I went into Colorado’s fourth rifle season with an unreasonable amount of anxiety and excitement. I was guiding a close friend on a large piece of private property in southern Colorado. This spot is thick, and the deer density is low, but quality can be very high. Weather, moon and all the other factors we like to blame seemed to be lining up for a perfect rut hunt.

Fast-forward to Day 4. We had not seen a mature buck or any rut activity. The does we saw had small bucks with them, and even they weren’t acting too rutty. On a whim, we decided to try some higher country. I was surprised to see the number of deer still higher than 10,000 feet elevation. The recent snow had not moved them. I walked us into a small meadow in the pines where I knew big deer lived in summer and the early season. As we approached, there stood a few does and a small buck.

Without warning, they spooked from something and scattered. Looking through thick pines, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a giant buck. We moved quickly to see a thick pine hillside where I thought he would be. I diligently searched the hillside and eventually caught an antler beam sticking out from behind a tree. I saw just enough of the deer to tell he was big and knew we couldn’t waste time. With a very tight window to his vitals, my hunter made a good shot to take the buck down. He was a true mountain buck, and his rack was 30 inches wide. It was an amazing way to cap off my already perfect year on big mule deer.

This buck showed very little sign of rutting. His tarsal glands barely smelled. His neck was not swollen. I believe we got fortunate to catch him where he lived, and it might have been a coincidence that he was near a group of does.

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I’m still perplexed about the lack of rutting activity in these mountains as we approach late November. This is not the case everywhere, though. In eastern Colorado, deer are in full rut — so much so that it’s become a problem for guys guiding there. Jeremy Fiscus of Sandy Hills Hunting Company (www.sandyhillshunting.com) sent me video of a dust cloud that could be confused with someone plowing a field. It was an absolutely brutal deer fight. He also sent a photo of most of a deer antler shattered into pieces. Bucks are fighting so hard that they are breaking each other up terribly. He said that on Nov. 19, he witnessed the most fighting and breeding he had seen in one day. I have guided my fair share in eastern Colorado, and broken antlers have always been a late-season problem. but it sounds like this year might be exceptionally tough for the Dec. 1 rifle hunters.

Southern Utah and northern Arizona are getting fired up, too. Mike Deming who owns Pro Member Sweepstakes (www.promembersweepstakes.com) had a Paunsaugunt management tag that ended on Nov. 20, and he said every doe had a buck with them. He added that the outfitters he uses in Arizona’s 13B Strip unit were seeing some good rut activity, too. The late rifle hunters in northern Arizona should have a great hunt.

In Texas, I have received multiple reports of the rut slowing down in the Hill Country and in central to northern Texas. This is not a bad time to be in the woods, though, as some of my best bucks came during the late rut, and I just caught them cruising for whatever does might have been left to breed. It’s a good chance to catch a buck travelling outside of his normal range. The Panhandle has reports of good rutting activity, along with western Texas. All of my sources in southern Texas say there is no sign of the rut yet. I expect to start seeing some scrapes and rubs appearing in the next 10 days or so.