By David Draper

Rut Reporter David Draper grew up hunting deer and small game throughout this region and presently lives on a family farm in Nebraska. Draper, former communications specialist for Cabela’s and an authority on the Great Plains, subsists on a diet of duck breast and venison. States covered: ND, SD, NE and KS.

One of the cool things about writing the Rut Report is the opportunity to hear from so many people about their deer hunting experiences. One such story comes from Denise Morozov--an old friend I haven’t heard from in probably 20 years--who tracked me down after reading my deer-hunting reports here on Field & Stream.

By David Draper

Rut Reporter David Draper grew up hunting deer and small game throughout this region and presently lives on a family farm in Nebraska. Draper, former communications specialist for Cabela’s and an authority on the Great Plains, subsists on a diet of duck breast and venison. States covered: ND, SD, NE and KS.

Overall activity status: Not sure who is more geared up for this year's rut - the deer or the hunters. Most of the hunters I've talked to are planning to start spending all their free time on stand from now until November, unless they're lucky enough to fill their tag. From their early reports, deer are showing some pre-rut behavior, from scrapes appearing in the woods to some fighting reported in Nebraska and South Dakota.

Fighting: Hunters are reporting seeing and hearing some light sparring. A few smaller bucks have been rattled in by hunters who aren't afraid to use deer calls any time they're in the woods. Light rattling and grunting can be effective in the pre-rut as deer are moving into new feed patterns and encountering other deer. A few bachelor herds still together in Kansas and Nebraska.

Rub making: A few reports of rubs showing up, but very minimal.

By Scott Bestul

Rut Reporter Scott Bestul is a Field & Stream’s Whitetails columnist and writes for the website’s Whitetail365 blog. The Minnesotan has taken 13 Pope & Young-class whitetails and has hunted, guided for, and studied deer in the north-central region all his life. States covered: IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, WI.

I’m going to report slightly out of my North Central zone for a bit today, with apologies to Dave Draper. My friend and fellow outdoor writer Zeke Pipher shot a huge buck near his home in Nebraska. Zeke, who walks the walk when it comes to getting his family outdoors, took his son Aidan with him for an afternoon hunt on a farm near the Platte River this week. The father-son pair was entertained by squirrels and two raccoon families while they waited for deer to arrive.

The whitetails did their part, and the Pipher boys watched at least 20 deer work their way toward a feeding area on the farm. As they watched this pretty 10 point, he not only made a scrape and worked a licking branch, he walked within bow range. Wide-eyed Aidan asked Zeke “Can we shoot him dad? Can we?!?” Zeke’s answer was affirmative, and dad made a great shot. Zeke reports that the father/son team will be butchering the deer together as well. Great job, guys!

By David Draper

Rut Reporter David Draper grew up hunting deer and small game throughout this region and presently lives on a family farm in Nebraska. Draper, former communications specialist for Cabela’s and an authority on the Great Plains, subsists on a diet of duck breast and venison. States covered: ND, SD, NE and KS.

I recently received yet another report of a buck chasing, this time from the southeastern corner of Kansas, where bowhunter Nathan Oehlert spent Wednesday and Thursday in a treestand. Here's his report:

"I went hunting Wednesday and again yesterday evening. Passed up a 130-class buck both nights, but last night I caught a glimpse of a big one chasing a doe. Only saw him through my binoculars for a few seconds when they ran by so I don't know exactly how big he was, but I know that he was bigger than any I have pictures of. Haven't ever seen one chasing like that this early before, but that sure looked like what had to be going on. I was hoping to get a closer look at him, but they never came back out into the field."