Eastside Rut Activity

[Rutnbuxnbulls]

what dates do you guys consider the "Peak" of the rut for NE WA an Idaho?  If you had 1 week to hunt, what dates would it be?

Thanksgiving week, starting about the 19th.

Agreed. Sometimes even gets better over the course of that week (for whitetails).

Why I bow hunt them late. Bigger deer come out in daylight. Less hunters screwing up my hunt. Stay home and cozy. I’ll be in a tree freezing my ass off just for one chance!

[RugerRay]

Watched a 2 point and a little basket 3 point locking horns yesterday afternoon in the field in front of my house. 30-40 does out there, but nothing pushing them around or chasing going on.

[buckfvr]

2 good bucks following, scent checking, lip curling from one doe to the next about 500 yards apart, young bucks still hangin around does showing off but to be sure less deer means less activity, less competition as a few decent bucks can cover most of the does.  Im seeing fawns/yearlings on their own as mom is out on a date, and I see lone mature does feeding (not on bait piles) and bedding down solo and those are the ones I watch, not the ones where the young bucks are.

[hunter399]

6 miles walked yesterday in snow.
Seen 6 does about 1 doe per mile.
Not one buck with any of them.

[Sandberm]

I hiked a few miles yesterday in my spot, got up onto a high spot where i could see a good distance with my binos...didn't see one deer, and only a couple tracks.  Like almost no signs of life bad.

This time of year i usually see at least a few groups of does, perhaps a buck or 2 with a fair amount of evidence of movement on game trails meaning there are deer in the area somewhere. 10 years ago I'd see lots of deer. If herd sizes are cyclical i guess we haven't hit bottom yet as I have noticed a decline over the past 5 years 

The only good thing was i only saw one set of boot tracks. 

[Moe the Sleaze]

NE corner. After seeing no signs of rut activity all last week, we have finally started to see scrapes and chasing the last couple of days.

[kramman]

Spent this a.m. in the n.e. corner seen does bedded out in the open with fawns. All on private no chasing that I'm seeing. Son coming in today hopefully we can get on a whitetail here in the next couple days. But I was surprised all the does I saw still had fawns and no bucks.

[Ridgeratt]

Spent the last week watching a south facing hillside and haven't seen a single deer moving on it.
But they are there after dark and all night long.
Right now, I have 6 does and fawns in the pasture and not a horn to be seen. 

[Ridgeratt]

10 minutes ago, had a basket head 4 point show up and promptly chase all the does out of the pasture.

[TeacherMan]

Little bucks are rutting hard

[Lincoln4]

NE corner.  Yesterday where I was hunting the deer were moving all morning and into the afternoon.  Several spikes chasing does.  Today, just a few does acting unpressured.  Haven't seen anything better than those spikes...

[mburrows]

Can’t speak to NE WA but the WT here in MT are rutting hard right now. Took the spotter out on a short walk today with the dogs and watched a field full of deer. All the bucks are harassing each other and chasing does.

[hal]

20 does and 2 bucks chasing in ellensburg yesterday. hwy 10 near 97. In a private field w/ alfalfa

[ALLTERRAIN]

North east of colville right now, have  seen 1 scrape this week. Few does and a couple of small 3 points following but the big ones  have been staying nocturnal still here.

[jstone]

Mburrows stop rubbing it in.!!