Weekend Forecast 11/18-11/19 - Mid-Rut Strategy, Gun Hunting | Bowhunting Whitetails w/ Bill Winke
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- čas přidán 14. 11. 2023
- We are now in what some people call the lock-down stage of the rut. It is a tough time to catch mature bucks out cruising. I have been talking with a lot of bowhunters and they all say the same thing: they are seeing a few chases and a lot of dead time. I am not going to offer a lot of hope because I have yet to find a good way to hunt this phase of the rut. But, it will end soon enough and then things will get better again. Also, with gun seasons opening in a lot of states, I offer a few tips on where to sit and how long to stay on stand. Taking gun hunting tips from a bowhunter is a bit iffy, at best, so take these with a grain of salt! Good luck and hang in there.
I love how your videos are current and not two weeks too late.
Thanks. Yes that is the beauty of the internet. We can be very current. Good luck and thanks for the comment.
I appreciate the updates. Always spot on with my area and helps me to confirm my own doubts about what is going on in the woods. Thank you!!
Thanks for the comment and good luck. Next week looks to be the best opportunity if you have some time left.
Always appreciate your thoughts and tips on hunting. Keep it coming.
Great points. I got my first booner on Sunday the 12th here in western Illinois. Good luck everyone.
Awesome. Congrats on a great buck! Thanks for the comment.
Great advice Bill.... what's giving me a little hope now is the biggest buck i ever tagged was on Nov 24th. He was hot on a does trail. I was actually headed back to my truck since it was freezing rain. Gave me a 20 yard shot and never knew I was there. Hope the one big ones start showing up again.
Bill. Great insight. Thanks Bob
Great update. Keep them coming.
Great insight, Bill. Thank you for putting these videos together.
My pleasure. Thanks for the support and comment.
Really enjoy your programming you actually talk hunting
Thanks Robert. Much appreciated.
Yap, i passed up on a 6 pt to see if the 10 pt was following the doe and all the sudden 4 guys on ATVs come crusing through the forest. Basically had a firm talk with them about trasspassing and how they ruined the hunt for a good two weeks with all the gasoline smell. 10 minutes later two guys decide to shoot 25 shotgun rounds trap shooting at 200 yards from my location. From experience, I always know that the reason deer hunting gets really tuff is because of other people messing up with the area and if you are not there to see it, you would never know why the deer are not there anymore.
Yes ur exactly right never know who was there before u and make the big bucks nocturnal
@@andrewkirkpatrick626 so from questioning the four dudes, i found out that their farm was on the other side of the forest and they did this on sunday the night before the shotgun season opening day. So they were pushing the deer to their side and the guy was trying to tell me that they were lost while revving through the forest, yeah right!
Ya sure they were, that's a pretty dirty strategy, they new exactly what they were doing, and that's what they used for an excuse nice try
Area I've been hunting is some pretty big woods on a mountain and the deer are really edgy especially the mature bucks if I even get winded once it's a fat chance I'll see those deer anytime soon very tough area but that's why there's sum big rackers in there they now how to stay stealthy damn timber ghosts
@@andrewkirkpatrick626 The best thing to do is to change location somewhere farther from your last location if the deer are spooked from human tampering or human scents. That's how i killed a 200 Lb doe at the end of last year season, i just moved to the opposite side of the forest in a bushy area and found five doe. Good luck guys, still plenty of time left and hopefully we get some snow, that will make tracking them down easier.
It dawned on me about 5 years ago the amount of mature bucks that I have seen over the years from November 22nd through the 30th in southern Minnesota the young bucks are worn down since they started a little to early! Good luck Bill and thanks for the info and entertainment!
Yes, for sure. There have been some studies by biologists that confirm this too. Good luck.
Seeing exactly what you're saying Bill The yearlings are all coming out by themselves the does have disappeared and Only seeing very subordinate bucks on their feet Still going to stay after it in my travel corridors where the does usually Travel
Firearm opens this Saturday here in Central New York That will certainly change movements Best of luck my friend
I find this very informative. Wish I could remember it all 😊 thank you
Thanks Takur. Good luck this weekend.
@@bill-winke - came back here and found the charts I as looking for. I will have to say this, As a public land hunter, the archery hunters in my area pound the woods in the first two weeks of November. Can be crazy times for sure as it can become a race to the "best spots". I keep looking for that out of the way hot spot and your videos give me some ideas of things to look for. No deer yet for me this year but did get an antelope with my bow.
Thanks Bill!
Learning so much from these videos
Thanks Travis. Much appreciated. Good luck.
Thanks Bill for the advice for the upcoming days.
My pleasure. Good luck Ron.
Well said. Some good days. Some slow days. My sightings and cameras this past week have dropped considerably on buck sightings. I think some deer are locked BUT I have had a couple bucks start showing again that I haven’t seen in a week or more. I’ll be in a tree that’s for sure. Hoping some of these bigger ones I’ve got are gonna be looking for another doe to get with. Been a weird year, but it could happen any moment
Bill your thoughts on gun season is spot on. I hunt in NY a large state property track over 5500 acres it is all hardwoods and pine . I believe during bow the lack of pressure hurts me nobody bow hunts this area I have never seen a bow Hunter on top of the mountain. I have great photos of bucks over a mock scrape site with a vine I installed years ago but the sightings are tough. I had 2 opportunities this year but neither panned out . November 18 is opening day and I’m hoping some hunters are in the woods to help move these deer around . Last week I hunted Saturday and Sunday and not a single deer hopefully my strategy of sitting in my stand with some hunting pressure pans out . We will see good luck everybody.
Good luck Louis. Sit all day if you can. I hope you are rewarded!
Very informative video once again. Thanks a lot
Thanks and good luck.
Really appreciate all the excellent feedback and intel you give. All my big mature bucks have wondered off the past week in big timber country NH but luckily still plenty of does. Very confusing and hard to make a game plan
Ya I know how it is I'm in new england in mass but I've hunted NH plenty of yrs we r definitely in the hardest region in country for deer hunting but if we can do it here we can do it any where
Without limited cover and specific food sources, it is really hard to pin them down. That is why the Midwest is so good. It is just a lot easier to hunt. Good luck.
Good update Bill, excited to try and get an arrow in another buck during rifle season here in WI. Have had 2 hunts since November 4 and it's showing with all deer still moving naturally
Good luck Alex. Sounds like a great plan.
Keep em coming
Will do. Thanks Robert.
Thanks for some great info Bill . Hunter gun opener in Michigan today and seen several young bucks cruising buy the only big one I seen was locked down for sure on edge of thicket . He kept pinning the doe on the steep creek so she wouldn’t leave area
Yes, that is the typical behavior. Were you able to attempt a stalk on them? Good luck.
Instant sub! Ty!
Thanks Ty. Much appreciated. Have a great day and good luck.
Great info, and your observations matched mine exactly!
My son shot a great buck on Nov. 4th, with his bow, that was scent checking for does in my green food plot. It was 5:56 pm when he showed up, a half hour before shooting time ended.
The following Saturday, Nov. 11th, I shot another of our hit list bucks, but I was hunting in thicker cover where the does were, and I shot him at 10:35 am as he was following a doe that was obviously in estrus.
I had seen several bucks chasing does on this day.
The next day my wife and I observed a buck guarding a doe on a hillside, on my property, just below our neighbor's house, and within sight of the highway. It was funny because I had just told my wife that these bucks are going to be in areas that most people would not think of, this being in areas that people do not associate with holding deer.
The "cold front" did not do ANYTHING for us as to deer movement. In fact, it was quite disappointing this year. We really thought it was going to be great, but not so much.
I agree with everything you saw. I will have to digest this rut a bit more over the coming months and try to figure out why there wasn't more general buck movement in daylight. Maybe only the deer know - and maybe they don't know either. Congrats on your success and your sons. Have a great day.
Enjoy the common sense approach, made easier to understand for people like myself. Thanks.
Good luck Joey. I appreciate the comment.
Good info. Rut has dropped way off. Does walkin but bucks not showin much interest . Waitin for week of Thanksgiving.
I'd have to agree with you on activity.... Last week is usually a great week and weekend but we weren't seeing anything chasing or searching for does. I still have groups of does with fawns and no bucks coming to pester the does. I do have a couple of fawns at feeders without mom so they must be getting bred but not seeing the action like most years 🤔 It has been warm during the day but I still usually see spikes and basket bucks looking all day but haven't even seen them... This coming weekend rifle starts in Oklahoma and we'll see what happens 😊
I'm up here in Massachusetts and my experience is pretty similar to what you said haven't really seen much for rutting activity but you would think by now it would be going on I think a lot of it is happening at night just have to keep at it
I hammered my target deer yesterday am 9 am city tag sw ia tending grunt and 10 follow up grunts he came in searchin had scrape heated smoke cover solo cam footage stopped eem at 20 yrds walked right up the draw and past the scrape was lookin hard, now I’ve gotta go hunt the farm i think all morning long be great or anytime a hot doe walks past me …. Weather looks stable thru next week looks like easy hunting. I like this time too tho I’ve tagged some old deer 16-28 so I’ll be out there. Great info thanks Bill.
Good luck Nyles. I think Thanksgiving week will be good. I am planning for by best hunts. Good luck.
Deer here are still scraping, rubbing. I agree with front reactions - at least like that here. Saw some good activity today.
Jim, you have some mixed up deer there! Just kidding. I am sure not seeing much of that kind of activity. The young bucks are still scraping, but not nearly as much as they did late October and early November. Have a great day.
I really enjoy your content thanks for posting! What did your deer score?
Here in the Mid Atlantic the rut activity has been the same as the Midwest. The weather has been cool a few days, then warm a few days. Admittedly the best day so far was Friday Nov 10 when rain gave way to a strong cold front. Starting to see rogue bucks on camera coming to bait areas and not eating or staying very long. I suspect they are visiting to maybe find a hot doe.
Yes, that sounds about right. You should see more of that once the breeding phase starts to come to an end. Good luck.
Dream Big brother 🙏
Thanks Edward, same to you.
I agree with the post rut don’t give up but some of the older mature bucks are just wore down and are resting for 2-3 days if it’s not too cold and windy. The weather chart you showed what company is that? 👍✌🏻🇺🇸
It’s crazy to hear how hard the rut has been for many. In NE Iowa, I shot a nice buck on the 7th that looks like a twin of yours on the 9th. He was the 4th buck I saw that morning by 8am. 2 we’re nice 3 year olds and 1 was a stud 4 year old 8 pointer. They chased a hot doe that most have come into estrus within hours of daylight on the 7th. It was the best rut hunt I’ve had in 10 years. It’s crazy how other parts of the country and even the Midwest have been slowed down by this heatwave.
It is even more localized than that. Think about the guy hunting two ridges over that morning who didn't see anything because the mature bucks were on that doe. It comes down to being near a hot doe, but usually there is more random daylight movement by the bucks during the early part of November. I saw almost none and my cameras on scrapes showed almost none - all at night. Congrats on the buck, by the way!
@@bill-winke that’s a great point. Before the 7th I only had one mature buck in daylight after the Halloween cold front. I’ve always considered my farm a rut farm, so I’m a little used to not seeing steady action. Thank you! It was my biggest archery buck.
Some people like to predict what mature bucks do and when. Your generalizations about sum it up. Definitely feast or famine. One of the most famined ruts I’ve seen in south central ky
This year it did seem to come down more than ever to having a hot doe near your stand. Not as much random daylight movement in early November as I have seen most years. Good luck.
Also if you have good thickets where you think a buck and doe are bedded during the "lull", a lot of times they will get up to feed a few minutes before its dark and you can ambush them in a transition spot
Good point. Thick cover is your friend right now. Good luck.
@@bill-winke thanks
Agree 100%.where are you from? I am from upstate ny and have experienced what you described in video. slower rut this year. Weather fairly stable
I am in Iowa. Lots of people here seeing limited movement during the normally prime rut days.
Had another big buck come in following a doe last night. No shot. Had i not moved my stand i would have connected.
Dang it. One thing I have learned over the years, if you put a stand in a spot for a good reason, I will usually leave it until I have a better reason to move it. Sometimes wind/entry & exit routes play the final decision. Of course, the wind has to cooperate too. Maybe had you been in the original spot, they would have caught you coming in or on stand. Good luck.
Was warm and quiet last wk in Wv. Lockdown too i reckon.
Yes, weather has been a factor, but there is something else affecting the amount of activity we are seeing too. I guess we will never know for sure what is going on in the heads of these things!
Northeast up here is lockdown , no mature bucks on cameras the last several days only small bucks
All great info and love the updates..What jacket Is that ur wearing, the brown colored one...Thanks..Tom
That is the Thor sweater from a company called Kuhl. I really like it. You can find it online. Have a great day.
Thanks a bunch, I found it should help out for the cold mornings in upstate NY....Thank you for all you do I learn something new each time I watch ur videos...Tom
Unfortunately PA archery ends tomorrow (Nov. 17) Hopefully sooner than later PA changes things and allows archery to keep going and open up all Sundays.
Agree. It is really nice to be able to bowhunt the entire month of November. Some states allow that and it is really enjoyable, even though the action does start to die off pretty fast, the period from November 20 to 26 can still be good.
This was good information, Bill, thank you. What weather app did you use for the screen shots in this video?
Thanks. Not sure. Jordan edited that one. I will have to ask her. Good luck.
Hi Bill, how long after the gun season does it take for the deer to get back to their normal movement. Thanks.
I always figure it is at least a week, ten days to be safe. Good luck.
Bill here in the Northeast they are saying it's a, "MAST" year for Acorns. This season I've seen the most deer and deer movement in a long time. Do you think there is a correlation ?
Maybe, but we had tons of acorns here too - still tons of them on the ground - and we have seen limited daylight movement by bucks. Strange. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know. All we can do is go with trends in behavior, but there sure aren't any absolutes. Good luck.
How do you approach rainy , overcast conditions?
I like hunting under those conditions. If it is raining more than a drizzle I get in a blind though. It is pretty miserable being in a tree when it is raining. It is really good to be there right after it quits though, so to do that you almost have to be there during the rain. Good luck.
Bill in your opinion will bucks revisit community scrapes that they were previously on earlier in the year leading up to the peak of the rut?
Not like they did then. No. They might hit them if they are passing through, but not as likely. From now on, they don't waste effort on stuff like that. They are 100% focused on finding (by physical search) the next hot doe. Good luck.
Love the same time period as you described Bill. Plus, here on Southern Iowa public, less guys in the woods as their “rutcations” have ended. Not really into gun hunting either and for the life of me as a 2nd hunting season new Iowa resident, why am I being forced to drag out a gun on December 3rd if I have not used my tag? Every other state I’ve hunted has allowed me to use my bow during gun season if I chose to. Not complaining (I live in Iowa for gosh sakes) just curious.
Wow that's crazy you would think and most states if you're willing to go out with a bow they would rather that I don't know of any other state where you can't go out with a bow during gun season that's interesting
Steven, I think it is related to safety. Consider that most gun hunters in Iowa use a drive method - at least historically that has been the preferred method. How would you like to be sitting in a tree stand when a deer drive comes through? Not me. Good luck.
Unfortunately most big mature bucls around here are chasing at night. Even my cameras show it. The young bucks are chasing all day but the mature oneself aren’t coming out. I’m in southeast Nebraska.
Gotta find where they’re bedding and hunt close to it
Yes, that is what I am seeing too. If you have a hot doe on the move, things look really good. Otherwise it can be pretty dead. Good luck.
I've been watching and following you for about 8 years or so now, time flies could be 2xs as long. What I have found is in west central Illinois we are 4 days behind you in peak activity.
My November 7th, with exception to weather creating movements, is an average day. However, 10th through 12th is almost always our day time activity. The 11th especially is when I have consistently had day time encounters or pictures of mature bucks seeking.
Would like your thoughts on that, 3 to 4 hour drive south from you (approximate) could daylight lessening quicker north enact that quicker for you delayed for us?
Matthew, thanks for the years of support. I appreciate it. I am not sure on that timing. The breeding phase is the same in both places for sure. Timing should be the same. However, there are other factors too - like deer density, buck to doe ratios, hunting pressure that might make some difference. Again, the 7th is just a thin line drawn for general planning purposes. The best activity usually falls around the 7th plus or minus three days. Good luck.
@@bill-winke and there was a hot doe in there for sure, 4 bucks chasing in and out of the draw, even with my buck dead within 15 yards
Bill, would this timeline be delayed in the southeast? I'm in Virginia
For sure in some parts of the south. I am not 100% sure on Virginia never having hunted there. I would contact a local biologist and ask him/her when the peak of breeding occurs. Don't ask about rut phases, just keep it simple, "When is the peak breeding time for the deer in this area?" Then set your schedule hunt about a week to 10 days ahead of that date. Possibly, the timing is the same, but I kind of expect it is later - probably in December - but I am not sure. Good luck.
Shot an absolute giant yesterday afternoon at 1:15 pm. Gave him an hour & then got down to start tracking did not find much blood at one point i was on my hands & knees finding small drops of blood. Backed out to give him some time & went back today ended up losing the blood trail. Pretty upset about it heading back out all day saturday.
Dang it. I am sorry to hear that. Likely he will recover. Studies show that if they make it a quarter mile, or more, without bedding down, they likely aren't fatally hit. Good luck this weekend.
@@bill-winke Thanks Bill pretty discouraging but its the sad reality of hunting sometimes hoping that he does recover & maybe can get another crack at him. Congrats on your buck recently hes a stud!
Took a good 9 pt. On 10 24, then a doe on veterans day. She was not in esterous. Showed no signs of being breed.
Question: Now I- to keep a positive outlook on the deer movement and not think every buck. Hopefully not every big buck is on lockdown. They lose a doe or breed her and back out searching again. I mean this is my opinion and keeps me out hunting. Is that not EVERY big buck has a doe or could be in between hot does.
I used to feel that way too, and in theory you are right. I just never saw it happening. I can count on one hand (or less) the number of mature bucks I have seen cruising alone during the middle of November in many years of bowhunting. I am sure it does happen and you are always better off hunting than not hunting, (you can't kill them on the couch) but they seem to be very good at finding the next hot doe or maybe they do it at night. The real opportunity comes after the peak of breeding when the number of hot does is dropping fast and the bucks do have to cruise again to find the next one. Then being around food is a really good option - even doe bedding areas are better then than during the middle of the breeding phase. If you have to decide between hunting now or waiting a week, I would wait a week. Good luck.
@@bill-winke
Thank you Bill. As always. Great info.
I myself can't consider rifle hunting hunting!
I understand it, but I am bowhunter at heart. I just love the fact that the hunt only starts when you see the deer. With a gun that is when it ends. I had a noted outdoor writer once tell me that bowhunting is like shopping and gun hunting is like buying. He was a gun hunter (Craig Boddington). Good luck.
Hey Bill, what’s your thoughts on calling during this weekend? I know you’re not a blind rattler, but would you use rattling if you visually saw a buck searching for another hot doe? As always, thanks for the great information and good luck!
I always call if I see a shooter that is out of range. You have nothing to lose. When you can see him it is easier to know when to call (to keep him wondering - if he is too close he will spook because he doesn't see the other buck(s) - and how loud in order to get his attention. Good luck.
Where are you hunting at?
I live and hunt in Iowa. Near where I grew up.
If i was this dedicated to the menstruation periods, I would’ve 2 less kids
That is too funny.