I have always preferred to kill bucks before they start getting rutty, but things have to fall into place a little more. That Oct 20th timeframe is probably my favorite, because there is something that happens around then that gets big bucks moving… but not throw caution to the wind moving
I like finding big sign as soon as they start making it, and then make a strategy to kill that deer, but you need room to make it work.
The last 2 years it seems people are more interested in staying ahead of other hunters than killing deer, and I have witnessed some bizarre stuff from other people. People have been terrible in my area the past couple years but it seems like they aren’t hunting, they are just making sure nobody else is going to kill anything. Skylining themselves on stumps at gray light with the wind blowing straight to where the deer would be, making sure a mature buck will not come out during daylight until they have to late in the season, so my favorite time of the season has been tough to capitalize on
(I have a good plan for next season though, I found a zone that people don’t go)
I think beyond that little window around the 20th, weather plays a big role to daylight buck movement. Wet crappy weather makes deer move, and the shorter the days, the more that holds true… at some point, there will be a light switch and deer will not be moving and they will not be making tracks. The lockdown can be a frustrating time if you don’t know why you aren’t seeing sign or deer
I still prefer frosty calm mornings after the 20th of October, we don’t get many of them, but they are my favorite conditions. I know raining sideways is a great day to catch a big buck in the open, but I don’t enjoy it as much when I can’t glass, and it feels like you just luck into deer… I like to hunt them deliberately
When we were living on the southern border of the state, and hunting southern Oregon, it was definitely a little behind the central coast, but once it turned on down there it was certainly larger scale… we did have a crazy morning on the 20th a few years ago, we had both killed bucks up here, but we wanted to walk back into this area we saw a nice buck early, and we got back there to find 2 bucks in bow range courting a doe, and the one was a huge dark horned 4pt, the other was the really tall 3 we had seen earlier… pressure is the biggest factor prior to Halloween… find a little zone with no pressure, you can kill a mature buck well before Halloween, and likely within a couple days of the 20th or earlier
Steady pressure, those bucks will not expose themselves until late, or nasty weather. Another thing happened down south around the 25th, any clear morning, it would sound like a war zone until 10am every morning in the road hunting zone, there would be steady shooting until 10ish. I assume those were mostly young bucks getting shot at, but it was all of a sudden
I think daylight buck movement has many factors, avoiding pressure opens up opportunities if you are smart yourself about not pressuring your own program.
People are worse every year, most have lost 100% respect and courtesy for other hunters and have no problem racing in and screwing up anyone’s chances… they don’t get it, and it’s getting worse. I think it’s a mix of Covid times and social media and their stupid messages. Hopefully it’s a phase, but I have my doubts
Finding less desirable spots and being cautious how you personally pressure it is important if you want to see mature bucks before Halloween
If you are happy to join the rat race, hunt late and bad weather, because that’s probably your window to see a buck over 2.5yrs
