Northwest Rut Report, Week 6: The Chase is On

It’s been a slow start to winter across most of the Northwest with minimal snow in many areas and temperatures that still soar into the 60s some days. For many hunters, fall hasn’t felt like fall at all. Duck hunters are battling late migrations and even elk hunters are struggling to find elk without fresh snow for tracking. The weather may not know what time of the year it is, but luckily the bucks do.

Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana mule deer have reached the peak chasing phase. Bucks are dressed in their November finest as they’re sporting thick, swollen necks and moving all day with their nose to the ground or in the air in the classic Flehmen response. It’s fun to live in mule deer country this time of year. Not only did I witness bucks chasing does while out hunting, but this week I also saw bucks chasing does at the bus stop, boat launch, and my backyard.

Earlier in the week, groups of does in these more populated areas had smaller bucks with them. My dad was in his garage and turned around to find a muley doe about to step inside with a forked horn buck hot on her hooves. By the weekend, mature bucks had moved into these more urban herds as well.

This is the week hunters live for when muley bucks are moving at all hours with little regard for their surroundings. However, the rut activity can also make this a challenging week due to the number of hunters in the field. Bucks wait all year for this and so do hunters. Competition is thick all around.

Don’t Miss: Have Your Best Rut Week Ever

I had a group of friends who spent the past week chasing muleys in Eastern Montana. They reported rut activity like seeking, chasing, and sparring and they all managed to kill mature bucks. However, they reported fewer deer numbers and higher hunter numbers. The lack of moisture and snow has made it easier for hunters to get out this year, especially in areas of the state prone to gumbo roads.

Whitetails in the Northwest haven’t quite reached the same level of chasing and seeking as the muleys. Hunters are reporting more movement and daylight sightings from bucks, especially younger bucks. I spoke with a Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks official conducting surveys about block manage areas who reported BMAs that are popular for whitetails are seeing increased harvest numbers.

This final piece of rut report intel won’t help hunters unless your part of the lucky less than 1 percent. The coolest rut behavior I saw this week was from Montana’s bighorn sheep. I watched two full curl rams chase a group of ewes. While I didn’t get to witness any head butting like I hoped, it was incredible to see the rams tilt their heads back with their lips in the air. It almost made it look like they were going to fall backwards with the weight of their massive curls.