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[Bridget Peral]

Thisis Week 5 of the 2023 Game & Fish Regional Rut Update, our series of exclusive weekly rut reports from the field by whitetail contributors Doug Howlett (East), Darron McDougal (Midwest) and Josh Honeycutt (South). As gun seasons open in many states this weekend, here's what to expect:

Ask any wildlife biologist who understands whitetails and they all will tell you that wherever you live, the peak of the rut occurs the same time, every year, without fail. Weather conditions, hunting pressure, even local habitat and food sources, can all influence what a hunter sees on the ground. However, the rut doesn't "happen next week." Similarly false are the "it came in two weeks early" statements or the ridiculous "there wasn't a rut this year" grumblings.

I was on the same farm Sunday evening and saw 10 deer, including one doe being chased by a good-sized buck, during the last two hours of daylight. The next day, I hunted nearly the entire day and saw one little 4-point just before dark.

Lockdown? Maybe. The big bucks that were wandering on their own last week, and were so visible during the day, grew scarce over the weekend. But maybe I was just sitting in the wrong spot as well. Certainly, observations from around the region are all over the place right now.

In Connecticut, "The Outdoor Drive" podcaster Trevor Berwick reports there has been a lot of great activity in the past week. "Bucks are on the move, nose to the ground searching and searching," he says. "It is really starting to pick up! This coming week should be the week."

"I have seen a very high uptick in harvested deer pictures in the home area," she says. "I have had no bucks on camera and on the nights of the 8th and 10th [of November], I got good bucks traveling on camera. It should only get better."

Michael Wheeler has been on the ground, hunting and scouting both Vermont and New Hampshire. He's seen numerous bucks cruising this past week in search of does and groups of does still together. But then earlier this week, while still-hunting, he came upon two different bucks that had does pinned down and he called another in with a doe bleat. The bucks are eager and are going to be after does hard this coming week.

"I think it's fully on in some areas with more balanced buck-to-doe ratios like southern parts of New England and New York," he says. "Farther north, it's going to be happening for the next week or two. It will be better than right now."

In Maine, Chris Cobbett has been monitoring about 25 cellular-enabled trail cams across the western foothills. He's seeing bucks still in search mode and just starting to pin down does. "The rut is upon us," he says. "It's shaping up to be a great season."

While some bucks will be locked down with does, as soon as other bucks finish, they'll be cruising in search of another. This can equal big opportunity for hunters in the woods at the right time and place. It's important now to work travel corridors and feeding areas. Does that have been bred, and even those that haven't yet, will be looking to feed, while bucks will search these areas looking for that one doe still ready to go.

Indeed, in both West Virginia and Maryland, reports show things have been a little slow, but plenty of bucks are still hitting the ground at the hands of hunters. However, with regard to the rut (and gun season), this week should be prime time.

"We are one week away from the main event, the rifle buck season," former West Virginia game warden Larry Case said. "While some chasing by bucks is being talked about, the general word on the street is it is still a little slow. I don't know why. It has cooled down some. You would think that would help. But, in general, the rut doesn't seem to be really cranking just yet."

Tristan Taylor in Maryland thinks it will be a "trickle rut" this year, with sporadic activity of great days mixed with slow days depending on where you are sitting. "This weekend through the day after Thanksgiving, there are always a couple of unknown, very mature bucks showing up," he says.

But this fall carrying a .50-caliber Thompson/Center Omega inline, he was hunting an open drainage that was surrounded by thicker, recently timbered mountainsides. While trying to avoid making any more noise than necessary in the crunching leaves, he spotted a flash of movement ahead of him.

Lawson stood motionless between two trees, and the buck stepped into sight a mere 70 yards through the open woods. "I shot and the buck took off," he says. "He was quartering to me, and I hit him a little farther back in the ribs than I had intended."

The buck ran as Lawson rapidly, and nervously, reloaded. He quickly got to another hilltop, from where he spotted the wounded buck still on its feet. "I was able to get another shot into him," he says. "This time he was quartering away."

The buck ran another 30 yards before collapsing. Lawson was awestruck as he approached the buck. "I just walked circles around him looking at him from every angle and he just seemed to get bigger and bigger," he says.

The buck was within reach of my rifle but only 3 1/2 years old. He was locked down with a doe in some of South Dakota's terrain breaks. As I scanned the surroundings, I noticed another 3 1/2-year-old buck about 200 to 250 yards away from the pair, obviously looking for a chance to swoop in and steal the doe.

While following up with longtime whitetail expert and Bucks & Bulls Archery owner Gary Hintz, he mentioned that he's noticing a mixture of lockdown and chasing behavior in Illinois. He says now is prime time. He saw four bucks on Sunday, and his son shot a nice one that day, too.

"They are responding to calls a little bit yet," he adds. "I've seen just about every single phase of the rut over the last few days. I've seen chasing. I've seen bucks locked down. And I've seen lone bucks out searching."

In Iowa, Whitetail Freaks' Kaleb Kisky shares his latest observations. "Honestly, we seem to have had a major die-off of our mature bucks," he says. "But the ones we have left are all locked down with does. If they break away from their does, the frenzy occurs at night when they hook up with another doe. Mature bucks are moving very minimally during daylight hours right now."

For Tosha Boyd, the Kentucky firearms opener "has always been like Christmas." However, Boyd's toddler resisted staying with a babysitter last Saturday. So, her husband Brandon decided that they'd simply bring their young son along.

"Since it was too late to go to our intended blind," she says, "we went to one of our favorite glassing spots. We had just gotten comfortable when I looked down at the bottom and noticed a big buck staring at us. He gave us a side view and we identified him as a buck from our trail cameras. Before I could shoot, he took off with his doe. But he circled back around and gave me a quartering-away opportunity at 187 yards."

She says that dropping the big buck in his tracks with her husband and their almost 3-year-old son beside her has been the highlight of her hunting career. "It was a quick season, but I'm so thankful for how everything panned out," she adds. "Just when I thought there was no chance we'd see anything, God basically said, 'Watch this.' My son just might be my good luck charm."

Technology-rich binos, such as Bushnell's large selection, have become one of the most important tools in the modern hunting game. Having the right binocular tucked away into a hunting pack or hanging from a hook in a treestand is vital to success during the whitetail rut.

Another week of deer hunting brings another rut update for the South. In South Carolina, whitetail expert Travis Sumner says things have been wide open the latter part of October and moving into early November.

"Chasing and cruising are being done by more mature bucks," he mentions. "Warm weather slowed things down in the past week, though. Starting to see more of the lockdown stage of the rut here. Bucks are still responsive to grunt calls."

Outdoor television veteran Tim Andrus has been hunting in the Texas Panhandle. He says that "small bucks are feeling the itch, scraping, et cetera." However, recently, increased temperatures have stymied daytime movement.

All Things Hunting's Kyle Barefield is in Oklahoma, and things seem to be heating up there as well. "Our mature bucks have disappeared from the cameras set over corn feeders," he says. "I feel like this activity is a week earlier than years past. I think a lot of the big bucks are cruising right now looking for does about to come in heat. They are thinking about the rut, and not food, now."

Personally, I hunted with my father for the opening weekend of the Kentucky rifle season. We witnessed numerous bucks chasing does. On Sunday afternoon, he shot a great buck as it followed does into a cut soybean field. And on Monday afternoon, I had a cell-cam video of a yearling buck breeding a doe. So, I'd say the rut is on.

Eventually, it reappeared. On Nov. 12, he hunted the buck again. His stand was in a small, narrow field in the middle of a couple hills with big timber that runs into a cedar thicket. The deer use the area as a travel corridor, and this big buck followed that script.

"I heard a deer coming in from behind me down the hill," Larese says. "I could see one coming through cedar branches. He ran down the path, locked up to my right, threw his nose in the air, and I thought I was busted."

The big buck stomped, looked around and took a couple steps forward. That put him in the open, and Larese took the 18-yard shot. It connected, the deer mule-kicked and fell after a short, 20-yard dash.

Many days in the salt start with catching bait, as success often depends on having fresh herring, pilchards, mullet or other forage. And once it's caught, bait needs to be kept lively to attract the attention of gamefish. In this episode, we discuss ways to accomplish both for a great day on the water.

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