I'll keep this as short as possible but just thought I'd mention a detail I found real interesting. Everyone knows the earth, moon, & sun orbit in a repetititve cycle(stating the obvious). And although not exactly repetitve the phases nearly repeat every 8 years. Now the interesting part for 2009 bow season the moon phases are almost exactly what they were in 2001(1 day difference). So if you have any field notes regarding the 2001 rut or any data about that season as far as activity it might prove useful again this season. I found quite a bit of information on rut activity for that season on random websites and some results from a C. Alsheimer study for that season that I quoted below: "In 2001 things were again on target, but earlier than in 2000. The rutting moon was November 1st, and where the air temperature was less than 45 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, chasing was reported to be intense by everyone collecting data. By November 10th it was obvious that the breeding was full blown, and by November 20th most of the primary breeding was over. So, because of the volume of data collected, the past two years have provided great examples of what can be expected in the future." From the other thread Best Times for '09 season on pg.2: Im just sayin..........
Exciting news..I doubled up in 2001 taking nice bucks in Texas and PA. Does that mean next year models 2002...NOW THAT would be exciting.
Yes, 2010 cycles are within 2 days of 2002. Haven't found much info on that season yet except this: http://www.charliealsheimer.com/ca/articles/art_understanding.html Anyone have any rut info from 2002? Someone on another site stated that the 2010 rut predictions from D&DH are: "The rutting moon in 2010 will be Nov. 20th. According to Mr. Alsheimers predictions the prime seek-chase phase for 2010 will be Nov. 16-27th and the prime breeding window 2010 will be Nov. 22-Dec.6th. These dates are for north of the 35th lattitude." This seems very late to me and I disagree with that prediction based on the fact that the first new moon of autumn 2010 is October 7 meaning approx Oct. 3-11 will be completely blacked out nights and shorter days triggering doe estrous cycles and a ramping up of testosterone in bucks. So I think roughly 30 days from Oct 3-11 is the week of Nov 2-10, 2010(breeding) and the days prior to that we'll say Oct 25ish-Halloween(seeking/chasing). Again that is just me I am completely convinced that the 2nd full moon of autumn or the "rutting moon" as it is commonly referred to does little to trigger the actual onset of rutting activity, the triggers have to come before the rutting moons time frame(mid November usually) considering the fact that a does cycle is 30 days and also from a biological stand point bright light stimulus decreases reproductive activity in deer it does not stimulate it. I do live in VA and since the photoperiod North is different the dates there usually seem to be several days later than ours. I've been comparing rut dates from parts of Canada to mine the past three seasons and our prime days seem to be near the second week of November whereas the dates I've seen posted from some parts of Canada indicate the third week as being hotter(but still pretty close).
