What's the deal?
Posted By
michigan
at
11/19/2009 12:00:00 AM
We all know that Michigan's gun season coincides with the peak of the rut in Michigan thanks to the Nov. 15 opener. But this year the gun opener didn't hit during the peak of the rut. It hit just as the rut was really starting to fire up. Why? No idea. But the serious rutting activity did not begin for me until about the 10th of November and was starting to pick up.
With all of the hunters that we have in Michigan, the deer quickly wise up to the pressure and alter their patterns. The rut, I'm certain, continues to crank at a fever pitch. But the vast majority of that action is going to occur under cover of darkness.
I'm actually out in Kansas this week. Every year I travel out of state to bowhunt the rut. For me, this is a great way to really observe and compare the rutting behavior between Michigan and other Midwest states. I can assure you that the rut is full-blown and on fire right now. Bucks are cruising at all times of the day here and if you see a doe, you better be looking for the buck behind her. Because there WILL be one.
I wish I knew what it was that would make the rut hit later this year but I have no doubt that it did. For Michigan, that's certainly had an impact on the number of good bucks that were killed during the bow season. Coupled with the fact that tons of crops are still standing and it looks like the late season could be good this year -- if you can find an area where the deer haven't been pressure into adopting completely nocturnal patterns.
And, yes, I did kill a good Kansas buck. I shot it on the first afternoon after seeing the same buck cruise past less than 30 minutes after settling into the stand for the first time in the morning. It's probably my biggest buck to date and I got some pretty decent self-filmed footage. We'll share that with you next week. And, hopefully, we'll have a good Michigan buck or two to put on the ground as well.
Tony H.
With all of the hunters that we have in Michigan, the deer quickly wise up to the pressure and alter their patterns. The rut, I'm certain, continues to crank at a fever pitch. But the vast majority of that action is going to occur under cover of darkness.
I'm actually out in Kansas this week. Every year I travel out of state to bowhunt the rut. For me, this is a great way to really observe and compare the rutting behavior between Michigan and other Midwest states. I can assure you that the rut is full-blown and on fire right now. Bucks are cruising at all times of the day here and if you see a doe, you better be looking for the buck behind her. Because there WILL be one.
I wish I knew what it was that would make the rut hit later this year but I have no doubt that it did. For Michigan, that's certainly had an impact on the number of good bucks that were killed during the bow season. Coupled with the fact that tons of crops are still standing and it looks like the late season could be good this year -- if you can find an area where the deer haven't been pressure into adopting completely nocturnal patterns.
And, yes, I did kill a good Kansas buck. I shot it on the first afternoon after seeing the same buck cruise past less than 30 minutes after settling into the stand for the first time in the morning. It's probably my biggest buck to date and I got some pretty decent self-filmed footage. We'll share that with you next week. And, hopefully, we'll have a good Michigan buck or two to put on the ground as well.
Tony H.
