By Dave Hurteau

I told you we had some fantastic prizes lined up for this fall’s scoring contests, and here’s more proof: This time, you’ll be playing for Bowtech’s top-of-the-line compound bow for 2011--the new, compact and smoking-fast Invasion CPX, a prize worth about $950.

As usual, you can win it by simply scoring some bucks. For anyone new to this game, here’s how it works: I will post a picture of a buck each week, for one month. You will guess the gross B&C score of each and keep track of your guesses. Fractionals will count. When I post the final buck, I’ll ask you for your grand total. Whoever is closest wins the bow*. If there is a tie, we will have a tiebreaker buck.
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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.

As noted by our reporters across the country, we’re in an exciting period right now. From the West to the Northeast, velvet shed is in full swing. We’ll soon have a better idea if those bucks that looked so huge in velvet live up to their promise when they’re in hard antler. Texas reporter Brandon Ray has given us a great glimpse into deer behavior in that drought-stricken region, and you have to admire his ability to keep a positive attitude when things look tough for deer and deer hunting.

In this region, velvet shed is also proceeding at a rapid pace. And with the onset of hard antler, we’ll witness even more rut-related behavior. Though velvet-clad, the buck in this photo is working a scrape by an apple tree. He didn’t make that scrape, and neither did any of the resident bucks.
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By Brandon Ray

Rut Reporter Brandon Ray is an expert on the region. Ray was born in Dallas and shot his first deer with a bow in Central Texas at the age of 15. The full-time freelance writer manages his family’s Texas Panhandle ranch, is a licensed New Mexico guide, and last year took a 184 gross P&Y non-typical trophy. States covered: TX, OK, NM.

Even when things are horribly dry, there’s still the little things that keep us excited for the upcoming deer season.

A few weeks ago, my sister, nephew and a couple of his friends came to visit the ranch. The teen-age boys, apparently unaffected by the 100-degree heat, made long hikes each day to explore the rugged canyons on the ranch. One canyon in particular produced a few treasures.
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By Rich Landers

Rut Reporter Rich Landers, a native Montanan and life-long hunter, is the outdoors editor for The Spokesman-Review in Spokane. He has written several books about the western outdoors and has hunted whitetails all his life. States covered: WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, CO.

In Wyoming, whitetail bucks are still on feed patterns, according to Brian Beisher of Big Buck Outfitters based in Sheridan. Two weeks ago, about 20 percent of the bucks he saw were out of velvet. The number rose to about 80 percent a few days later.

"The first of September seems to be a trigger to get rid of velvet," he said.
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By Brandon Ray

Rut Reporter Brandon Ray is an expert on the region. Ray was born in Dallas and shot his first deer with a bow in Central Texas at the age of 15. The full-time freelance writer manages his family’s Texas Panhandle ranch, is a licensed New Mexico guide, and last year took a 184 gross P&Y non-typical trophy. States covered: TX, OK, NM.

So what are deer doing when it’s 105 degrees and were in the middle of a 100 year drought? Judging from my daily observations on our ranch, during daylight hours you would think the country was void of life. When the sun is high, everything is bedded in the shade. I see a few bucks out feeding before sunrise in the morning, when I try to beat the heat and go for a run or hike. And again from sunset till dark, when the temperature starts to drop.

The deer I do see have all been doing the same thing. Every deer I’ve seen recently have been eating beans off mesquite trees.

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By Mike Bleech

Northeast Rut Reporter Mike Bleech has been hunting whitetails in his native Pennsylvania and throughout the Northeast for more than four decades. A Vietnam veteran and full-time freelance outdoor writer, Bleech has had more than 5000 of his articles published. States covered: ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA OH, MD, DE.

Overall Activity Status: Activity now is related to feeding.

Fighting: Most bucks still have velvet covering their soft antlers, which still might be growing, so fighting is out of the question. Bucks are still in bachelor groups, moving separately from does, fawns and yearlings. Some yearling bucks might still be hanging around their mothers or female siblings.

Rub Making: Not yet.

Chasing: Not yet.

Daytime Movement: Deer will sometimes be moving during the daytime. This will decline as more hunters start scouting. Deer react to human activity by doing most of their moving early or late in the day, and at night. In remote areas deer tend to move more during daytime. But the daytime movement associated with the rut, with lovesick bucks wandering far and wide at all hours of the day or night, is still a while off.
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