Most hunters I know save every vacation day for the second week of November. This week I try to talk you out of it.

The pitch is contrarian: the last week of October and the first couple days of November might be the best stretch of the season for killing a specific buck. Better than peak rut. Everybody knows peak rut is the show, so let me back that up.

A big Wisconsin collar study tracked 188 bucks across four breeding seasons. Average movement peaked November 5th through 11th, which sounds like an argument for waiting. But there's a difference between hunting a buck and hunting bucks. Early November is great for seeing deer. It's not great for finding the one you've been watching since July, because some mature bucks leave their home range on breeding excursions, and others live in separate ranges miles apart. Peak rut gives you maximum opportunity and minimum predictability.

Right now he's cruising and opening scrapes, but he's still tied to the beds, trails, and core area you spent the season learning. That's the sweet spot. Hunt late October for a specific buck. Hunt early November for any buck.

Also in this one: how to actually hunt it, why mornings get good again, why the terrain between doe bedding areas beats sitting over the groceries, and when longer sits start making sense. Plus why Minnesota's firearms opener on the 7th makes this the last quiet stretch for bowhunters, and what I do with the week before it every year.

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Explicit language.