Ok here goes. Im am freezing my butt off and it is still dark so I got thinking about the rut. The part that has me stumped Is the conflicting stories. One guy is shed hunting and the next gas bucks chasing does. One says it's over and the next says it hasn't started. Are we as hunters just to dumb and nieve. If it is caused by moon phase or amount of daylight isn't that the same in TX or MN. MA or CA. So the rut should be on (within a few days) at the same time about everywhere. Maybe my brain has frostbite this am it is -1 and 10 mph wind. Maybe it was the whisky sour last night idk, but I do know there ain't crap movin.
The Rut will be similar in many parts of the Country, but there are regional variances. I think TX rut is always Jan. and while the peak of Rut in IL is Nov. I have saw bucks breeding does in Jan. and also saw Bucks drop their antlers in Jan. Bucks that are very active in the peak of rut will have a quicker drop in testosterone levels and hence will be some of the first to drop their antlers. Dan
In Ohio you can bet your paycheck that the best time to hunt the rut is the first 2 weeks of November every year. The rut goes a bit later, but that is just the odd late doe and those that weren'r bred the first time. Now that said, the fawns are in heat now around here and my dad watched a nice buck mount one last night. However, there should only be a few fawns that will be bred. I would bet that any doe bred in late Dec or Jan here or in MN is a fawn.
I agree with all the above, but what kicks all this off? Moon phase, amount of daylight what. I know there is charts magaizines print the "10 days you have to hunt". Yet the rut in MN isearly Nov and TX is in Jan-feb. Why?
The Texas rut is weird at times. I saw a buck checking does in late Oct and bucks chasing in early Nov (in NE Tx). I've heard reports that the rut is just now heating up in S Tx. The Hill Country/Central Tx got hot and heavy in early December last year on my lease. It's almost hit or miss down here
I'll be frank with you Teejay.. most hunters IMO don't get it. Don't get the rut that is. It's not a 2 week window... it's not just 1 month.. the moment those bones shed velvet.. its ALL about the breeding season for those bucks. Thats why they gots em. Mother nature didn't make it so every doe comes into estrous at the same time (in any area).. if she did that.. the deer wouldn't last very long... think about it.. imagine if every fawn were born in the same 2 weeks... predation would be high..etc etc. She spaced them out over 3 months. Simply because.. thats how the deer species survives. As far as deer not being on the same schedule everywhere... now your looking at a lack of understanding by any hunter. Deer were nearly wipped off the earth... most every one of our herds are actually a combination of relocated animals from different parts of the US. Georgia for instance.. actually hunts a Wisconsin-Texas line up... for starters.. which is why you can get so many more variances in breeding seasons. I begin hunting the rut those last few (10 or so) days of October... and continue all the way into those first (10 or so) days in December. For me.. that is the 6 weeks window where I still see good rutting behavior... which many times isn't even seeing a deer. The sign left by tracks (deer chasing in circles) and scrapes tells the tale I'm looking for. Oh.. and yes.. I believe both the photoperiod and moon play a role. So.. in a way... I guess I think most hunters are nieve.
Everything in nature is timing. A doe is bred at a time when the BIRTH DATE will give a fawn its best chance of survival. In MN, if a doe is bred earlier than November, it puts its birthing date earlier in the spring when there is still a chance of birth when there is snow on the ground and cold temps which would decrease survival rate. Now, if a doe (fawn) is bred much later than December then the birthing date would not allow the fawns adequate time to put on weight and grow to survive the upcoming winter. In the south, the growing (feeding) season last much longer affording the does to be bred later yet still giving their fawns ample time to grow before winter sets in. I think the rut is much more predictable and can be narrowed down to specidfic dates in northern climates than southern because of the the narrow windows for the species to be succesful.
Actually Duke, throughout the animal kingdom, having a short, concentrated breeding (and in turn birthing) period is how species survive. A flood of offspring in a short period of time allows some of them to survive the predators. The more spread out the birthing is, the easier (and longer) predators have easy pickings. Look at everything from sea turtles, to plains animals in Africa, bird colonies, the salmon spawn…concentrated periods allow animals to survive.
All the above mentioned species are near extinction... or have limited areas in which they live when compared with the whitetail. The whitetail is one of the most adapted creatures on earth.. with one of the largest home ranges too Rybo.. for a reason.
Duke, Rybo didnt give very good examples but he is spot on in his thinking. If fawns were spread out over 3 months, coyotes etc would have three months of great eating. Because they are born the same time, many fawns get to big too fast for a coyote to take advanatge. THis isn't just opinion, there is scientific research backing this up.
Craig, You might be on to something here. This could 100% explain why the ruts In the south and north are so far apart from each other. I've often wondered this myself. Interesting post.
I never said he was wrong.. but comparing salmon to whitetail is absurd. Whitetail are MUCH more adapted.. and it is so because of its lenghty breeding season... and there are many studies that show this. A greater portion of does will get bred at the same 2 week period.. or "peak" of the rut. For this conversation we'll say 60% of them... 20% bred before this peak.. and another 20% after.. for one of the most highly adaptable creatures on the planet.. this is normal... as it DOES allow for greater fawn survival. The idea is simple... since deer are herd animals who don't live in a herd. They are alone.. especially after giving birth. So survival in numbers is incorrect when compared with other "herd" species... thats not how they roll. Also mother whitetail unlike other herd animals DO NOT try and protect their young when attacked by predators like Elk.. moose.. etc do. Whitetail flee. So the idea that all the fawns are born at the same time is ridiculous.. it would cause deer to practically become extinct. A spaced out window of fawn birth gives them more opportunity to survive for obvious reasons. And again.. there are tons of studies on this. I'm sorry.. but a whitetail is NOT-comparable to a colony of birds on Madagascar.
Bzzzt. This is completely wrong. A flood of fawns (or chicks or nyphs or acorns) is done to combat predation. This is wildlife and botany 101. The risk with a highly concentrated fawn drop would be from harsh weather not predators. Fawns will naturally come into estrus later than adult does... They need the additional time to grow themselves. A doe fawn that comes into estrus in late December is still going to go into estrus in Mid November with the rest of the does next fall. A doe that doesn't get bred in November will continue to cycle until bred. That's to ensure that she eventually finds a buck and produces a fawn or two. Has nothing to do with spreading fawn crops out to defeat predation. So there.
X2! To argue AGAINST having a higher survival rate from predation by nature flooding the breeding period with young of the year is absurd. I don't care WHAT species it is.
You are forgeting that WE created all of this. Your thinking is 1950's La Rue and even Darwin likely. Modern science has shown opposite of this for whitetail.. becuase of its transplants.. which we did 100 years ago Chris. While I often appreciate your insight.. it is not true of one of the most adapted creatures on earth. Modern science refutes this. Cause we helped to create it.
Here.. it took me all of 5 seconds to find 1 little article about the whitetail. An animal that is NOT like other herd animals.. and biology 101. http://www.whitetailinstitute.com/info/news/sept04/3.html This is the kind of info. they conceal in books.. however.. I will concede it does also support a smaller window for you northerners.. but you still must take into fact you amy not be hunting deer even from your area originally.
