(P) October 16-31 Deer Activity; More Does

After I shot my doe last week, a couple more have been harvested by the Wisconsin Boys. My cousin Steve shot one and a few days later Monty shot one in Wisconsin. They both made excellent shots. Congratulations fellas! This is a good time of year to take does for a few reasons. With the rut around the corner, a good shot on a doe builds confidence for those high pressure shots we will hopefully soon have on big bucks. The does are also beginning to fatten up and the meat won't taste any better than this time of year (before the chasing and breeding of the rut where they lose fat and muscle). Lastly, the more does you shoot before the rut, the more competition the bucks will have trying to breed them. This means they will be more aggressive and receptive to calling or rattling. There is a fine line here though because you still need a moderate herd of does on your property to keep the bucks around. Otherwise they will leave your area in search of more does.

Dad and I will be hunting over the next two days. He is determined to shoot a mature buck this month. I will keep you posted on our success. Happy hunting!

October Dates- Best Times- Places to Hunt
16- 0844 (hunt transition areas for the morning and evening)
17- 0925 " "
18- 1004 (hunt transition areas in the morning and near bedding areas during the evening)
19- 1046 (hunt near bedding areas in the morning and evening), bucks may start the seek faze.
20- 1122 " "
21- 1207 " "
22- 1251 " " Full moon.
23- 1326 " "
24- 1416 " "
25- 1519 " ", Bucks will begin checking does for the remainder of the month.
26- 1610 (hunt near bedding areas in the morning, transition areas in the evening)
27- 1704 (hunt near bedding areas in the morning, transition areas in the evening)
28- 1802 (hunt transition areas in the morning and food sources in the evening)
29- 1853 (hunt transition areas in the morning and food sources in the evening)
30- 1918 (hunt transition areas in the morning and evening), Last quarter moon.
31- 2010 (hunt transition areas in the morning and evening)

* For more information on this topic, read my previous article on Moon Phases (February 2010)