The 8-point monster clearly hadn’t read the calendar. He was tearing down trees, scratching hogs in troughs, and harassing does like it was the peak of the rut. Instead, it was October 8th, and I remember that date because my dad not only shook and grunted, but almost got a chance to slam-dunk. But the buck zigzagged when my dad assumed it would zig.
It’s pretty sorrowful that an entire month’s reputation is based on a handful of days when hunters traditionally have a tough time figuring out deer. I’ve heard all sorts of explanations for October’s seemingly penniless hunting, and over the years I’ve joined the ranks of scores of hunters who’ve been swayed by the myth that the tenth month is something to endure until things get right. While some of October’s bad reputation is understandable, there’s also a lot to love about it. Here are three reasons.
Shut up, you son of a bitch
We all know that CHW (conventional hunter wisdom) loves the idea of the October “lull” – a period when deer become annoyingly elusive, supposedly due to a pointed drop in their daily activity. Well, dousing CHW with icy water isn’t always simple, so it’s nice when science can back you up.
According to research by biologist Mark Conner at Chesapeake Farms in Maryland, male movement did nothing but escalate as fall progressed. Conner’s radio-collared males averaged 1 1⁄2 miles per 24 hours in delayed summer. By October, they increased their distances to 2 miles per day, and of course, in November, they really got their running shoes on, covering 2½ miles per day. What’s even more captivating is that Conner’s males did not shift these trips to the night to any significant degree throughout the fall, meaning that the venerable excuse that “males have become nocturnal” is pretty lame.
But hey, I’ve been bowhunting long enough to know that October can be tough. So what’s up? I have a few suggestions that have worked well over the years.
First, food sources can change dramatically this month. Males can be very apparent in delayed summer and September, when they regularly appear on field edges and food plots. However, in October, other food sources become available (acorns, apples, persimmons, etc.), and to make matters more challenging, they flower near and among the dense cover where females feel most comfortable.
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In addition, the woods simply look and feel different to whitetails now than they did a few weeks ago. Trees and underbrush are shedding their leaves daily, and that once-dark grove of maple trees now resembles a spotlit scene. Remember that whitetails—especially mature deer—are stealthy predators who like to live incognito whenever possible. So a deer that was content hanging on a north-facing slope before the leaves fell may move its favorite spot to the opposite side of a hill, to the edge of a marsh, or along a weedy streambed where it simply feels safer.
Finally, October deer simply feel more hunting pressure than they did earlier in the season. Other hunters (miniature game, waterfowl, fall turkeys) and leaf-gazing hikers and cyclists have been lurking in the woods, pulling deer from their protected hiding places for weeks.
So what’s the solution to these twists and turns? Lace up your boots and burn some boot leather on your midday scouting trips. Identify modern food sources, find shady and secluded places to sleep and travel, and nail down fresh deer tag. Then set up stands and hides in response to modern information, and you should be back to deer hunting. Focus your efforts on icy fronts, when whitetails are most energetic. If you’re focusing your efforts on those heated days when you should be hiking with your family, you’re doing it wrong.
Secret Mini-Ruin
It took me many years to realize that not every doe in a deer herd was bred in November. When biologists describe the estrus, they typically employ a bell-shaped curve illustrating the peak of breeding activity, which occurs at a fairly specific time period for their region (in my area, it’s usually November 8-15).
Most of us (OK, maybe just me) have a tough time understanding that some females are bred on either side of that peak. Because of their birth dates as youngsters or because they are missed during peak estrus, these females come into estrus before or after their reproductive peak. And because a male can mate a female as soon as she sheds her velvet coat, these females will be bred no matter what month that is.
When the lithe bulb finally came on for me, I started paying attention to October breeding activity and I didn’t have to look far. Several taxidermist buddies had led me to some great deer marked in early or mid-October and when I discovered the cull dates, I realized they were almost always within 28 days of peak estrus. Now, a significant portion of my October efforts are devoted to this period and I have rarely been disappointed.
Breeding activity won’t be anything like the November madness of opening the corks, but I don’t care. I’d rather jump on the single-doe activity than try to filter the chaos that comes with 70% of the female deer in heat and the deer running around like college kids at a fraternity picnic.
How do you get into this early mini-rut? Well, if you’re not doing mock scratching, rattling and calling and treating this period like November, you’re missing out. And just like my dad and I discovered with that substantial 8-point buck described at the beginning of this story, keep your eyes peeled for warm signs and energetic deer.
Every fall I hear guys describe a freshly burned mark or thigh-thick bandage they found in October as “probably made at night.” Well, hell, a lot of deer marks are made under the cover of darkness, but if it’s November, we’re hunting them anyway. Why not do the same in October? It could just be a mark made by a very energetic deer, ready to find love before dusk.
Prelude to the Big Show
Any NFL fan knows that the Super Bowl is often referred to as the “Super Bore,” and if you really want to see some great action, watch the playoff games leading up to the main event. I feel the exact same way about the deer rut. Of course, November is when all the ink is collected, and like the Super Bowl, you’re half-crazy if you don’t at least turn on the TV to watch some of the mayhem. But if you’re really grave about tagging a substantial whitetail, delayed October is the time to do it.
Why do I hate November? It’s plain. Of course the deer are more energetic then than they are all year round. And of course, the eleventh month is full of more magnificent deer and fascinating deer behavior than any other month. The problem is that killing a substantial deer – especially a deer you know well – can be maddeningly challenging. Instead of sticking to familiar areas and following fairly predictable patterns, November deer are like popcorn seeds in a sea of warm oil: you know they’re going to explode, but it can be annoying to predict the direction.
Worse still, male activity in November largely depends on the reproductive readiness of females. If Mr. Big doesn’t find a willing mate within his range, he will travel across the country until he does, and we will watch the trails empty.
Conversely, the last eight to ten days of October are often characterized by mating behavior and similar levels of activity, but without the frenzy. Testosterone levels have reached critical levels, especially in mature males, but almost no female is ready for love. So what does a male do? He knocks down trees, makes moose wallow in mud, and burns off frustrated energy as he patrols his territory like a restless night watchman. If you’re tuned into where a male eats, sleeps, and checks on females, October is when the red-hot scratch line has led to a cluster of abrasions. That’s the best time to kill him there.
I learned this many years ago when I killed my first mature deer with a bow. I had spotted a 12-point, heavy-antlered buck during a summer observation session, happily feeding in an isolated alfalfa field. When the bow opener came along, I had sat in that spot once or twice without success.
However, a scouting trip in the third week of October revealed a rash of sign near the field, so I immediately hung a stand set up in the field for my first afternoon hunt. Just as the sun hit the western treetops, I heard a deep grunt and the same deer I had seen two months earlier jumped into the field.
After scattering the feeding does, the 12-pointer jumped the fence to check his scrape and a few seconds later gave me a 10-yard chip shot. I later punched in the date: 10-24. And I’ve loved October ever since.
