When have you noticed the blacktail rut in your area?

[Pete112288]

I know this topic comes up almost every fall when people start asking "are the blacktails still rutting?" or "have they started rut yet?" But I wanted to ask everyone what they have noticed in specific areas. I know it can vary widely from area to area but I have a map set up that I want to start laying out dates on it across the state to see if there is a pattern. It is a theory I want to test. So if anyone can let me know roughly when the blacktail rut seems to peak and in what unit, and the year if you can, if not the year then just what you have noticed over time. If you have experienced it in several units then let me know all of them. Once I feel like my theory has been upheld or proven wrong I will post up the results and the map on here. Much appreciated.

[bobcat]

From trail cam pictures, mostly in the Lincoln (501) or nearby units, rut activity starts to pick up gradually around October 27, really increases about November 3rd, peaks about November 9th, and dies down to almost nothing by November 14th.

[3nails]

  there may be pockets that vary a touch but what bobcat posted is spot on. In the nw corner it's going fairly well the last few days of oct. Absolutely dead by late buck.

[deerhunter_98520]

I hunt 660 Minot peak and its about what bobcat said..but I've noticed during the late buck hunt there still rutting good in my area....this buck was last day of late buck... And was all swelled up and stinky

[Thehowler]

I think Bobcat is spot on.

[Turner89]

From trail cam pictures, mostly in the Lincoln (501) or nearby units, rut activity starts to pick up gradually around October 27, really increases about November 3rd, peaks about November 9th, and dies down to almost nothing by November 14th.

Same with my area 448.

[Tbar]

If I had 1 day to hunt each and every year it would be Halloween, period.

[Turner89]

If I had 1 day to hunt each and every year it would be Halloween, period.

X2. The 2 biggest blacktail I've shot were on Halloween.

[Tbar]

Late buck can be a zoo,  most Halloweens I have the woods to myself.

[Tbar]

Pete, I'm hunting  in 407.

[Pete112288]

Thats what I kind of expected to be the most common reply on here. The theory I have is a north to south difference. The most hard core rutting action I have seen has been down here in the Battleground unit and southern border of the Coweeman during the late buck season. It has spanned several years as well. One was on our 5 acres in broad daylight a toad of a 3 point came out into our field with his group of 8 does. He was all over them and I grabbed my bow (the only battleground legal weapon I had at the time) and tried after him. I ended up missing right under him at 35 yards because my sight screw was loose and it slid at some point before then. While I was sneaking on him I saw 2 more does and 2 fork horns trying to sneak in on the action and making rubs. Another was my 2012 buck, I had seen 3 different 3 point + bucks chasing does that morning and he was the last one. Deer were running everywhere that day and even though I only saw a couple other hunters, they all said they were seeing the same thing but the bucks wouldnt slow down to get a good shot. Another was last year on a buddie's property. On his 5 acres he saw 4 different fork horns, 2 4 points and a 2X3 all trying to get in on the does. The one 4 point was for sure the big boy, he always had 6-8 does within 20 yards of him and they all were chasing everywhere and making rubs like crazy. My buddy ended up shooting that big boy and in less than a couple hours the other 4 point took over and had all the does and none of them seemed to want to leave that 5 acre place. The last one was on our property we have now. Watched a big fork horn with 6-8 does out in the field. He was chasing them all over the place. A relative shot him and as he was laying on the ground trying to get back up a big 4 pointer came out and tried fighting him. I was about 30 seconds too slow with the video camera on that one. Then again over the years I have been in the same places and not seen even a fresh track let alone even a doe. Most of the rubs I notice when they are fresh are mid to late october which lines up better with what everyone else is saying. But there always seems to be an increase in fresh rubs right at late buck, not as much as october but for sure notable

[Armadillo]

Seen bucks rutting and chasing does on thanksgiving day in my unit (460) the past three consecutive years

[MooseStock]

I my experience over the years the bucks usually start being active about the last week of October. We would usually always see them in that "dumb" state when we were elk hunting in western Washington about a week into November. They are usually still rutting when late buck comes but they seem to be on the downside of it and out of the stupid state....give or take a few days either way...........Les

[sirmissalot]

Based on fawns dropped this spring and the gestation period of blacktails the deer in the Shelton area were in estrus the last week of October. That surprised me, the bucks I see are usually still roaming up until about the 30th or 31st.

Special permit hunts around here the first week or so of November usually produce some great bucks and they are really on the move. With that said I'd say bobcat is pretty much spot on.

[sirmissalot]

I hunt 660 Minot peak and its about what bobcat said..but I've noticed during the late buck hunt there still rutting good in my area....this buck was last day of late buck... And was all swelled up and stinky

Nice trophy picture there...

[headshot5]

Nice trophy picture there...

I just imagine that buck yelling "Freeeeeeeeeedom"  like William Wallace at the end of Braveheart.