Early Modern or Late for rutting blacktails?

[Pete112288]

In your opinion is the blacktail rut hunting better on average at the tail end of early modern season or during the late season?
Year before last the late buck season only lasted 4 hours for me and I got on more bucks than I had seen ever during a hunting season. All of them were chasing does. I ended up with a very nice symetrical 3 point with eyeguards after a rattling setup. I have been swearing by the late season, but I hear a lot of guys say the last week of early season gets more buck action.
Any thoughts?
I am just hoping to draw one of the tags eventually that give you all the time between the two seasons to hunt, during rifle elk season. Either Souixon or Washougal unit.

[sirmissalot]

Tail end of the regular season for me. But... I haven't made it past general rifle season without filling before. I keep getting pickier, next year I'm going I really have to step it up.

I have gone out for late buck plenty of times but I don't see nearly as many animals, nor the rut activity. They are usually pretty well spawned out by then where I hunt.

[260Rem]

What sirmissalot said.

[snowpack]

the early ends the same day each year (oct 31).  Late varies its start date.  This year it begins on Nov 14, some years I think it starts as late as the 19th.  I'd say this year that late will have some good timing, better than other late years.

[3nails]

 This year could be the exception to what sirmissalot posted. The abnormally warm, clear days during the general season may delay the rut a bit. Also late buck this year is fairly early soooo......... 

[bobcat]

I have noticed with the use of trail cameras that buck activity picks up slightly the last week of October. Then it REALLY picks up the first week of November, and gradually declines during the second week of November. This year with the late season beginning early (the 14th) I think that first day or two could be really good. So get out there and hunt Thursday and Friday. Don't wait for the weekend. By the weekend I think they will have really slowed down. Last year I had a trail camera set up on a major buck rub that had several bucks regularly visiting it the first part of November, during the day. The last of the daytime activity was on the 13th or 14th. After that I only had a buck show up once or twice, and in the dark.

[bigbeamhunter]

I usually wait for late buck last year my son shot a 5x6 and my nephew shot a forking horn on the last day I was looking forward to this years late season
 But for the last week I've been out everyday and there have been bucks with does everywhere so I actually told my self to get serious from wed to mon I seen 17 bucks called in five before I shot mine Monday it should be great late buck.

[AKBowman]

I've been amazed at how much it varies from location to location (sometimes locations far from each other and sometimes location within a couple miles or just across a busy interstate. I used to hubt Skookumchuk and the area I hunted was DONE rutting by late archery. A couple guys I spoke with mentioned the rut starting a little later further north around hwy 2 area and a bit higher in elevation. I found that they were right the rut was hot and heavy the first few days of late Archery.

I've also found areas with good amounts of deer but no rut activity where there was a lot of rut activity across the road or on the other side of a large drainage.

I think as a rule of thunb, generally speaking the last few days of general modern season are the best year end and year out. The bucks that aren't full out rutting are thinking about it and are in pre rut cruise mode (big bucks mostly at night). Than first 2-3 weeks of November you can catch big bucks during the day on camera.

Late season this year should be good. Maybe even into first few days of late archery depending on the herd dynamics of the area. I hunt late archery and I don't even bother scouting any more until middle of October than I hit it non-stop until I kill a deer or run out of time to hunt.

[bigbeamhunter]

I've always know bucks cruise along way during the rut but today I went to go see if I could shoot something with sharp teeth on my gut pile. earlier in the season I seen a buck with a messed up looking rack on the way home I seen a buck cruising through a field he stopped I glassed it and it was the that messed up buck about 3 miles and one big canyon away pretty cool

[Pete112288]

Yea, I have noticed a lot of increased buck activity in one area I was hunting where I had my second doe tag, Yale. Then after I got my doe I switched to battleground a little closer to home to save the gas money and its a place I know better. Nothing, hardly a set of doe tracks. Then Sunday morning along a strand of alders between big timber and reprod there were 17 fresh rubs at 9 am that were not there at 4 pm on saturday. I had spent all day on saturday hunting this same stretch of alders. I had planned on hitting that area hard today and tomorrow morning, but then I got offered an actual position at work instead of being on call 24/7 so I took it. So work instead of hunting. That same strand of alders are where I saw the 2 biggest blacktail I have ever seen when I was early muzzy elk hunting. a fork horn the size of a muley fork horn and a fat heavy antlered 4X4 + eyeguards that was perfectly symetrical to my eye at least. Along with those two I had seen a nice average fork and a 3 point in the same day. I am hoping for a better turn out late season but the way the freezer looks and the little free time I will have makes the idea of turning down a shot at a small buck or big doe a hard thing to do.

[skagitsteel]

This year could be the exception to what sirmissalot posted. The abnormally warm, clear days during the general season may delay the rut a bit. Also late buck this year is fairly early soooo......... 

 

I agree last year they rutted way harder earlier where I hunt with the lower snow levels.  haven't seen any rut activity these last two days with the clear weather

[Ripper]

I shot my buck on the 19th and he was fully rutted up. Swollen neck, piss running down his hind legs, and beat up like he just finished a cage fight!