Adam Crews of Down South Hunting provides a whitetail rut update for Kentucky. Location: western Kentucky Rut stage: peak rut Current buck movement: 8/10 Projected buck movement: 9/10 The buck activity in Kentucky could be described as intense for yearlings, but less than moderate for older class deer. Throughout the first week of November, if a doe were to pass underneath the stand—a buck would not be far behind. Out of the three bucks that were over three years of age, no

TJ Unger of The Virtue TV provides a whitetail rut update for Indiana. Location: northern Indiana Rut stage: seeking Current buck movement: 8/10 Projected buck movement: 10/10 Activity is certainly picking up across the Midwest. Based on my recent hunts, I think this part of Indiana is still in the seeking phase, but we're not far off of full on chasing. Immature bucks have been a common sight, often with their nose to the ground or pushing around does. Our cams have show

Mitch Kerfeld of Rookie Outdoorsmen provides a whitetail rut update for Minnesota. Location: central Minnesota Rut stage: chasing Current buck movement: 8/10 Projected buck movement: 9/10 With temps dropping and harvest wrapping up, the rut is going to be very visible in Minnesota this week. The last 10 days have made the difference and we have now encountered mature bucks chasing on almost every sit. A handful of bucks have been responding to calls, too. The firearms open

Byron Horton of The Whitetail Experience provides a whitetail rut update for Ohio. Location: central Ohio Rut stage: pre pre-rut Current buck movement: 4/10 Projected buck movement: 6/10 With temps dropping this week, I made sure to get some treestand time on Thursday and Friday. I was running-and-gunning on public land, finding fresh sign to setup on like small rubs and hub scrapes. Although I didn't see much for deer movement, I predict this will be an ideal location t

Andrew Giles of Midwest Creed Media provides a whitetail rut update for Illinois. Location: southern Illinois Rut stage: pre pre-rut Current buck movement: 3/10 Projected buck movement: 7/10 With temps in the 80s, the daylight action has been slow besides does moving just before first shooting light. Mature bucks are even harder to come by, with much of their movement taking place well before or well after dark. Young bucks appear to still be traveling together, but that

Rick Taylor of Tennessee Turkey Hunter provides a whitetail rut update for Tennessee. Location: central Tennessee Rut stage: summer to fall transition Current buck movement: 4/10 Projected buck movement: 8/10 I've been hunting some field edges and mineral sites since our season reopened on September 22nd. It had been raining on opener, but let up with about an hour of shooting light left. Not long after, a few small bucks fed on acorns that just started dropping and I sp

Alex Gall provides a whitetail rut update for Wisconsin. Location: northeast Wisconsin Rut stage: summer to fall shift Current buck movement: 3/10 Projected buck movement: 7/10 Typically on our land we don't see many mature bucks throughout summer because they spend their time in the neighboring ag fields. Once corn fields come out and bucks lose their velvet, our property becomes relevant again for deer. This year, that held true again as we were able to identify three

Jake Grages of Daybreak Ranch provides a whitetail rut update for South Dakota. Location: central South Dakota Rut stage: end of summer pattern Current buck movement: 3/10 Projected buck movement: 7/10 Almost all bucks have shed their velvet of the last few weeks and are shifting from their summer range to fall range. The loss of velvet, dissolving of bachelor groups, and maturing of crops all at the same time has really thrown deer for a loop. A good example of this is t

Brady Miller of The Virtue TV provides a whitetail rut update for Nebraska. Location: western Nebraska Rut stage: end of summer patterns Current buck movement: 5/10 Projected buck movement: 8/10 Most bucks have stripped their velvet off by now and are switching out of their summer patterns. There has been a lot of new bucks show up over the past week as they are transitioning out of their core summering areas. The unseasonably warm temperatures have greatly affected the deer

Josh Smith of Wild Carrot Scents provides a whitetail rut update for Kentucky. Location: northern Kentucky Rut stage: summer patterns Current buck movement: 8/10 Projected buck movement: 6/10 With the sweltering heat of the southern sun beating down, treestand time can require real commitment. Fortunately, deer are currently very active during daylight hours and provide a good deal of action around sunset. Batteries and SD cards are earning their keep right now on our scrap