Western Whitetails: Welcome to ‘Bucktober'

A five-day stretch in late October could be your ticket to the best whitetail buck of your life.

September 30, 2024 By Jace Bauserman

It wasn’t cold, and I didn’t have a favorable wind. Still, my trail-cam check the week before told me my target buck had walked in daylight twice. That was all the intel I needed. It was Oct. 23, 2023, and after slipping into my ground blind situated over a pond I had dug myself, I stood the Hoyt on the Go-Stix and waited.

An east wind forced me to the ground blind. I badly wanted to be in my lock-on only 20 yards away. I could shoot the pond and my small winter rye kill plot from that stand. From the blind, it was the pond or nothing. Over the years, I’ve honed my hunting strategy, setting up my spots with multiple hunt options. This way, I can adapt to most winds and increase my chances of a successful hunt. I’m a big proponent of letting environmental factors tell me when and where to strike.

The evening went as expected. Eighty-degree temps slowed deer movement to a crawl. Aside from three does and a scrapper 8-point, it was a slow evening.

Then, with the light waning, I heard a stick pop in the plot. Minutes later, my No. 1 target buck appeared. He dropped his head and his gait quickened as he approached the water.

I drew and sent an arrow through the buck’s lungs in a single, fluid motion. His death sprint was short, and my pursuit of a Colorado Booner was over.

The deer marked my third October buck in three years, and each was taken between the dates of Oct. 23 and 27. Here’s how you can do the same.

whitetail deer drinking — When possible, adding features like watering holes and rubbing posts can influence deer behavior and movement on a property and condition bucks to go where you want them. (Photo by Jace Bauserman)

What Makes October Great?

November gets all the whitetail love, and while it is a magical month, it can be highly unpredictable. You may earn an encounter with a banger buck, but if he’s hot on the heels of a doe, that encounter may be your last with him.

During October’s last week, the rut switch starts to flip. Bucks, especially mature brutes, begin to feel the itch. Though very few girls, if any, come into heat during this timeframe, bucks start cruising a bit more.

You will see younger bucks chasing does, but the bigger bucks simply start spending more time on their feet. You’ll notice scrape activity increasing, and if you have cameras set on scrapes, which you should, chances are reasonable that you’ll get some daylight hits. Bucks wander now, freshening rub lines and checking isolated food sources for that first estrous doe.

Chances are also good that during the Oct. 23 to 27 timeframe, Mother Nature will help you out by ushering in a cold front. A temperature dip and a change in wind direction will get bucks on their feet. Plus, barometric pressure in the days leading up to the front typically pushes over 30 inches, which is ideal.

Though the moon phase varies each year, I prefer when the full moon falls later in the month, as was the case in 2023. I love hunting the three or four days leading up to a full moon, the full moon itself and the four days following it.

For 2024, the October full moon falls on Oct. 17, which means by Oct. 23, the moon phase will be waning gibbous. Research and my hunt journal say to spend more time in the stand during the morning. However, weather trumps the moon. If you get a late-October cold front, keep your butt in the woods. And even if the weather is hot and the moon phase stinks, I’m still putting my best foot forward, as this timeframe is a remarkable one.

Take, for instance, where I harvested my 170-plus-inch 2023 buck. I had an excellent idea of where the buck was bedding. My stand and blind were within 150 yards of his primary bedding area, and the buck knew a short stroll would take him to winter rye paradise and a spot where he could slake his thirst.

An enormous community scrape popped up below a cottonwood branch on Oct. 16, and the cedar rubbing post I’d installed 20 yards from both my treestand and my ground blind was getting blazed nightly.

When hunting public or private dirt in another state, I often focus on pushing past the perimeter deer sign. I ignore rubs and scrapes near parking areas and use my HuntStand app to identify swamps and areas thick with trees where bucks can find shade and put a tree trunk at their back. I also pay attention to wind direction. Bucks will typically bed in a location that allows them to rest comfortably with a wind in their face.

When creeping in close to a likely buck bedding area, plan on bumping does and younger bucks. While I don’t practice this hunting style on my home farm, I do it often when hunting on the road. This type of aggressive approach helps you win more than you lose.

Talk to Them

Another late-October play is calling. I’ve found deer, especially mature bucks, are highly susceptible to calling during this timeframe.

I’m not a big blind caller, so if calling is in the hunt plan for the day, I pick a stand that offers visibility. I want to see deer. When I see a big buck working away from my location, I hit him with a single grunt.

My grunt tube of choice is Quaker Boy’s Brawler Buck Call. I like a bulky grunt tube that replicates the sound of a deep, guttural grunt. I’ve had very little luck with narrow, miniature models that allow very little air to escape the tube.

If the buck stops, gauge his reaction. If he snaps his head in your direction, gives you a tail shake and starts marching toward you, grab your bow. However, if the buck never stops, or if he hears the call but resumes walking, grunt again with added volume. If the buck still keeps walking, I typically try a snort-wheeze.

There are dedicated snort-wheeze calls on the market, but this vocalization is easily replicated with the mouth by pinching the nose and letting out a loud pft-pft-pffffft sound. This is a super-aggressive call, and I’ve seen mature bucks tuck tail and run like they were shot at by a .30-06 after I’ve issued a snort-wheeze. But I’ve also seen bucks ignore a grunt and then do an about-face and stomp in to a snort-wheeze. Rattling is also effective during this time.

Rock a Deke

In recent years, I have started using a buck decoy when sitting in a calling stand. During this timeframe, testosterone is rising and the sight of an intruder can raise the temperature of a mature buck.

I set my buck decoy between 20 and 25 yards from my stand or blind and position the fake so it’s quartering away from my location. In my experience, bucks will most often approach a decoy from behind. When they circle to face the intruder, I can draw my bow and get a good broadside or quartering-away shot.

My go-to decoys are Dave Smith’s Posturing Buck and Flambeau’s Master Series Boss Buck. Both do the job. The Posturing Buck does better in the wind and adds an undeniable sense of realism. The Boss Buck is lighter but louder to assemble.

Finally, if you’re wondering where to go, head to an area that does frequent. There’s little chance a buck will come blazing through on the heels of a doe just yet, but you will have bucks come and scent-check the area. If you’re hunting in the timber, which is likely a good morning plan for this year’s moon phase, set your stand between a pair of known doe bedding areas and stay patient. Good things happen in late October.

BEST OF THE WEST

Jumping-off points for an October whitetail adventure.

Whitetail hunting in our region is vastly underrated. In addition to the common whitetail (Odocoileus virginianus), which lives mostly in prairie habitats in the eastern part of the West, we also have Columbian whitetails in the Pacific Northwest (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus) and Coues whitetails (Odocoileus virginianus couesi) in the desert Southwest.

As you begin your research to determine where to hunt a prairie-based buck, consider Montana’s Milk River, Idaho’s Clearwater National Forest, the eastern slope of Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains and the entire eastern half of Colorado.

Another benefit to Western whitetail hunting is that tags aren’t difficult to draw. The mule deer is still the king of the West, and that’s just fine by me.