Perry I don’t see them until late October by me, I’m just in the next county over too.. although the lick branches are getting touched much earlier

@@kylemurray7086 Hi Kyle…licking branches on primary scrapes are established by mature does…in my opinion. Breeding areas and primary scrapes can and often occur yr after yr because matriarch does leave their calling card on those historical licking branch’s. Also not every property will hold a primary scrape. Breeding locations vary just as boundary scrapes can overlap and provide false indicators of rutting activity. Like yourself I believe cold fronts can leapfrog bucks into sign posting activity but does have a preemptive equal say. We tend to focus on the scrapes and rubs because that’s what we can visualize In the woods as indicators of the rut kicking off. So once I locate a primary scrape I keep track of the doe groups and how they travel. Those first does that come into estrus the first two weeks of October are most always yearlings or 2yr olds…ya it’s a complex subject but as you near the peak of breeding or when most does come into estrus that’s the determining factor for increase buck movements…Great stuff to discuss…Good luck

@@perryrusso3764 I’m fortunate enough to have a sizable deer herd move through my yard on a daily basis, and one thing I do notice is the small bucks randomly appear about this time, and the giants (who can be legally killed, but I wouldn’t feel like I accomplished anything) well they come around Halloween and stick around for a few days and are gone again the rest of the 360 days! But if you harass them in any way they are gone and never come back.. kinda my philosophy on October, I don’t even sit my area until around the 22nd or so (this weekend) because the bucks I’m after are not here yet, and I don’t want to lace up the woods with intrusion and scent, once I get a big one daylight, that’s when I go in but be extra cautious, because in my experience, if they even get a hint of you, they disappear for good.. Michigan pressured bucks are tough to kill!

@@kylemurray7086 I have harvested many book deer here in Michigan and most are not in the book. Not all deer/bucks are the same but behaviors, breeding, and survival instincts can be categorized as aggressive or submissive. The ladder is the hardest to kill. Michigans deer herd lacks pertinent buck age structure. As a result, breeding activities are most always done by the majority which happen to be yearling bucks. I know of guys who kill city (Shelby)raised bucks and call it hunting but in reality hunting doesn’t honestly occur in someone’s backyard we’re they are mostly protected. I’m hunting three different states this season and each one represents a strong age structure of bucks. In michigan I’ll pass over 40 different yearlings and one 2 or three yr old. In comparison I’ll pass up a minimum of 25 to 35 different 3 yr olds in Iowa and the numbers almost mirror themselves in Ohio and Illinois. The point is natural occurring buck behaviors are common elsewhere and harvest data suggest other states with a beneficial buck age structure balance produce much higher percentage of satisfied deer hunters and more quality days afield

@@perryrusso3764 I know a few of those guys too, you referring to the guy who trespasses across from coyote joes? Lol and yeah perry I agree, the amount of mature deer in our area is almost laughable, but it’s a product of the heritage and tradition that is, hunting in Michigan.. lots of guys stuck in that mindset.. I know it would cause a lot of uproar but I really wish Michigan would limit to one buck kill tag a season, and mandatory statewide APR.. even if just for 5 years, I really think after seeing the results, a ton of people would be on board with it.. I’m too young to remember you, but my dad and I were big on the QDMA up there in cass city, we hunted off of severance road as well, matter of fact my dad still hunts there every season, and in the last 3 years, him and the neighbor Mike have shot a pope and young or better each.. here in lapeer where I hunt, I haven’t seen but one pope and young so far, and when I asked for permission on a 6 acre piece, i found out of 8 other guys hunting within sight of where this buck was seen.. he doesn’t have a chance!! He’s pretty much dead already, and it’s adjacent to a big chunk of state land with a ridiculous amount of pressure.. they just can’t sneak through the cracks all the time and grow up..

Deer lord you’re right

agreed, wish my hunts weren't 3 hours away either..