By Scott Bestul

Wisconsin bowhunter Lori Smolen tagged this beautiful western Wisconsin buck last week. Though it’s easy to get frustrated during the October “lull,” Lori’s hunt proved that proper stand placement can produce. Of course, a great stand nickname might help, too.

According to Lori’s husband, Scott, they’ve dubbed the permanent platform he constructed in a sprawling crotch of a monster white oak “The Wedgie” stand. “The white oak sits on top of a big draw that serves as a natural funnel for deer that are moving along and over the oak ridge,” Scott says. “We also have a waterhole in there that really draws in a lot of deer. I was in the tree with Lori, filming her hunt, and we hadn’t been there long when a coyote came in. We have a bunch of coyotes around this year, so I wanted Lori to take him if she could. The coyote was watching two squirrels, which allowed Lori to draw on him, but the arrow zipped right under his chest.”
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By Will Brantley

Overall Activity Status: This week’s weather has been turbulent, with warm, windy days dominating the forecast. Despite that, deer activity has been decent, with a noticeable shift away from the mast and back to food sources in fields. Last weekend was Kentucky’s youth season, and that windy weather pattern was in play all weekend. Hunting was tough.

Still, my nephew, Carter Adams, who made a trip all the way from Florida to Kentucky in search of his first deer, managed to shoot a doe Sunday morning. “I told Carter not to expect to see much because it was so windy and warm that morning,” Larry Adams, my father-in-law said. “We had a doe in the field just before daylight, and I was just hoping she’d hang around long enough for Carter to shoot. Well, just about the time it got light enough, she walked into the woods. I kept my fingers crossed that she’d come back, and sure enough she did, 30 minutes later. Carter made a good shot.” [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

Overall activity status: Generally cool weather has kept deer on their feet across much of the region, though some hunters report a lack of mature buck sightings during daylight. Rain fell across Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin over the weekend. Hunters who went afield in the aftermath of the rain saw, and shot, some nice bucks.

Fighting: Though outright brawls have been fairly rare, a Wisconsin hunter shot a big buck that had locked antlers with another mature deer. The buck the hunter killed was still quite strong, the buck on the losing end of the battle was dead, apparently from a broken neck. After tagging his buck, the hunter received a salvage tag from a warden for the other deer so he could mount both trophies.

Rub Making: Rubs are popping up with greater frequency, especially near food sources and in nearby staging areas.
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By Eric Bruce

Overall Activity Status: Movement is picking up quite well lately as cooler weather, increased acorn dropping, and the pre-rut gets closer. There is strong evidence that the pre-rut is actually here in some areas. Reports of bucks following does and making scrapes are coming in from South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana.

Fighting: Some sparring is being reported, and several hunters have trail camera pictures of bucks fighting. The most intense fighting is still to come but there are definitely some bucks warming up and testing their moxie with their brethren.

Rub making: Rub making is a daily habit now for most bucks. With does not yet in heat, adult males are marking territory and venting their frustration on saplings. Most rubs can be found around feeding areas for now, but will expand as bucks begin cruising very soon.
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By Brandon Ray

Overall Activity Status: I can’t remember a more up and down couple weeks of reports. Some friends report big bucks on the move and visible around their stands and caught on trail cameras (but no reports of big bucks riding in the bed of their trucks!). Others report checking trail cameras and seeing only does and hogs where two weeks ago nice bucks were visiting. Those same hunters report sitting in blinds to see nothing. The October shuffle? Maybe the best way to sum it up is decent action in some areas, dead in others.

Fighting: On October 11, I was scouting a river bottom from one mile away at daybreak. Through my 60X spotting scope, I watched two mature bucks lock horns and push and shove each other for perhaps two minutes. Several other deer stood on the sidelines watching. It was not a knock-down-drag-out, but certainly more than playful tickling of tines together. Perhaps setting boundaries of who rules the roost in that stretch of river corridor come November.

Rub Making: One of the fighters reported above walked ten yards after the fight and thrashed a small mesquite tree.
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