I remember this time of year from my old days of being an accountant very well. I would be studying different articles discussing moon phases and what other people thought was the best time to take vacation to hunt whitetails. It almost always ended within the same time frame around the early part of November. I would pick my week and hit the send button on my email, putting my season on the line basically for a week, hoping and praying I made the right choice. Ever since I have gotten to make a career in the outdoor world, I have learned so much more, and I also think we as hunters have learned a lot more. Every year, we gather more data and knowledge, making it easier to predict the unpredictable. So, I am going to give you one more article to read, if you will, on my opinion and reasoning as to when you should be taking your vacation time.   

Did you know that, on average, Americans receive just 11 days of vacation time? If you are like most, those 11 days will not all be in the woods. You will find yourself probably on a beach somewhere at some point, and maybe months later in November cursing out the weatherman as he delivers the dreaded news of some warm temps. There are so many factors to consider, it is endless; I cannot predict the future any more than you can. The only thing we can predict is that the rut phase is unpredictable. Whether it is your target buck leaving the farm to go searching, the lockdown phase, or temps forcing the bucks to chase does at night. So many times, I have left what should be the rut with more questions than answers. 

What kind of hunter are you? 

Some of us can control our food sources, while others do not have that luxury. Does that mean you cannot kill a great whitetail? If not, not necessarily. If you are the person who has food plots or can bait for whitetails, then in my opinion, stay away from the rut. If you are still reading after the last sentence, I will tell you my reasoning if you have not already guessed it. Your big whitetail guys that consistently put down great whitetails often do not like the rut; it is random, and you cannot put any type of consistent behavior to your target buck. Now, if you are a public land warrior or simply do not have the ability to control your food, then you are probably what the neighbor fears most. His target buck leaves for a day or two, looking for a doe, and you happen to be in a tree he happens to chase a doe by. So, to be clear, if you do not have food and do not usually have a buck patterned, then I still think the second week of November in the Midwest gives you your best odds.  For me, if you creep into the third week, you may get a great rut hunt, or you will find most of your older bucks already have does, which at that point can be a very tough hunt. I think it is better to be early than late, bucks will still be active during daylight hours, and that at least gives you a chance, even if the rut is not in full swing. 

If not the rut, then when? 

It is too bad most workplaces do not allow you to submit “first October cold front” on the blank part of your vacation request, because I would do that every time.  If you can guess this time frame, then great, otherwise I love the 3rd or 4th week of October, bucks start to make scrapes, often they are gearing up starting to daylight, but they are still not quite ready to leave the trusted cover and bedding that they know very well. The issue with October is that, generally, it is not a good time to hunt mornings. If you have food, you are likely not going to what is your best spot for a morning sit. I’m a firm believer in waiting until November before you hunt mornings, and at that point again, you’re playing the random game, which can literally happen at any time. 

The 4th quarter   

For easy math, if you wait till gun season or that early December timeframe to take your vacation, you have truly stacked the odds in your favor. If you put in the hard work to scout and plant, then you should reap the reward of your target buck finding his food source in the later part of the season. That’s only if your significant other has no plans, which, if they know better, they know that November is off limits. Every year, you will see on Facebook someone shoot a world-class whitetail on the opening day of gun season. People knew the deer was in the area and had trail cam pics, and some lucky hunter who did not know he was even there was the lucky one to put him on the wall. My theory is, a buck of that caliber is hunted hard by bowhunters, and when he feels the pressure of everyone taking vacation time during early November to chase him, he pushes his doe into a thicket somewhere he feels safe, and that sometimes just happens to be a property that will go untouched until gun season. Then, you guessed, once opening day rolls around, the buck finds the pressure and someone capitalizes on the opportunity. So one of my favorite options is if you hold your vacation until gun season, there is a chance your property come late November or early December will be in great shape, very little pressure throughout the season, and a better chance at colder temps forcing deer to go to the food.   

The common theme is that having food makes life easier; it gives you more options. I apologize if you were thinking I would give you specific dates, like November 4-10, that you could copy and paste into your PTO request. The fact of the matter is, I know people on both sides, the public land warriors who find success in November because they know how to hunt travel corridors and pinch points. I also know the hunters who manage properties for whitetails and find most of their success in October or December.  But I bet if you ask some of those guys, they will tell you the same thing: the rut is too random.  Whether you take my advice or call me crazy, I wish you all the best of luck this whitetail season, and I hope the warm temps on your vacation time are only if you are spending it with family on a coastline somewhere.