Mild but Wild Hunting Weekend

The deer activity continues to ramp up as we approach peak rut here in Iowa. Here's 4 reasons why you need to be on stand this weekend!

Nose to the grindstone! This buck's smelling the path of a nearby doe. May I introduce you to my girlfriend's arrow?

Reason number one, IT'S THE RUT. It's like deer hunting Christmas out there! You never know when that buck you've been after or his bigger brother you've never seen before will come strolling on by. Plan on planting your butt in that stand as long as you can and patience may help you wrap your hands around the gift of big antlers.

This buck traveling in the snowy aftermath of last year's blizzard.

The rut is close to peaking. The rutting full moon will rise on Sunday evening. While that bright ball in the night sky may keep 'em bedded until late, it signifies that the time for the herd to breed is now. Does are coming into estrous all over the place and bucks will be moving to find them. The seeking phase has been transitioning to the chase phase and we are fast approaching lock-down. Last weekend, rut activity in my neck of the woods was tame but a buddy of mine a few stands over reported seeing dozens of deer. Does pursued by bucks with their nose down. So far I've only encountered young bucks on the move, but many hunters are tagging out with big boys and the time is near.

The barometer will fall through Saturday before bottoming out in the evening. Temps will rise until the storm passes. As the barometer rises and the low pulls away, cold air will fill in behind -pushed in by high pressure and a gusty, cold wind.

A storm is moving in! Although it aims to bring unseasonably warm temps, it will bring a boat-load of clouds from Gulf-of-Mexico moisture steaming northward. Cloudy warm is much better than sunny warm as the "apparent" temp will remain close to the actual temps. In theory it wont "feel" too warm. Saturday morning may be best weather for hunting as the barometer falls, foggy/cloudy/drizzly conditions form and temps remain below 55. You wont be the only thing sneaking around in the damp leaves -big bucks seem to prefer the foul weather of an approaching storm. The last storm like this was on Nov. 5th and I had several shooter bucks pop up on trail camera in the soaking rain and "warm" temps.

I'm hoping November 17th will be lucky for me again this year!

This storm will cause the barometer to rise sharply as the temps fall during the afternoon on Sunday. The cooler conditions should keep the bucks moving and may urge the herd into the fields to pack on the calories. A few bucks will duck the wind and head for thick north-south oriented valleys to bed. Still hunting these sly giants doesn't get much better when the wind's whipping and that ground is damp.

Fog, drizzle, mist, heavy clouds and warming temps are likely to make Saturday morning the best one to hunt!

Finally, temps will be comfortable! It's not often we can enjoy 60s on stand in November. Even if we don't see much, I think Heather would prefer the warm scenario vs. freezing temps and plenty of deer. Hopefully, we can get her on her first archery deer. Here's a look at the temp forecast from one of our computer models. Although warm and windy for the most-part, these #s will be accompanied by clouds. I am optimistic that Rut dynamics and the low barometric pressure will combine with clouds to make hunting this weekend one of the best this season.

Model temps Saturday evening. It may be even warmer than these computer estimates.

Sunday morning a sharp front will divide the state from winter-like in the NW, to Spring-like in the SE.

Sunday evening a strong WNW wind will whip in cooler temps.

So make no excuses, and find a way to hunt November 16th & 17th. While you're waiting for a biggun, here's a few articles you might find interesting.
Field and Stream buck rescue

Field and Steam Rut behavior 
p.s. Happy birthday to blog readers Kevin and Jason. You guys are awesome, hope to hunt with you again soon!