucks are traveling together now, and they aren’t sparring. Incidents of rutting behavior are now few and far between. That’s a nice way of saying that the second rut’s about done for this season in the northern Midwest, and now more than ever, food is king.

Moving west, Ben Bearshield of Winchester Deadly Passion is seeing similar things in South Dakota. “I haven’t seen much at all for rut behavior in the last week,” he said. “It’s snow-covered and cold here, so the deer are all about the food. I’ve only been out a few times recently, so I’m mostly going by what our cameras are showing us and the few evenings I’ve been out.”

Nolan Redeker of Midwest Whitetail noted a similar pattern in his corner of Kansas. “From what I’ve seen, bucks are mostly transitioning back to food,” he said. “Mature bucks are still interested in some does, with a few signs of a couple of hot does over the last week. But for the most part, food seems to be the priority.”

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In Ohio, Scott Burnett of Ohio Whitetail Ridge Outfitters and Hunt Club noted that he’s not seeing any lingering rut activity. He said deer are really active around feeders as they recuperate from the rut, with most of the feeding transpiring at night. He hopes that in two to three weeks, deer will be calmed down from firearms hunting and will move a little bit more in daylight.

Finally, Ben Matykiewicz of North Dakota’s Game and Fish Department said there is some minor rutting activity happening by him, though it’s not nearly as prevalent as during the primary rut.

“There are still some bucks running around, and there’s evidence that a few fawns are coming into estrus,” he said. “The past few times I’ve been out, I’ve observed bucks chasing does and fawns, grunting and fighting a little bit. I bow-killed an old 8-point buck in the cold on Dec. 13, right after daybreak, and he was following a doe and fawn.”

Isolated cases of this behavior can happen throughout the rest of the month, but mostly, bucks are in the rest-and-recuperate phase and will be hitting food sources to replenish spent calories for winter survival. Mature buck daylight activity will be spotty, especially in areas where firearms hunting has just concluded or is still going. So rather than hunting every day, consider basing your hunts around big weather events, and play the wind like crazy, as late-season deer are on edge.