When to book a guide hunt this year

[rilebw]

We are headed to Illinois to hunt this year. Hunting by the moon calls for peak of the seek and chase phase Oct 26 to Nov 4th. Lock down or the breeding part of the rut is supposed to happen from the 5th to the 18th.
I have followed the moom phases quite some time now and most of the time it is an accurate way to predict the chase phase. I have never hunted out in the Mid West before and dont wont to risk getting caught up in the lock down. All the camps and guide services are booked out from the 5th to the 14th which is supposed to be lock down. Can any one tell me why people are signing up for thoses dates instead of the peak of the seek and chase phase around the full moon on the 29th?
Thanks,
BW

[pickleguy]

Welcome to the forum.
A lot of hunters don't quite get into all this moon phase lingo. I personally hunt when I have time & don't worry about the moon. I always take vacation the 1st full week of November regardless of the moon.
Not all does go into lock down at the exact same time so there are always bucks looking somewhere.

[rilebw]

Thanks pickle. I am a little upside down with my vacation. I usually take my vacation based on the seek and chase phase of the deer season. Charlie Alsheimer is predicting Oct 26 to Nov 4th to be the peak chase and seek phase. Lock down or breeding to take place on Nov 5th to the 18th.

[SwampLife]

When Charlie predicts that peak rut will be sometime other than normal I am all ears. Other than that he is basically telling you what you already know.

Don't worry about moon or 'lock down', deer do not breed underground for 9 days.

Hot weather and hunting pressure play the two largest roles, by far, in the amount of daytime rutting activity you will see.

[Deebz]

I've lived and hunted in IL my entire life. It's only been the last 3 years I've had a reliable place to hunt where I can actually watch the herd and get an idea of when the rut occurs. I've shot 2 bucks that were obviously in chase/seek phase around November 11/12 weekend. (I teach high school, so weekends are really all I can hunt)... However, I've seen bucks beginning to chase anytime from the last week of October through the first 2 weeks of November, then they seem to lock down later on in November.

I'm satisfied that the moon phase and predictions aren't really all that reliable. Your best bet would be to ask to see the "scorecard" for your outfitter and see what time frame the biggest bucks have been killed year after year and try to book within that time frame. You may see that these times coincide with the dates already booked up...

[Woods Walker]

Having lived and hunted in Illinois also for the past 36 years, I second what Deebz says, and also must add this.....

When it comes to deer hunting in Illinois, DO NOT discount the "corn factor"! The problem with the corn factor, is that you have no possible way of determining what the progress of the corn harvest will be when you get here. In most years, a vast majority of it is already completed by the first week or so of November. But if it's not, then all the moon phases and feng-shui strategies can be knocked into a cocked hat. Fortunatley this doesn't happen all that often. I also like to pay close attention to the amount of acorns that the oak trees are bearing in a particular year. That in and of itself is no deal breaker, but believe me it DOES have an effect, and it can take a year when more corn is still in the fields than you'd like that first week of November and act as a draw on enough does to pull them out of the corn so that you see more buck activity in the woods than you would if there were no reason for them to be there.

In the vast majority of Illinois....and certainly 99% of Illinois where one would pay to hunt....deer are literally within 100 yards or so of tens of THOUSANDS of acres of cornfields at any given time. If they are still standing, and there's not much mast in the woods, then you will have some tough hunting. The more corn that's in the CO-OP and not in the field the better.

The other factor that plays a BIG part...and also which you have no control over or the ability to predict...is what the temperatures will be at that time. The hotter it is, the less visible the activity will be. Note that I said "VISIBLE", because it still will be going on, but just not where and when you will normally see it.

All this said, I can tell you that year in, year out, the time when you will see the most buck activity in the woods is between Halloween and the first week or so of November. Just pray for an early (or on schedule) corn harvest, and cold weather!

[rilebw]

Thanks for all the input. I hunt mostly in New England and the most productive time for me has been around the chase phase. But that being said we have some major pinch points and funnels due to the developement in the area. Also there is no crop present for the deer to feed on so that hasnt been a factor. So early and late season we hunt the deers food (acorn) patterns. Seek and chase you can find me in all the travel corridors.
I have booked Nov 5-9 for this year in Illinois with the Carters.
Thanks,
Brian

[SwampLife]

I have booked Nov 5-9 for this year in Illinois

<---Jealous.