Muley rut

[SkookumHntr]

Any opinions on what the best week is for the Mule deer rut timing?

[mburrows]

My un-professional opinion is that things peak the week of Thanksgiving

[Karl Blanchard]

Need more info. Big difference in timing between Arizona and Canada.

[Stein]

In MT, the hunter peak is the last week, no doubt about that where I hunt.

[SkookumHntr]

I’m talking okanogan country Muley’s! Not Montana lol

[cbond3318]

Nov. 9-15

[7mmfan]

Nov. 9-15

No no no. The 10th to the 17th. Definitely the best time. 

I have little experience other than one rut hunt in the Chewuch area. It was dead until the 10th and then all hell broke loose. The weather also went from 50 degrees to 5 degrees so that helped i'm sure.

[dvolmer]

Need more info. Big difference in timing between Arizona and Canada.

Exactly!  On the ranch that I hunt in Grant Co it is usually the last 10 days of November.  December 5th of last year was when I went up and filmed some bucks, they were still rutting late doe's pretty hard.  In north central Montana where we hunt it seems that the whitetail rut is a week or so before the mule deer rut with the mule deer rutting the 10 days of November with usually Thanksgiving being right in the middle of it all.

[Jpmiller]

Isn't the hard and fast rule that mule deer rut peaks the week before you get there or the day after you leave?

[BULLBLASTER]

Isn't the hard and fast rule that mule deer rut peaks the week before you get there or the day after you leave?

Only if you dont get the big one. If you get the big one, it was obvioulsy peak when you were there.

[andrew_in_idaho]

I think Idaho’s peak mule deer rut is the 1st week of November, I usually try and time my hunts to be hunting around Halloween because there tend to be some bucks starting to act crazy around the does. Shot a buck that was rutting hard on October 27th a couple of years back. Chasing does all over the hillside, lip curling, the full gambit


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[Igor]

Biggest buck I have ever taken was a 5x5 in full rut on Halloween Day in Chiwawa.

[Ricochet]

I've spent most of the last seven Novembers photographing rutting mule deer in SE Oregon.  Looking back at the number of photos taken each day gives me a pretty good idea of the activity level and it's been consistently right around the tenth.  I usually leave for home between the 22nd and the 25th because the bucks are starting to band together again and the action drops noticeably.  i photographed several mature bucks chasing does the last week of October.

This buck was already chasing does on October 25th and was missing several points by November 1st.

[cbond3318]

Nov. 9-15

No no no. The 10th to the 17th. Definitely the best time. 

I have little experience other than one rut hunt in the Chewuch area. It was dead until the 10th and then all hell broke loose. The weather also went from 50 degrees to 5 degrees so that helped i'm sure.

The 9th at 2:15pm it turns on. 

[Magnum_Willys]

You want to be in the woods all day on Halloween to get first crack at em - Muleys and Blacktail.  In Montana they go all the way thru Thanksgiving.

[fishnfur]

Peak of the rut dates are not what you want.  That is the date when the majority of the doe are being bred (and the bucks are tending and not searching/chasing).  The week or so before, when the chasing is going crazy is the best time to catch a buck out of his mind and stupid - Blacktail, Muley, Whitetail -  you should (in my simple mind) subtract a week to 10 day from the accepted peak of the rut dates given for an area determined by the region's biologists. 

[theleo]

I think Idaho’s peak mule deer rut is the 1st week of November, I usually try and time my hunts to be hunting around Halloween because there tend to be some bucks starting to act crazy around the does. Shot a buck that was rutting hard on October 27th a couple of years back. Chasing does all over the hillside, lip curling, the full gambit


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Now that's a little disappointing. I've got one of your states draw tags that doesn't start till the 10th. Guess it'll be post rut hunting for me.

[WSU]

The couple times I've hunted Wa in the muley rut it seems like the first week of Nov. is going great.  By the end of week 2 the activity level is noticeably less.  Both hunts started the day after modern elk ended and the first few days were very active.

[Mtnwalker]

I think Idaho’s peak mule deer rut is the 1st week of November, I usually try and time my hunts to be hunting around Halloween because there tend to be some bucks starting to act crazy around the does. Shot a buck that was rutting hard on October 27th a couple of years back. Chasing does all over the hillside, lip curling, the full gambit


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Now that's a little disappointing. I've got one of your states draw tags that doesn't start till the 10th. Guess it'll be post rut hunting for me.

 I always read about Idaho deer rutting early but it’s not what I’ve experienced on my (albeit limited) November hunts in Central ID. The wife has a lower panhandle tag this year so we are trying to choose a week to hunt as time will be limited. Right now we are leaning towards the 9-13th, we have until the 20th

[idaho guy]

In MT, the hunter peak is the last week, no doubt about that where I hunt.

  that's been my experience in Montana too. We have hunted the 18th and 19th last few years and hit the peak for hunting whitetails perfect but have seen little to no action on mule deer. We used to hunt thanksgiving and after and hit the mule deer perfect it seemed. In Idaho I have rarely had a mule deer tag that went beyond a few days into the first of November but Halloween has been when I start seeing rut activity and when we have gotten the nicer bucks. I am going for a mule deer tag in November this year and would guess that week starting the 9th would be perfect. I would like to know how Idahos rut timing is so much different than central Montana it doesn't really make sense to me being fairly close in proximity, climate etc. Also panhandle whitetail seems best the last couple days of November so that really confuses me  .

[idaho guy]

Peak of the rut dates are not what you want.  That is the date when the majority of the doe are being bred (and the bucks are tending and not searching/chasing).  The week or so before, when the chasing is going crazy is the best time to catch a buck out of his mind and stupid - Blacktail, Muley, Whitetail -  you should (in my simple mind) subtract a week to 10 day from the accepted peak of the rut dates given for an area determined by the region's biologists.

I think when hunters say peak of the rut they mean from a hunters perspective and really are talking about the "chase" period not the actual peak breeding period which is slow for hunting 

[Karl Blanchard]

My un-professional opinion is that things peak the week of Thanksgiving

@mburrows tried to return your pm but your inbox is full

[opdinkslayer]

This is an interesting discussion due to the fact I have an Entiat rifle tag this year. I would guess for this hunt you would be looking to combo up Cascades snow & searching for prospective girlfriends? Does anyone have these exact dates so I can finalize my PTO for this hunt?

Blackies over in my backyard are usually somewhere between the last 10 days of October to the first 10 days of November. I caught my blackie last year laid up with a girlfriend at daylight on the 26th of October. I’ve always thought Muleys were in mid to late November depending on geographics.🤷‍♂️ My only experience is in Montana & it seems it varies a bit from year to year but we’ve hunted late towards Thanksgiving week the last 2 trips & it seemed like they were tending Doe’s at that time.

[mburrows]

My un-professional opinion is that things peak the week of Thanksgiving

@mburrows tried to return your pm but your inbox is full

Cleaned out the inbox.

[no.cen.wa]

It depends, if you take your Dad, it will be the last day, the last hour, and on the way out of the woods! But, if he can't go,,, good luck! 
Can't wait to hear your story! I'll try to shoot the big one before he gets to your spot!
Good Luck,
John G

[SkookumHntr]

Haha thanks John! I just wrote this post to get some Muley talk going, i have a pretty good idea where to be and when to be there!

[2MANY]

Mules can't rut.