Southern ID rut timing

[johnsd16]

One son drew a late Nov (15-30) tag for a southern Idaho unit that borders Utah. We hunted it before on a tag that ended 10/31 and of course saw only minimal rut activity from spikes, forkies.

I’m trying to coordinate with the other son’s CO 3rd season deer tag (Nov 9-15).

Is hunting southern ID Nov 21/22-27 “too late”? I’m a believer the rut timing can vary but does tent to have some pretty predictable peaks for a smallish area that may vary 3-7 days year by year. In the panhandle where we live that would be a great time to be out for whitetail.

 

[WeiserBucks]

21-27 is sorta late and many of the better bucks will be dead before you get there.

 

[Timberline001]

I would definitely want to hunt the first 7 days from what I’ve seen. The biggest 5 bucks I’ve seen actively chasing does in northern Utah and southern Idaho were November 13-15th (saw him 3 days in a row), November 17th, and November 20th X3.

 

[Pistolpete28]

In my experience the mule deer rut is earlier in Idaho/washington/northern Nevada, than Colorado or southern Utah. I’ve seen deer rutting in late October in Washington and Idaho(mature bucks not just forkies). Colorado seems to always be at least a week later than other states. I definitely agree with hunting that tag at the beginning, but if the end of the hunt is what you have for time, then it is what it is. There’s always a chance that time of the year regardless of the rut.

 

[johnsd16]

Thanks for the input. Sounds like at least trying to make a 3 day trip that first weekend may be in our best interest.

 

[EricBender208]

I feel it depends on weather. I also hunt S. Idaho and have seen the rut start before 10/31 then some years not until 11/20.

 

[johnsd16]

To avoid being the ask for advice and not follow up guy, this is the buck my younger son shot on the hard to draw rut tag. We wrapped up CO early and drove down Friday after work 11/15 through a blizzard most of the way, got to the hunt area right at sunrise and turned up this buck in the first hour. Initially he “wasn’t big enough” so we hunted around and turned up 5-6 more decent bucks including one that was a mature 3x4 probably 25-26” but no/very weak back forks. Talked to another tag holder about what they’d seen the first day and an half and decided if this one was still around that evening it was a go.

There was actually another guy/wife looking at these deer in the morning for their friend that had a tag but he wasn’t big enough for them that morning either. Got him the first evening 11/16 and he had zero fat on him. The other mature bucks we saw were with doe groups but we did see some 3.5yr old looking 3x3 and 4x4s bedded mid day without does. Going early was definitely the right call.

This buck is narrow but has 6 1/8” bases. Gross 166”.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Great job young man!

 

[dirtytough]

Nice heavy mature buck. Congrats