Last season I heard some guys talking about a second or even third rut that can happen, based on does who are not impregnated going into heat again. I've done a little google searching and have read others talking about this, but wanted to get some thoughts from everyone on here. Is this legit?
Usually does will go back into heat a few weeks after the first time. So for example her in Illinois the first week or two of December any un bred does might go back into heat. In my experience this second phase is no where near as good as the first just because of the lower numbers of does and alot of the bucks have either been shot or are pretty worn down from the first rut.
You bet it is. The bucks will continue to seek out and attempt to breed as long as there are does in estrous in the area. This can easily last into December and possibly even later. I have lots of trail cam pics and videos of rutting activity in December and January. I killed a mature buck on December 5th that was exhibiting aggressive rut behavior. He was checking a field full of does and saw my buck decoy and came in ready to defend his does. It was an awesome hunt.
Absolutely true. It usually happens in early/mid December around me. I've actually seen some great day time action in the second rut because temps tend to be cooler than in November and that gets deer on their feet. The guys I hunt with have also killed some really nice bucks during that time. November here is a crap shoot. It can be cool/cold and deer will move during the day or it can be hot and all day time movement shuts down. Second rut can be just the ticket.
Absolutely. I shot my avatar buck on Jan 9th last year tailing a doe fawn in obvious estrous. I witnessed the strongest rutting activity Dec 8&9th during 2nd rut. And also missed a giant tailing an estrous doe on November 9th. Its a real thing Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hunter Bob, if you're hunting in Georgia, it may seem like a myth. Everything I've read about southern deer rut makes it sound like it's much more quiet & spread out over a little more time. I don't know if that's true, but ask Skywalker to show you some of his bucks...If he says there is good action to see in 2nd rut, you'll believe him.
There's nothing in the world that compares to the Midwest rut!!! I can't wait to be back out there in a few years! The rut where I hunt in CT is considered slamming if you actually see a buck Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The second rut is just as magic as the first. Some fawns that were born early have their first cycle and does that weren't bred the first go around are hot again. I've had some awesome hunts in the first half of December. I've never seen activity in January (while on stand) but have see some chasing while goose hunting mid January. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Thanks everyone, I guess the consensus is yes, which makes me think about taking some time off in December as well as November. I know that here in the south it is different than the cooler northern zones, which might make the rut more spread out. Hoping that I plan my vacation times right this year to get a big buck!
I'm in MS and our rut is pretty active, not nearly what you see in the midwest but still very active. It does seem to last a bit longer as our does seem to come in to heat a little more spread out than in the midwest. I watched rut activity last year from the last weekend of November/first week of December through the last day of our season in January and even had trail cam pics in early Feb of bucks still working scrapes.
The second phase is a lot shorter maybe a 2 to 3 day window while the third is almost non existent depending on the doe population but can still be found. I have only seen it once on the last day of bow season a few years ago I had a 140ish 10 sniffing around some does
