Rolane,

Many, many hunters report not observing as many deer during the 2010 rut.  That means there should be several mature bucks that survived until this portion of the season!  Post rut hunting can be great if the bucks haven’t switched to moving almost exclusively at night due to hunting pressure.  I usually concentrate on hunting travel routes to and from food sources.  I do this because deer have been hunted for several months now and tend to be very alert.  Mature deer often avoid open fields during daylight this time of year.

If you are hunting in an area with quality forage, some female fawns should be reaching about 70 pounds.  They tend to become receptive when they weigh approximately 70 pounds.  If that’s the case where you hunt, then hunting travel routes used by does/fawn groups may also provide some rut action as the bucks compete for the few remaining dates!  I harvested a mature buck last Saturday by selecting a stand where I expected several does and fawns to travel.  A mature buck was chasing a fawn – just as I had hoped.

Growing Deer together,

Grant