iDoHunting.com: Buffalo County, WI Late Sept. Deer Hunting Report

The bucks are starting to spar!

With the cooler weather over the weekend, the bucks in our area have been a little more active during daylight hours.

Lip Ripper tagged along with me on Sat. evening and we sat together in the same tree where I shot the wide one last year (shown in my avatar). We saw a doe very early on and then about 6pm, we saw a 2.5 year old buck running down through the tall grass about 100 yards away. He had something hanging from his rack that looked like a corn stalk or a vine. We were both wondering why this buck was running and soon got the answer. Another buck was hot on his tail and chasing him out of the area. He was a 10 pointer about 17 inches wide and we guessed him in the mid 130's. I got the buck to stop with a grunt call and he eventually changed directions heading towards us. He closed the distance to within 70 yards but soon lost interest and headed back up the ridge where he had come from. He was a borderline shooter but most likely I would have passed on him. It was nice to finally see some bucks moving so early in the evening and it was also good to see the aggressive behavior.

This mineral lick is getting hit hard!

As we made our way out to the field, I popped my head over the damn and spotted 10 deer out in the hay about 75 yards away. Right away I could tell one was a mature buck!

Even though it was pretty dark, I could see his long main beam along with some tall tines and he looked pretty impressive. I slowly backed out and gave Lip Ripper my binoculars so he could see him. With no hesitation Rob said that he was definitely a shooter!

Since it was too dark to do anything, we just enjoyed the show. Eventually a doe winded us and then all the deer trotted off into the cornfield. I wanted to return the next night and set up on that buck, but the wind was blowing in the wrong direction

so I decided to leave the area alone.

We got up Sunday morning and we were in our stands by 5:45am. We ended up having two very close encounters with two small bucks (one at 6:30am and another at 8am). Each buck walked directly underneath us. Rob got some good video of one of them so maybe he will post it!

We also checked our trail cameras and got some pictures of two bucks sparring with one another (two different times). I believe they were the same bucks but I can't tell for sure. It's great to see that they are now breaking up from the bachelor groups and are starting to show their aggression towards one another.

Here's one of the little bucks that walked by us.

All in all it was a good one day trip!

We got to see 5 bucks (including one shooter) and a few does and fawns. I spent some time introducing Rob to some of the locals there and we stopped in and saw Kirk Peterson who own Peterson's Taxidermy. As we pulled into his driveway we were amazed to see a 615 lb. black bear hanging from a skidsteer. It was absolutely huge!

It was the first black bear to be harvested in Pepin Cty, WI. The fortunate hunter used a crossbow and claimed he had over $300 worth of cookies into that bear!

We then made our way into Durand and were able to shoot some video archery over at Ryan's Sportshop.

This is a great way to anticipate deer movements and shot opportunities while getting the blood pumpin for your next hunt!

The leaves are starting to change color and it will soon be October. Many hunters consider this to be a slow time of the year, but there are some things that one can do to mix it up. The bucks will start to make more rubs and scrapes marking their territory. Carefully check for sign and once you locate it, try to figure out what this buck is doing and where he’s most likely bedding down for the day.

October is the time for me when I will start sitting in stands just downwind of their core bedding areas. This is a delicate balance because one does not want to be detected and you certainly don’t want to push any bucks out of the area. However, if you are patient and wait for the right wind and carefully map out your entry/exit routes, you can get set up just outside of their bedding area.

Here's one of the fighters from above.

I will also start to hunt more in the mornings. During September, I typically do not hunt a lot of mornings due to the reason that I believe most bucks are already bedded down by daylight and I do not want to push deer off the fields walking towards my stands in the mornings. However, October means cooler mornings and shorter days which will hopefully means more deer movement during the early hours.

October is also a time to try using some mock scrape set ups. Try to trick another buck that you are in his area competing against him for the upcoming rut. Last year, I had some success doing this and got the wide one on camera over a mock scrape set up which helped me pattern him. I shot him 75 yards away from where I had my mock scrape set up.

If you are seeing a buck in an open field or on a neighboring piece of property or if you are having difficulty patterning him because he’s entering the field in multiple locations, consider using a buck decoy to try and lure him into your shooting area. October is a great time to do this (along with rattling sequences) as bucks are showing their dominance over one another.

In my eyes, there is no such thing as “The October Lull”. A hunter simply needs to hunt differently than he did in September. Odds are you can’t sit in the same stands along field edges as you did earlier in the year and expect results. Usually by this time, the bucks know they are being hunted and certainly will be a little more careful entering that food source before dark. Mix it up a little and experiment. Sit in a stand that you normally would not sit in or target an area that has not been touched. Get a topo map of your area and highlight things such as bedding areas, food sources, rubs/scrapes, travel routes, funnels, inside corners etc... Or don’t hunt one night and instead scout your area from afar with a spotting scope or a pair of good binoculars trying to locate a big buck. Always ask yourself what you could be doing differently. No two bucks are the same and therefore don’t assume just because it’s October that all bucks move at dark. If that was the case, I would not have killed the wide one on Oct. 25th of last year. Get a game plan for October and execute it. It should be different than the one you already hunted in September and unlike the one you’ll be trying in November during the prerut/rut. Think outside the box and I guarantee you will either cross paths with a shooter or you will learn more about how you are going to hunt him in November. Good luck and I can’t wait to see a picture of you and your trophy!