no tarsal staining yet?

[luvhuntin]

Hope everyone has spent some time outside this weekend, (weather has actually been too nice here). I pulled camera cards today and notice what pics there are of bucks the hind legs show no sign of stains yet. I tried to do some research about how long it takes for tarsal stains to get that way but found nothing specific.I think i`d have to pee down my leg for a long time to get that kinda stain, I must be incorrect.

a roadkill survey on the way out and back today resulted in nothing but old ones from last week so were no where near peak time yet. we did have a small 4 pointer chasing 3 does behind the shop on Thursday. so it seems as rut is slower in Iowa than last year. took a couple of days off next week hoping to hunt but may get the honey DO list done instead.

[charlie 01]

Hope everyone has spent some time outside this weekend, (weather has actually been too nice here)..

Where is here? Here in Illinois, in my travels, I'm finding a lot of scrape activity.

I usually don't see heavy staining, ( from the tarsal gland down to the hoof) until much later and more so on much older bucks.

This last past week there has been several (5) bucks hit by cars that I know of.

[luvhuntin]

charlie
central Iowa, The only encouraging sign I noticed yesterday was a fresh rub on a softball or slightly larger oak 20 yards from the stand i was in yesterday. deer did not move until way after legal time was over. I`m going to sit today as long as my body will let me maybe late morning will be the ticket. Have not found a fresh scrape yet, if it`s slow I might try to make a line of my own and see what happens.

[JPH]

luvhuntin, we're in the same neighborhood.

I've never learned much from tarsal staining. As was said above, I usually see it late in the year and only on old bucks. The 3 year old I killed on Halloween was not stained. As for a rut report? I'm seeing bucks cruising but not much in the way of chasing. I drove I35 from the Missouri border to Hwy 92 yesterday and only 3 roadkill.

The big question for me is, how is the EHD epidemic influencing this rut? After three evening hunts with good conditions, deer sightings are down 90% on my best property! The other variables are that the crops were harvested and the farmer turned his cattle out about a month and a half ahead of schedule. My guess is that it is a mixture of EHD and missing food sources.

[luvhuntin]

JPH

I think your right. I may have to dust off the mossberg this year! I`m curious about tarsal staining because of last year. a guy i work and hunt with shot a decent 3 year old buck last year on the 11th of NOV and if your into keeping tarsals you would have wanted these! I butchered it for him. never had that experience before WOW! I know what the saying rutty old buck means after that.

your season sounds like mine deer sightings are way down 90% is probably what were seeing I can`t even grunt in a stupid 4 pointer for entertainment this year. we have a family group of does probably 12 to 15 between two properties hopefully there just not ready yet and the bucks are nocturnal. there`s been alot of firewood cutting on one of the properties lately also. I just looked at the total deer numbers for Iowa so far only 17095 I`m not positive but it seems we were around 35000 last year at this time. Some county specific numbers 324 in Madison and 519 in warren county boy those numbers sound way low to me. Hope we do`nt have a bad winter and all the does have tripletts!

on the way home today we noticed a doe & small 4pointer bedded in a cut cornfield along I80 just west of Winterset & 2 fresh road kills today.

also got this pic while dreaming in the stand this morning, supposedly a central iowa bruizer at least someone is seeing them.

[Woods Walker]

If those deer are anything like us men, then it's probably the older bucks that have stained tarsals, as well as anything else that's "under the faucet" due to OLD MAN'S BLADDER!!!!.

In s similar vein the reson why older bucks spend more time at scrapes is that it takes them longer to pee!!!!

[USN_Sam1385]

I am trying to remain optimistic, but my sightings this year are the worst in a decade. I usually see a half dozen or more mature deer, be it does or bucks on my main property, at almost EVERY single sit. This year I have seen TWO deer in 6 sits. Wow..... 90% is accurate, maybe more.

I took off November 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11th to hunt this year. Will bow hunt through the 9th and then head to Northern Missouri for 2 days of rifle hunting....

I think the good chase phase of the rut might still be a week or so out... I think the firearm guys in Missouri with opening weekend being on Nov. 10th are going to get the best crack at the deer vs. the bow guys usually getting it in early November..

Only time will tell. Either way, the property I hunt is very depressing with so few deer sightings. We have bad drought and EHD down here as well.

[charlie 01]

Last season here in Ill. many hunters that I know and that hunt different parts of the state remarked that it was the worst ever for deer sightings and I believe it has carried over into this season. But there are some areas that are better than others but fewer. I have a cam. at one of my better spots 24/7 all year. So far this year the amount of my camera sightings are the worst ever since I started hunting it in the late 70's. I keep waiting for things to change, but I'm getting doughtful. It seems like I hear more and in more states about EHD, and couple that with our building coyote populations, is getting to be a serious problem for our deer populations, at least that's what I see.

luvhuntin, you say you haven't seen any scrapes, or very little. I have been noticing that the weather is on the warm side in Iowa, is that right, where your at? It has been on the cool side here and this weekend every place I checked (scouting), there was plenty of fresh scrape activity. I'm sure you, and as I have, seen things slow down when the temps rise. I hope things get better.

[luvhuntin]

LOL woodsie all it takes is a few beers and my pipes work fine! of course that`s at 3am and then they do`nt want to shut off!

JPH
3 friends or neighbors have told me they noticed bucks bedded with does this weekend and i saw one myself so some lockdown was happening last weekend. I looked into deer kill numbers for the 2010/2011 season just over 20000 were taken during archery seasons that year. the last number i saw for youth season this year was 4200 so were down no doubt. but a guy could make a case that the economy is playing a good part in that too. I`m a bit of a geek about these numbers. someday i would love to have a piece of land of my own. and want to know where too look if the time is ever right.

[Sailfish]

The big question for me is, how is the EHD epidemic influencing this rut? .

I just saw MI had over 12K EHD reported deaths. I'm sure the actual number is greater.
I imagine the rut behavior will still go on and most likely the numbers of 1.5, and 2.5 and 3.5 year old deer that were killed by EHD would remain proportionate?? We'll have reports soon enough.