Northeast

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Joe_Cermele — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:31:36 -0400

Big woods, rolling farmland, woodlot, swamp, ridge and valley--this region features every type of whitetail terrain imaginable. 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

Bizarre Buck: Maryland Hunter Tags 23-Pointer With Brain Abscess, Hollow Antler

Online Editors — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:54:46 -0500

Mark Hahr could not believe his eyes when he walked up to the big whitetail he’d put to the ground just minutes into his first Maryland gun hunt. Expecting to get his hands on the tall, gnarly rack he’d spotted just after daybreak in his scope, Hahr instead saw a curious sight: A raw, bloody spot where the left antler should be. Thinking he’d shot the antler off, he quickly scanned the buck.

The entry wound was right where he’d put the crosshairs, just behind the buck’s shoulder. His bullet didn’t separate the antler from the deer’s skull, so what did?

Bleech: What We Learned About the 2011 Rut

Sarah Smith — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:44:04 -0500

The 2011 whitetail rut has been very interesting. I was about to write that it has been unusual, but maybe a better way to describe it is that the rut has been very average because it was unusual.

What made the current rut unusual?

Looking at the total picture to date, the second rut peak has been more distinct than the first, or at least it has been where I have hunted during the past couple of weeks in the Allegheny Highlands of Pennsylvania and in northern Maine.

Earlier, the differences between the different parts of our region were not so great. Now the differences are more distinct. I expect that in southern Ohio a second peak may be just getting underway.

A second rut peak is coming in, according to Matt Rosenthal at Beaver Creek Fly Shop, in Hagerstown, Maryland. Some big bucks are being killed. But it is nothing like it was during the first rut peak about four weeks ago. Then, he called it “insane.” Now some bucks have been observed chasing does. Some fresh scrapes have been seen, but no rubs. No fighting has been reported.

That falls into place nicely. Just as happened with the first rut peak, it is starting in Maryland when it is well underway, or even winding down, in the bulk of the Northeast Region.

In the New England states, the best of the rut is over, according to Marty Harrington, at Marty’s Sports in Bennington, Vermont. Some of the younger does are coming into heat. More noticeably, deer are beginning to bunch up, he said. There are no fresh rubs or scrapes. Up in the Adirondacks, hunters found fresh rubs and scrapes late last week, according to Dan Ladd’s exceptional web site, www.ADKHunter.com.

How does this fit into our rut timetable?

Very likely it was at least partly related to weather. Bucks got more active once temperatures finally dropped and the ground was covered by snow. Of course that has nothing to do with does coming into heat, but it sure affects buck hunting.

The results of the Pennsylvania Game Commission study showed that the moon has no influence on the timing of the rut. I still think it influences the time of the day when deer move, but that is a different thing than breeding.

While this is the final rut report for the 2011 season, the rut certainly is not done for the year. Right now in parts of our Northeast Region a strong second rut peak is in progress. And the rut will go on into January, at least. The potential length of the rut in our region is September to February, but breeding in either September or February is very unusual.

I have never heard about does being impregnated during February, not in this part of the whitetail range. Though the reports are concluding, I will be following the rut until it truly ends. I suggest that you do the same, especially if there is a late hunting season where you hunt deer. Late seasons are great because hardly any hunters are afield. I still have tags for late archery and flintlock hunting season.

P.S.: Just got a doe, a nice, mature doe, and that is meat in the freezer. Have a great winter. Get your augers sharpened.

Bleech: Fresh Rubs, Chasing Bucks Mark Second Rut Peak

Sarah Smith — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:03:06 -0500

Overall Activity Status: With cooler days, overall deer activity has increased. However, even though temperatures have come down it is still unseasonably warm in most parts of the Northeast Region.

Fighting: There have been no reports of bucks fighting. Of course this does not mean it is not happening, however fighting is unlikely unless bucks of equal stature are after the same hot doe.

Rub & Scrape Making: Kirk Rudzinski was hunting out of a tree stand this week, but decided to take a stroll. Along the way he saw more scrapes and rubs than he has seen at any other time this fall. In a relatively small area he saw several different rub lines and scrape lines. One rub on a hemlock tree--about six inches in diameter--was so fresh it was wet, he said.

Chasing & Other Estrous Signs: This Thursday evening, while driving home after hunting on the Allegheny National Forest, a doe scurried across the road right in front of me. Fortunately I was driving slowly. I had barely stopped when a buck crossed the road hot on the trail of the doe.

The buck did not have a particularly big rack, but with just two days remaining in the Pennsylvania firearms deer season, and one of those spoiled by other business, I sure wish I had seen it while I was in the woods hunting.

Other hunters have been reporting similar sightings this week. We might call this a second rut peak. It was hard to tell when the first peak passed, but this second peak is maybe more obvious than the first peak, which is not the way it is supposed to be.

Daytime Movement: Look for increased daytime activity around the full moon.

X Factor: Get out there and hunt. With a second rut peak in progress across much of the Northeast Region, daytime buck movements have increased. Pull out all the stops. Try grunting, bleating and rattling antlers. In the case of the latter, just some light clanks should suffice.

Perhaps the biggest difference between hunting now and hunting earlier in the season is that hunting pressure is significantly less now, assuming that deer season is still open where you hunt. What this means is that you can formulate a hunting plan and carry it out with no interference by other hunters. This is big in our heavily hunted part of the country

Bleech: A Difference in Buck Behavior

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:24:56 -0500

Dan Stimmell, who lives in northwest Pennsylvania within a few miles of the New York border, finished off his deer season in fine style.

Coincidentally, he has been my friend longer than anyone else. (Here’s how long, and how the world has changed: Stimmel once brought a .22 revolver, with ammunition, to school show and tell when we were in 5th grade.)

Stimmell took a 6-point buck while hunting in New York. That was back on November 19, while hunting in Chautauqua County.

Then this Wednesday he collected a 9-point buck while hunting on his farm, in Warren County, to fill his Pennsylvania tag. Walking within sight of his barn he spotted a deer. It was a modest buck with about six points. He was denied a shot, though, because while he was taking a better look at the buck with his binoculars it moved into thick cover. Then with his peripheral vision he caught movement. Coming along behind the 6-point was the 9-point shown here being dragged by Stimmell.

A basic frame 8-point, it has a double brow tine for the 9th point. The rack has an inside spread of 17 inches, a very nice buck for the Allegheny Highlands.

What do we make of the two bucks sharing company at this time of the rut?

Not much, really. I have seen it many times, and you probably also have. If a hot doe were in the area it probably would have caused some separation between those bucks. Being so different in size it is unlikely that they would fight since the larger buck was dominant. The larger buck probably would have the first relationship with the doe. But research has shown that does typically breed with several bucks, so it is very possible that both bucks would have bred with the doe. And what I found surprising, if a doe has twin fawns it is possible that the fawns could have had different fathers. This ensures a better genetic mix.

I wonder if this means they actually are not twins, since they were not conceived at the same time.

Bleech: A North Woods Rut Hunt

Sarah Smith — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:50:23 -0500

The first buck I saw last week during the Maine muzzleloader season, a 6-point, ran toward me and passed by without ever noticing me. My guess is that it was in some stage of looking for a doe. It was not the buck I wanted, though.

The next buck I saw was considerably more obvious in its intentions. It was mounting a doe. It was a lot bigger, too. Unfortunately I saw it 10 minutes after the close of shooting hours on the last day of the season. I figured that and a 50-inch bull moose that had allowed me to pass within 15 yards about a half-hour earlier would be the highlights of the hunt.

I did not know what had already taken place that day.

Jeff MacLauchlan, from Enfield, New Hampshire, and Dan Masterson, from Barnard, Vermont--a pair of very experienced deer hunters--were hunting, as was I, with #9 Lake Outfitters, in Bridgewater, Maine.

On the last day of the muzzleloader season, MacLauchlan and Masterson cut three deer tracks, one quite large. They set off in pursuit of what they hoped was a big buck at 7:00 a.m. Since the deer moved through a primary bedding area the hunters moved slowly and deliberately, ready for a long day.

“When you get on a track that’s following a doe it can take you for miles,” MacLauchlan said.

But in fact, they caught up with the deer in a hardwoods opening after following it for just about 3/4 mile. The deer had stopped to mill around. The hunters figured the deer might have bedded down.

But after cautiously crossing a couple of logs, MacLauchlan looked down what they later learned was a distance of 106 yards of an open lane and saw antlers.

“I saw my shot and I put it right on the shoulder, and I squeezed it off,” he recalled.

The shot startled his hunting partner, who had been looking in another direction.

After reloading his muzzleloader and taking a few minutes to calm down, he and Masterson walked to where the buck had been. It was lying 35 yards away with a hole in its heart.

Was it the peak of the rut there in northern Maine? Or were the dynamics of the rut just a result of the local deer density? While hunters go to northern Maine in pursuit of big bodied northern whitetails, deer are not as abundant there as they may be in more southerly locations.

In any case this shows why deer hunters should be alert to rutting activity throughout the entire rut period, not just during the peal of the rut.

MacLauchlan’s buck has 8-points with good mass and webbing. Of more interest to serious hunters of north woods bucks, it weighed 217 pounds after being field dressed. In the photo, MacLauchlan is on the left wearing suspenders, Masterson is in the middle, and guide Don Burnett is on the right.

Now guess who is hoping to hunt northern Maine again next fall?

Bleech: An Uneven Rut (And What to Do About It)

Sarah Smith — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:53:59 -0500

After spending the past few days hunting in northern Maine with Don Burnett at #9 Lake Outfitters, I can see why determining the rut status in some regions is difficult. Deer density is not high and the cover is dense. We have found just a few scrapes and rubs. The one buck my hunting partner passed on appeared to be hunting does, but that is just a guess. I saw a doe, which was accompanied by two fawns that makes me suspect that the doe has not been bred yet. Unseasonably warm weather with no snow almost certainly has played havoc with normal deer patterns.

Our trucker friend, Dave Baker, reported that he saw numerous road kills, while driving from northeast Ohio to southcentral Ohio. Nearly all were does, and none were big bucks. Baker did see a very big buck while hunting the first day of the Pennsylvania firearms season on Monday.

From the southern Adirondack Mountains, John Havlick at Frank’s Gun Shop in Gloversville, said it has been a strange rut, an opinion given by several of my contacts. Neither he nor his hunting partners have seen fresh rubs or scrapes lately. None of his customers have seen bucks chasing does. Instead, they have seen bucks simply mingling with does. Some of the harvested bucks he has seen had swollen necks, some did not.

Marty Harrington was not at his store, Marty’s Sports, at Bennington, Vermont for the past few days. Instead he was bowhunting in northeast Ohio where he took a 160-class buck. He rattled that one in. He also rattled in five smaller bucks.

We should be in the second rut peak across much of the Northeast Region now, though with the unusual rut that most hunters have been reporting, that second peak may be difficult to recognize. I will suggest that we take Marty Harrington’s lead and try rattling, or using a grunt tube. Estrous scents may also be effective.

Bleech: Rut Peaks, First and Otherwise

Sarah Smith — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:08:16 -0500

This week you will find me hoping that the long awaited rut peak in northern Maine has finally gotten into full swing. Actually, I have a hard time reasoning that it actually is not finished. In areas like that, where deer densities are very low things can pass by unnoticed. This is a very clear example of the reason we should not be too sure of anything. Even where deer are considerably more numerous, things can go unseen, even if we are watching for things to happen.

Throughout most of the Northeast Region the peak of the rut has passed a couple weeks ago, but since then many hunters have reported seeing more breeding activity than usual. It was not such a distinct rut peak in many places.

Now we are nearing the second rut peak (maybe even calling it a “peak” is stretching things a bit). This is not going to be as intense as the first rut peak. One of the main reasons behind this second rut peak is that does born the previous spring can not start breeding until they reach a certain weight. This weight probably varies from area to area. Once young does reach this weight they might come into heat.

For those hunters who like to know the details, the Pennsylvania Game Commission determined through several years of study that yearling does can come into heat when they reach a weight of 80 pounds to 90 pounds. The percentage of yearling does which are bred varies considerably from one area to another. Most of those yearlings that get impregnated will have just one fawn.

Another thing which contributes to a second rut peak is that some does were not bred the first time they were in heat. Maybe it just did not take. Maybe no bucks found them in time.

In the unlikely event that does fail to be impregnated in the second rut peak they may come into heat again in January or late December. They have been known to come into heat as late as February.

This is of concern to hunters because our hunting tactics should be adjusted accordingly. If you like to use “doe-in-heat” or estrous scents, it is time to use them again, if you even ceased using them once the first peak was past. I have had some success using my bleat-then-grunt call method.

The biggest buck I have ever had within range took place during the second rut peak in a very unlikely place--Allegheny State Park, in southwestern New York. That big woods area is not noted for huge bucks, but that was a huge buck. To my great dismay, my muzzleloader, which I have not used since, failed to fire due to a very tiny nick in the threading of the primer holder. I will get off that subject now before I get teardrops in my keyboard, and wish all of you good hunting. I should be in the north Maine woods sometime today.

Bleech: Get in the Woods, Stay in the Woods

Sarah Smith — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:51:10 -0500

Overall Activity Status: Deer are still very active across much of the Northeast Region. Trucker, Dave Baker phoned from a rest stop to inform me that he had seen more road-kill deer across central Pennsylvania and down to Dayton, Ohio, than any other time this fall. One thing he has not been seeing this fall is any large number of big bucks. Nearly all have been 6-points or forkhorns.

Fighting: Some fighting is still goes on, certainly, but none has been reported. When bucks of equal size meet in the presence of a hot doe, things can get pretty rough.

Rub & Scrape Making: Rubs are of a different sort since late October. They often look like a fight took place because several small trees may be torn out by the roots. Visualize, if you can, a big buck with a couple of 5-foot trees tangled in its antlers.

Chasing: Chasing is still near rut peak level, or at least it seems so by the number of reports I have heard. The rut is just now getting to a peak status in the far north of the region according to what I have been hearing.

Daytime Movement: Daytime activity is mostly a factor of weather now. Unseasonably warm days keep deer bedded. A cold snap will get them going. Remember that unseasonably warm now, might have been considered cold a few weeks ago.

Estrous Signs: Numerous does still are coming into heat.

X Factor: If I were to guess, and why not, I would guess that the rut peak was not as intense as it has been some years, and that more does are coming into heat after the normal peak of the rut ends. A day does not go by that a hunter does not tell me of seeing a buck chasing a doe. Since this represents only a very small portion of hunters, it should mean quite a bit of breeding is going on.

Keep this in mind: rut peak is a term humans came up with, and defined. It is not a rule that deer must stick with.

Keep up the use of grunt tubes and estrous scents. Still hunting or stand hunting both can be very effective. Still hunting is generally a matter of preference since it is relatively difficult. Look for a funnel if you stand. And stay in the woods all day.

Bleech: Rut Just Peaked, But Far from Over

Sarah Smith — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:50:28 -0500

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: In general, deer have been very active through the past few days, peaking last weekend through the central parts of the Northeast Region.

Fighting: No fighting reported the past few days.

Rub & Scrape Making: Hunting partner Mike Stimmell said that the peak of both rubbing and scraping in his nook of the Allegheny National Forest took place last Saturday night.

Chasing: Bucks chasing does appears to be in the peak range, with some variation from one area to another. Marty Harrington, owner of Marty’s Sports in Bennington, Vermont, reports that over the past few days most of the bucks his customers have seen were with does.

Daytime Movement: Many hunters have been saying that deer activity has been primarily tied to the weather. When it is warm most activity takes place at night. Conversely, cooler temperatures bring out deer during daylight hours.

Andy Buschak, who works at Edinboro Outdoors in northwest Pennsylvania, got his Pennsylvania buck, a decent 8-point, with his bow several days ago. He hunted by a food plot, and brought the buck into range with a grunt tube. Now he is hunting in Ohio. Last Saturday morning two bucks chasing a doe passed his stand without presenting a shooting situation. Several of his customers said that last Saturday was their best day. That also was the last day of the Pennsylvania archery deer season.

Estrous Signs: There is no better estrous sign than does being chased by bucks. (See above.)

X Factor: The peak of the rut is winding down in most of the Northeast Region. This does not mean the rut is done for the year. Far from it. Bucks are really cranked up, but with fewer hot does around they may actually be more huntable than they were a week ago. Be sure to carry your grunt tube.

The peak of the rut is not a uniform period of time throughout the region. John Havlick, at Frank’s Gun and Tackle Shop in Gloversville, New York, reported that bucks in his area in the southern Adirondacks are just midway through chasing does. Some nice 8-point and 10-point bucks were taken by customers last Saturday.

Things are happening even later in northern Maine. Don Burnett, at No. 9 Lake Outfitters, has been seeing an increasing number of scrapes and rubs, but said that daytime temperatures in the 50s have reduced daytime deer movements. In that part of the far north this is unseasonably warm. Cooler weather is predicted. One of his hunters passed up a nice buck, either a 6-point or an 8-point this week, hoping for something bigger. Good luck.

I will be hunting with him later this fall during the muzzleloader season, and would be happy to take that buck passed up this week.

According to Burnett there is a saying up his way. “Don’t pass up on Monday what you’d be proud of Friday.”

But there is another saying. “You can’t shoot a big buck if you fill your tag with a small buck.”