Midwest Rut Report, Week 5: The Action's Heating Up Daily

If you read last week’s Rut Report, then you know I was headed for Kansas. I arrived on October 28, and while scouting, I found some scrapes being hammered, while others exhibited no fresh activity. I focused all of my efforts around bedding areas several hundred yards from food sources, knowing that the pre-rut would have most deer on a bed-to-feed pattern with bucks daily becoming more interested in does.

The first afternoon, I heard grunts 30 minutes before dark, and I grunted and snort-wheezed with no response. I assumed they were tending grunts and the buck that made them was following a doe—which is likely why he didn’t investigate. I rattled near several bedding areas without any luck the first few days. On Halloween night, I watched two bucks nudge a doe 800 yards away just outside a bedding area. The bucks postured but didn’t fight. One was a dandy public-land buck.

I went all in the following afternoon, November 1, and the temp was 71 degrees. I set up within 100 yards of where the bucks were the evening prior, put out a decoy, and hunkered in a cedar. I rattled at sunset and out came what I believe was the larger of the two bucks from the previous evening. Cautiously, he came to my decoy, grunting as he came. He took his sweet time, and I ultimately shot him at 12 yards as he tried getting the downwind advantage.

In Illinois, YouTuber Justin Zarr of the Bowhunt or Die channel says the departure of warm temps and high winds “kicked the rut into high gear,” as he puts it. “We are seeing lots of chasing at all times of the day. On November 1, our team members killed three bucks in Illinois. The warm weather subdued the daylight movement for a few days, but the floodgates are now open.”

Don’t Miss: Have Your Best Rut Week Ever

In central Iowa, deer hunter Dallas St. Clair says, “The recent cold front seemed to amplify deer movement. Before the front, I saw minimal daylight buck activity. I grunted and rattled in a young buck on Halloween in the high winds. On November 1, I observed two mature bucks seeking and cruising about an hour after daylight. My mock scrapes continue to be active, and large doe groups are still intact with subordinate bucks occasionally harassing them. I believe the best hunting will be November 6 to 8.”

Dale Techel of Michigan touched base, saying that the recent warm conditions had bucks primarily moving at night. “Many hunters were catching them on their cameras in the dark,” Techel explains. “Now, hunters are seeing bucks chasing does, and grunt calls have worked for some. Each week, more scrapes are showing up. The best advice is to be on stand as much as you can.”

On his slice of southern Indiana paradise, Bowhunter Magazine founder, MR James, says “I watched a nice 10-pointer paw and pee in a scrape on November 1 while a mature doe that he was trying to impress watched from the sidelines. I’ve seen some half-hearted chasing activity. I’m also seeing fresh rubs daily. The bucks are getting serious, but the does are playing hard to get. I’m still not hearing of many bucks being tagged so far. Regardless, it’s a good time for Hoosier State hunters to spend time in the woods. The best is yet to come.”

As for Wisconsin, my wife saw some bucks chasing does while I was away in Kansas, including a nice one. My trail cams caught new bucks hitting my bean field and a couple of scrapes, meaning the bucks are covering some ground. I assume most Wisconsin bucks will be locked down by November 10, if not sooner, with cruising and chasing action picking up again just in time for the gun opener.

From now through November 10 to 12, downwind edges of doe bedding areas and rut funnels should be the most productive bets, especially for all-day sits. While rattling can work anytime in November, I expect its effectiveness will diminish as more and more mature bucks lockdown with does. Grind it out, folks. It’s November, and anything can happen.