MO rut kicked in full swing yet?

[buckster]

Well Lord Willing, I'll be headed up to my place in SW MO starting Thursday.

Just checking the scouting reports.  What stage of the rut is everyone experiencing?

Thanks!  

[Cyclic-Rivers]

saw some chasing last week. rubs and scrapes were popping up all over.

saw great buck movement! good luck.

[kennym]

Smaller bucks trying to chase does, does aren't having much of it so far. I'm gonna take vacation as soon as I think they are serious!! LOL

This is N MO, 50 miles from IA

[manitou1]

I live in the West-Central Truman Lake area.  Weekend before last... new scrapes and rub activity increased.  Small bucks chasing on two evening hunts... grunting.

Last weekend I watched a 135" class buck dog does for about 1/2 hour around my stand but no shot.
Had a VERY nice buck 200 yards behind my house cross a cut bean field mid day Saturday.  Had a 160" class buck trot across the same cut bean field Sunday afternoon, from one patch of timber to another... obviously "window shopping" :-).  It is really heating up around the areas I frequent.

[manitou1]

Also, my 12 year old niece killed a 3.5 year old 11 pointer Saturday during Missouri's youth season.
Truman Lake area again.  He followed a doe pee trail my brother laid down on the way in to the stand site.

[Don Stokes]

I'm in SW MO- bucks have been chasing for over a week, and in the last few days my game cameras have seen some big ones cruising in daylight. I can't get out again until Saturday, and with the rain leaving and temps dropping, the next couple of days should be hot! While I was resting Monday and avoiding the rain, the cameras showed that big bucks went by two of my stands.  :(  This weekend could be huge!

[TRAP]

It's a magical time to be outside in the Midwest.

DD

[Bowwild]

Starting to see some promising action but no craziness yet where I'm hunting in KY.

[Mudd]

I saw my 1st buck trying to keep up with a doe Tuesday evening/night.

The farm has really surprised me this year because I've seen more bucks than does.

Non of the bucks I've seen were showing any physical signs of being in rut.

I did experience non-visual evidence of a rutting buck...lol I could smell that dude.

I had just play a game of tag with an 8 pointer and when he quit playing with me I decided to take my pac-seat off my back and sit down. (I just wanted to give all of that adrenaline that had been created a chance to dissipate.)

I was faced into the wind near a wet weather creek in a little bottom that is one of my favorite spots when I got a whiff of something familiar.

Now it had my attention and I started to focus on what my nose was trying to tell me. I could tell it was coming from across the creek,.

Man! Is it ever thick over there..lol All kinds of brush, green briers, wild grapevines plus what looks like a thicket of very small saplings.

I about wore my eyes out trying to pick him out of that mess before the wind swirled a bit and he let me know that he had smelled me as well...lol

Once I get more time(still hunting but home doing hunting clothes wash) I'll tell about my close encounters with two different 8 pointers and a doe that still lives because "The Amazon Lady" is too quiet...lol

God bless,Mudd

PS: We got a deep cold snap overnight so I fully expect things are going to pick up in a hurry.

My plan is to hunt as much as possible before the gun hunters hit the woods on the 16th.  The state is celebrating my birthday this year by opening gun deer season on the 16th....lol

[Don Stokes]

Got home at 5 yesterday and changed the card in my driveway/security camera to find that a very large 8 pt. had crossed the driveway road 20 minutes before I got there. He probably watched me drive by from the 30 acre high-grass field he was headed into. I'll be hunting the stand I have there Saturday! It's a buck corridor.

[manitou1]

Watched a 130 class following does tonight, then he got in a fight with a similar buck.  They fought for about 3 or 4 minutes... but they were definitely trying to kill each other. It was an awesome evening in the stand.

[kennym]

Buddy saw 3 bucks after 1 doe yesterday, biggest bred her twice right out in front of him!

[Don Stokes]

Yesterday when I checked my driveway cam, yet another big buck had crossed! This one is a big 10 with the end of his left antler broken off. Tomorrow can't come quickly enough... The bucks are really cruising right now.