Only seeing does with no signs of bucks

[Ajj828]

I'd say today's hunt went pretty good. I covered lots of ground and found where the deer like to move. The thing is I saw 5 does today and not one buck. Is this pretty common for pre rut? Or has the rut already happened? The does were all in the same area and there's fresh poop and fresh tracks everywhere. I didn't see one sign of scrapes from a buck in the entire clear cut so should I hunt  this area again tomorrow? I did notice the does making grunting sounds very frequently. Either the bucks are all hiding and refusing to come out or there area no bucks in the area. Most of the does stuck to the ridgelines of the clearcut in the shadows so I'll set up there again. It's also a very steep 20 acre  downward hill clearcut which is absolutely hell to walk through lol.

[fishngamereaper]

Stick with the area ...bucks will show, it's early...wish I saw some does. Would like to Fill my doe tag. Dang fog, can't shoot what you can't see.

[Mudman]

Normal.  Get used to it and stay the course.  Nocturnal and wise-till rut begins.

[fishnfur]

Yes, I think you got it.  The bucks are hiding and refusing to come out - that is what they tend to do.  Your first 5 or ten minutes of shooting light is your best bet all day so see a buck in that cut, at least until last light.  Don't give up though.  Some silly bucks think it's just fine living in those cuts.  They don't live long.

[AKBowman]

Most likely pre rut hasn't started there yet. Your sitting on a gold mine if you can wait it out. My #1 spot this AM didn't have much fresh sigh at all. No rubs anywhere I could normally find them. They will be there eventually they always are just a matter of being there when they are and having a good wind.

Sometimes I will skip around early in the season. You would be surprised what you will find a few miles away or across a major roadway. One side can be dead while the other side is full blown chasing/seeking.

[PlateauNDN]

You found the does, stick with them. It's still a little early for pre-rut/rut.

[Martinhunter]

Dude don't hang your head it's only going to get better.. the bucks start really heaten up the last few days of October into November and late buck. Hasn't even started yet.. I saw 2 bucks this morning and they were both with does so they might be sniffen around a little.

[WAnoob]

I guess look at the positives  . I went out this am and didn't see any deer nor fresh sign and I was still happy to be in a quiet forest with no rain on the wetside

[deerhunter_98520]

I seen 17 today...2 real small spikes....all the does still had this year's fawns with them....give it time and stick with the does....the bucks will show when the time is right

[Tiger1358]

A lotta hunters would only wish they knew about spot like that. Just stick to that place till the bucks go crazy, probably in a week or so, then you'll find him.

[ruttnbuck]

Once the rain and wind starts then you'll find your buck, they'll stick to the clearcuts more when the weather is stormy , just gotta be patient. With the weather we had today they can hear ya a mile away and they'll be alerted allot easier.

[PastorJoel]

I saw 23 does today in one square mile or so, no bucks.  I hunted another place and covered many miles but saw nothing.

This is the first time I have hunted opening day and it was crazy how many hunters I saw.  I guess I shouldn't have taken out that full-page ad in the paper talking about the buck I got last year and giving out the precise coordinates. 

[Romulus1297]

1 3 point 3 spikes  8 doe. Not bad because I didn't carry a rifle today. Wasn't hunting.

[fishnfur]

I saw 23 does today in one square mile or so, no bucks.  I hunted another place and covered many miles but saw nothing.

This is the first time I have hunted opening day and it was crazy how many hunters I saw.  I guess I shouldn't have taken out that full-page ad in the paper talking about the buck I got last year and giving out the precise coordinates. 

Quite the day!  If I saw 23 does in one area, all in one day, I'd plant my butt there for the rest of the season!  You must have found the spot I hunt in the second area you worked today.  There's never any deer there.  Lots of sign, no deer. 

[JDHasty]

Seeing does during the legal shooting hours, along w/spike and small forkhorns.  Saw a massive four point BT w/brow tines cruising Friday after dark.  Shot a big doe @ ~ 35 yards w/my bow Saturday at the end of the day so my bratwurst problem is solved.  Dogs want to hunt birds real bad and have only been out once so far this year so me thinks I will take a break from deer hunting and humor the dogs.

With this doe I think any divine intervention or just dumb luck I may have had coming has been used up. 

Ya' can't take the shot ya' ain't got and on an elk and on this deer I took facing shots and pulled the trigger while thinking:  This is going to be a hell of a mess to clean. 

But my arrow was just a tiny bit off center and cutting the bone slowed it enough to stop the Slick Trick in the liver after taking out a lung... just about one inch short of cutting the guts open.   On the elk the 200 grain Partition went through the wind pipe, smashed half the heart and exited a couple inches to one side off the butthole w/o touching any of the guts.  How it did that will forever remain a mystery to me.   

[JDHasty]

Once the rain and wind starts then you'll find your buck, they'll stick to the clearcuts more when the weather is stormy , just gotta be patient. With the weather we had today they can hear ya a mile away and they'll be alerted allot easier.

Oh yea buddy, I likes me some foul weather BT hunting.  The worse the better.  My mother worries about me most when I am out hunting in that crap weather, but that is when I do my best work.   

[Blacktail Sniper]

Don't let it get you down, you have found the does...that is half the battle. 

The bucks are generally nocturnal right now and will stay that way until closer to the end of the month when the rut starts kicking in, then knowing where the does are will become clear.

Here are some shots taken last week from our property, note the times as they are correct.  Not one of these bucks has shown its self during daylight...

I have enough pictures to identify one little spike and two three points.

[Blacktail Sniper]

The little spike and the two 3pts:

[Colville]

They may not ever show up at light in the early season.  What you might try if nothing improves is to follow one of he more active trails that leads to your cut, walk it back a couple hundred yards.  In the trees it get's darker earlier and sometimes bucks will stage out nearby the open area.  They are up and moving, but not in the open.   You might catch one that's just gently easing toward the cut but stuck back in the woods till sun down.

[JDHasty]

Don't let it get you down, you have found the does...that is half the battle. 

The bucks are generally nocturnal right now and will stay that way until closer to the end of the month when the rut starts kicking in, then knowing where the does are will become clear.

Here are some shots taken last week from our property, note the times as they are correct.  Not one of these bucks has shown its self during daylight...

I have enough pictures to identify one little spike and two three points.

Yup, that's pretty much how it works for me.  We were in after dark w/our lamps getting the doe I shot out and lit up a mature buck, but the mature bucks are pretty well hunkered down during the day.     

[JDHasty]

They may not ever show up at light in the early season.  What you might try if nothing improves is to follow one of he more active trails that leads to your cut, walk it back a couple hundred yards.  In the trees it get's darker earlier and sometimes bucks will stage out nearby the open area.  They are up and moving, but not in the open.   You might catch one that's just gently easing toward the cut but stuck back in the woods till sun down.

    Two thumbs up on that