2018 Rut - When to take off?

All - Its that time of the year again and I need to get my RUT vacation request submitted. Lets hear some thoughts on when the slobs will start to roam.... 

Cheers 

Well put "man"  gave me goose bumps... we absolutely love the next few months!

Same conversation every fall about this question. When will rut be? Succinctly answered...end of October and early to mid Novemeber, same as it is every year.  There's an obvious reason bow hunters set THAT time for vacation days. Hunt now, mosquitoes and tough to see through leaves.  Hunt early October to mid-October, so beautiful in woods as colors arrive. Middle of October forest floor lights up as colorful leaves drop and suddenly we can all SE through timber so much more clearly.  You can and will see deer through all these phases as woods and draws are where they reside.  But rut?  Same time as every year. Good luck hunters. Nothing like the serenity of quiet mornings as sun rises and filters through the leaves or the gentle zephyrs of late afternoon and early evening when the shadows get longer and the deer get on their feet.  There's a reason we all love this time of year. Wait another month and the hormones will surge through the antlered veins of the whitetail and you will see perhaps even more movement. My two cents worth....

The last 5 years I've shot bucks between Nov. 10th and 13th. One was tending, the rest were cruising or chasing.

I'm with you unclesmallie! Photoperiodism is the the calander to go by.

All of october and november.Just be retired.

Take off whenever you can between Oct15 and Nov15.

Last week in October and the first two weeks in November. Be in the right place at the right time in those three weeks.

My hope is to take November 1&2 off and hunt a 4-day weekend.  Only snag in that is my son gets braces the mornng of October 30th.

I know Mr_Spike is just being a jag as he starts this thread every year, but I'll share my thoughts anyway based on my experiences in south central and central Wisconsin over the last decade of hunting.  In my experiences, the best chance to see big bucks is the first week of November.  The best chance to kill a big buck is the last week of October.  I've seen more big bucks on their feet during the daylight that first week of November than any other time, but they are usually on a mission.  Either nose down to a trail or in actual hot pursuit.  You really have to be in the exact right place at the right time to get an arrow in them.  The last week of October seems to coincide more with just seeking where you have bucks wandering around looking for a hot trail to follow.  Likely to see less but a better chance of killing the ones you see.  Just MHO.

I'm taking the Monday, Thursday, and Friday off of gun season also.  I was going to take the whole week like last year but wanted to save a few extra days for ice fishing.

I've been waiting for this thread to kick off. 

I take off 2 days before Halloween,  return the Monday after Thanksgiving.