What is the best week for hunting in the Midwest?
Mark from NC asks: Hello Bill, For the past 10 years Robert and I have been hunting whitetails in the midwest. The majority of our hunts take place in central Illinois in the Brown, Schyler, Pike county areas. Over the years we have found that those few magical days of the full blown rut occur somewhere between Nov. 5th and 15th. Even researching Pope and Young, Boone and Crockett entries alot of the larger deer seem to be taken between the 8th and 13th of Nov. Maybe this is due to more hunters in the woods. I hear alot about moon phases affecting the rut. I have even heard that the rut can take place soon after a certain full moon and you have about 12 good days before these big boys shut down. I do realize that does come in at different times. Being that a full moon falls on Oct. 22, 2010 does this trigger a early rut this year? Also will a cold snap have an effect. We are trying to schedule a hunt around the chasing period. I would appreciate your opinion. Thank you, Mark Winke Resp
