Definitely in NJ. Leaves falling. Bucks light sparring and moving in daylight. Rubs and scrapes everywhere. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Oct 2 and have not had a single frost,trees are not tuning at all yet here with some acorns falling but early rut? We have yet to take out zero crops here and now we are flooded with last nights storms.
JZ i'm with you. Moon Peaked yesterday at 7PM... and that happens again on October 29... I'm switch my vacation! October 24 here we GO!
I like JZ's theory as I hope it explains why I am not seeing any deer! They are locked up. Seriously, I have heard the same thing that younger bucks have been bumping around does since the opening of WI season back on 9/13. The main breeding period of the rut will be around the same couple weeks as every year to ensure the safe birth, growth and survival of the next year's winter for those fawns. This is just mother nature teasing ya'll a little bit!
JZ - I think I mentioned this last night, but I had a doe fly by me as well with her tongue hanging out as if something was running her. I never saw anything behind her, it was during the time that buck was bedded, but I've never seen that this early before either.
I watched a 1.5yr old chase a doe hard at 4pm along a country road the other day for a few minutes on my way home from work. He was RELENTLESS. They're feeling frisky (the young one's at least).
I will be in my best spot Saturday morning and this thread has me thinking I have better chances than I normally would believe. If I get nothing I will walk the property and look for scrapes and rubs and any other sign.
I knew Gore was on to something! It's all just another sign of human caused global climate change! Nothing has ever been proven to influence rut timing other than photo-periods. I wish that wasn't true and someone could truly "predict" rut timing. If someone has a scientifically proven piece of literature that proves, moon phase, weather, leaf color, etc has an effect on the rut timing please share! Otherwise it's all wives tales
I knew Gore was on to something! It's all just another sign of human caused global climate change! Nothing has ever been proven to influence rut timing other than photo-periods. I wish that wasn't true and someone could truly "predict" rut timing. If someone has a scientifically proven piece of literature that proves, moon phase, weather, leaf color, etc has an effect on the rut timing please share! Otherwise it's all wives tales
I found rubs at the end of August this year, even found a scrape 2 weeks ago. Just because the bucks are ready to doesn't mean the does are set. Earlier breading means an early drop for the fawns which we all know in this part of the country could be deadly if they are born too early.
I consider seek/chase/scraping/cruising as part of the rut...pre rut...but still a big part of the ritual. The part that actactually gets me fired up, lol. Your right about the photo-period dictating when the does come into estrus (when the breeding takes place).....But moon phase, weather, pressure, density and other factors WILL influence what the bucks do. I'm with JZ .....we are at least 10 days ahead of schedule here.
I stumbled upon 14 scrapes, and what looks like a highway of deer tracks walking the edge of the soy field. The ground has been really dry, but a few of the scrapes look like they have been freshened since this past Sunday. We are in for some rain tomorrow, I'll get some more info Saturday.
Quit rubbing it in Season doesn't even start here in lower Alabama until October 25th now and the rut doesn't even start happening until the end of January into first week of February. They did adjust the final day now to Feb 10 because of the rut here, thus the push to the right from October 15th to the 25th now for opening day.
I see your from Springfield. A good friend if mine killed an absolute stud in Greenbrier a few years ago (Josh Rector).
Great! That's the perfect scenario in my book. A bunch of testosterone-filled bucks running around looking for love and the ladies aren't ready to give it up. That sure would make calling and scents a lot more productive IMO, which ultimately is what I'm talking about when I say "early rut." I understand that perhaps the does won't breed yet due to biological reasons but it seems to me like the bucks are feeling antsy a little sooner than usual.
I freshened up a scrape yesterday. I'm in full rut year round though so I don't know if that says much. Haven't seen much out of the ordinary though in my neck of the woods.
You're probably right, an earlier pre-rut would make calling easier but I'll bet that you'll see a lot of 1 or 2 year old bucks doing most of the early stuff and the mature ones will still move closer to the "normal" rut time. In a couple weeks borrow those 180" sheds from Richie and see if you can rattle in Bacon
I'm seeing the same here JZ. Big boys are hitting scrapes early and hard. Most in daylight also. I saw a 4 year old dogging a doe on Sept 22 from the combine. That's never happened. I think since the ruthless was so screwed.up last year and the weather this year has been consider ably cooler and wetter. It has them reacting different. I mean I've heard of people grunting bucks in already. And not little ones. Shooters. When Saturday gets here I'll bet someone kills a good one. Hopefully me but who's being greedy.
