For semi-hardwood cuttings, which is the normal rose cuttings, the time to take the cuttings is the end of the first flush. This is usually sometime in June for northerners.

Hardwood cuttings can be taken now. They root outside during the winter, and have to be taken from roses that are reliably cane hardy.

Hi, you can chop down the whole bush, and treat the stems just like you would semi-ripe. i did this a few years ago in October, and I am in zone 4b. If you do it with hardwood method, then you have to wait till next spring for roots, and you lose one year of growing by that method. With my method you need indoor lighting - go to doitbest for cheap shoplight fixtures, or even walmart for cheap shoplight fixtures - depending on your ambitiousness, but that way your bushes will be actively growing and nice size next May, so they start the spring already "running". that's what I do, anyway.

Here is a link that might be useful: how i did it in October with fantastic 80% rooting, active growth etc.