Though not as common, We occasionally hear bucks battling or discover spots where bucks have been battling in November.

ERROL MATTHEWS yes

I hunt in November too (in Minnesota). Rare is the year when I do not hear bucks engaged in battle at this time, occasionally enabling me to soon take one of them.

I've never been in Vermont, but being one of the northern tier of U.S. states, I think its safe to assume everything I have to say about hunting whitetails in Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, West Virginia and Maine is fully applicacale in Vermont.

Ken Nordberg what calls have you used in West Virginia?

This may seem strange, but there is no such thing as a high doe to buck ratio, only more does seen than bucks. Human hunters cannot significantly reduce numbers of especially-elusive mature bucks. They are too difficult to hunt. The ways most hunters hunt today makes it even more difficult to see them, much less harvest them-as trail cams are proving these days. Wherever I have used calls or rattling antlers for the first time during my 72 years of whitetail hunting, I've been fairly successful at attracting older bucks to stand sites, but after a few years of this, the survivors in the area will have learned it is dangerous to approach such sounds if human odors accompany them-discovered by learning to circle downwind to size up matters before deciding what to do. Calls and rattling that poorly imitate sounds actually made by whitetails have little chance if attracting bucks 3-1/2 years of age or older nowadays, and once heard, such bucks thereafter ignore them, knowing a hunter is making the sounds.

Ken Nordberg thank you very much

Ken Nordberg how do you beat the deer nose ? I hunt the wind and use scent sprays. Wash clothes in scent away spray .

Vanilla extract is the answer

Basically, you are right, those months are best. Actually, however, I've even rattled up a few in December. The three whitetail breeding periods of the rut ocuur in November, early December and the last days of December through the first week or so of January. During this period, dominant breeding bucks of adjoining ranges not uncommonly battle over does in heat. During the two preceding months, antlered bucks are engaged in establising their square-mile pecking orders (via battling) and establishing intended or actual breeding ranges, at which time they even battle trees while making rubs. Throughout these five months, therefore, there are reasons why bucks may engage in sparring or battling with antlers engaged, meaning, bucks can be sccessfully rattled throughout this five month period-mostly because antlered bucks bucks like watching other bucks battle. The problem is, most hunters have no ideal what a battle between two bucks sounds like. Inept rattling not only dosen't work, except maybe on yearling bucks, but it makes it easy for older bucks to recognize and avoid hunters using rattling antlers. Once learned, mature bucks can't be fooled by rattling.