Weak Start

So this is starting to feel a bit redundant. But, it is what it is. And this is what it is: One of the slowest starts to the deer season that I can recall.

I'm not seeing mature bucks. Heck, I'm hardly seeing any deer at all. I usually expect to see a slowdown in activity this time of year. But this year, it's not a slowdown. It's simply a continuation of the non-existent daytime movement patterns that have been in place since Michigan's archery season opened on Oct. 1.

And it's not just me and it's not just here. The MidwestWhitetail.com guys -- which has shows across the Midwest -- are reporting very little action. Those few bucks that are killed are shot right on the fringes of daylight. I've talked with guys in Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska -- none of them had much good to report.

So what do you do? Well, keep hunting. Just hunt smart. If you hunt in an area that receives a fair amount of hunting pressue, the worst thing that you can do right now is pressure those deer further. Now is the time when a lot of hunters start to panic. They aren't seeing deer and assume that the deer are moving elsewhere. So they scout and scour the ground in search of that "magic" location. Truth is, there isn't one. The deer just are not moving in daylight.

I think that's all about to change however. There should be another week or so of slow movement. Then, probably as early as this weekend, things will start to change. A few does will begin to cycle into estrous early. That will light the wick on the whitetail dynamite known as the rut. Don't get me wrong, we're still two weeks from serious rut action. But more bucks will begin to work scrapelines and prowl around a bit more. I think we'll also see more deer movement in general as winter creeps closer and the deer start to establish a little heavier feeding regime to bulk up. Yes, they've been doing that all along but my notes from years past show that around the 24th-26th of October, I just start to see more deer -- both bucks and does.

Halloween is the day that I live for. To me, that's the official start of the fun. That's when the rut starts to crank and those mature ghosts that I know live here reveal themselves. It's my version of trick or treating.

In fact, I may actually dress up for Halloween this season. I'm thinking of going as a Bone Collector.

Tony Hansen, Michigan