Enter your e-mail address here. Why subscribe to Midwest Whitetail?
November 19th
Posted By Bill Winke at 11/19/2011 12:00:00 AM
Filed under: winke's blog

20101126084939849.jpg

I killed this buck on November 24 last season.  He is a very old buck I nicknamed
Jamie.  This coming week is still a good time to shoot an old, fully mature buck.

None of the guys from the office hunted yesterday, November 19, so I am going to offer some thoughts about the state of the rut and what you can expect this coming week. 

STATE OF THE RUT REPORT

It sure seems that this year's rut is much like last year's.  Very few of the pro staff are seeing much cruising from mature bucks.  Occassionally, there is an exception, but for the most part it seems that you have to have a hot doe nearby or you aren't seeing the older age bucks.  As I said, it was a lot like that last year too.  So if you aren't seeing much cruising, don't feel you are alone.  Stick with it, that should change some this week.

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEK

If this week follows the normal pattern, there should be some increased buck activity.  This is due to the fact that many of the does are now bred.  In typical years, the number of does in estrous peaks around November 15 throughout the Midwest (and most areas north or the Mason-Dixon line).   

As the peak of breeding passes, we come into a timeframe when there are less and less does in estrous.  Some of the bucks that had does in mid-November are now out looking for them again.  While the back half of the breeding cycle doesn't produce as much overall buck activity as the front half, it always seem to produce more sightings of big deer.

20111120074142213.jpg
Steve Hanson shot this buck somewhere around November 20 or 21 last season.
This is a very old buck that Steve had been hunting for several years. It was out
cruising, looking for any last does in estrous when he came past Steve's stand.
I included a couple of photos of bucks that were shot last season during this timeframe in my home area (one by me and one by a local outfitter, Steve Hanson). These were both very old bucks that were out cruising during what would have been this coming week last year.  I wanted to convey the message that there is still hope.  I was starting to get down on the season and on my luck until Jamie came by and I know Steve was feeling the same thing.  It can all change in a very short time! 

Going back to when I used to do a lot of reporting on big deer killed throughout the country, it always seemed that there was a flurry of giants taken right around Thanksgiving each year. 

 

WEATHER FORECAST

The weather looks cooperative for the coming week, much cooler than the past few days - starting with today (November 20).  This is the rut's last gasp.  I always hunted morning and evening through this coming week and then after November 26, I always went to hunting evenings only.  I know it is great to have the tags filled, but a big part of me wants to be out there.   This coming week is my favorite week of the entire season.  I love the cold, lonely winds of late November. 

Good luck.  It is not over yet!