The last four days of Colorado’s second rifle season saw me guiding a deer/elk combo hunt. We were fortunate to kill a nice 6-point bull on the first morning of the hunt, and then we could focus on finding a big buck. We were mainly hunting large ag fields on private land, so our tactic was to sit and watch from a distance until we found a buck that checked all the boxes. This time of year is fun because you never know what will show up day to day. As luck would have it, a buck that we passed this past year showed up, and he was everything we were looking for. At midday, I set up a blind near where he had left the field in the morning. While we waited for him, two bucks showed up and gave us the first significant battle of the year. This is worth mentioning because these deer were mature bucks. One of the bucks was a regular to this field, but the other was a buck I had not seen until two days prior. Until that point, when the mature bucks were in the field, they stayed to themselves and ate like it was their last meal. There was no interest in the does or each other. We didn’t have to wait long, and the big guy walked out. After a perfect shot from my hunter at 227 yards, we had collected a true trophy-class buck.

Most of the reports I’m getting from Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and northern California are similar. Colin Rouaud, a guide for Gypsum Creek Outfitters, sent me a message Sunday night saying the rut activity is picking up in their area. Young bucks are already pushing does around, and he is seeing bucks pin their ears and walk stiff-legged around other bucks. He got to witness a few good battles this week, and the deer are really piling into the ag fields in the lower country. Most groups of does have bucks with them, although they are mostly young bucks. A few mature bucks have worked their way out of the timber and into more open country looking for does. The does don’t seem to be in estrus yet, but the stage is getting set.

Our own Will Brantley has been in north-central Texas all week at our lease. He has been keeping me updated daily, which is great for this report but terrible for my jealousy and envy. Looking for the tiny bump of affirmation needed to commit, Will sent me a photo of an extremely mature buck that showed up at a feeder. He’s old, heavy and just generally a stud, although he won’t score as well as many other bucks on the ranch. I quickly told him if he doesn’t hunt that buck, I will. I mention this because the feeders have been almost completely barren of deer while he’s been there. Will said the young bucks have been cruising like crazy, and the does have been squirrely as hell around feeders, trying to avoid getting pinned down. Monday morning, Will sat on a hillside where he could see a lot of country and also a feeder. He said he rattled in a few bucks and watched tons of deer feed and chase within 100 yards of the feeder. Very few of them bothered with the corn, though. If you are relying on trail cam info at a corn feeder right now, you’re not seeing most of the story. Will also saw a mature buck locked down with a doe at noon in the middle of a cut hay field. It’s the beginning of the rut there, with the peak likely being around Nov. 15. For whitetails, if your rut is about Nov. 15 as in north-central Texas, this is likely the best week of the season to rattle.

A good portion of the southwest region is in the late stage of the pre-rut. Within a few weeks, you will see full rut in much of Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Texas. The southern parts of Nevada and Utah, along with the northern parts of Arizona and New Mexico, are a little behind, but pre-rut signs are there. I anticipate full rut being three to four weeks away in these areas. The southern half of Arizona and New Mexico, along with southern Texas, are still at least a month away — maybe more.