Rut's on

sbtennex · #1 10-23-2008

No moon looks like it turned on the switch. Last 2 evenings, spotted a couple of dandies acting real stupid, necks up, chasing does. Hallelujiah...

spiceboy · #2 10-23-2008

always good to see. what area?

jasonburrows · #3 10-23-2008

Yup, seen first scrape of the year Delburne area, hard bowhunting though, spot/stalk out with the dry leaves, 6'' poplar no good for my climber, may have to try ground blind, never had much luck with em though.

decker · #4 10-23-2008

I have also seen lots of scrapes, found a dandee just up the road from my place. I also have a couple of fence posts that they work pretty regular.

brewski · #5 10-23-2008

bucks are scraping no signs of chasing does where i am.

Dick284 · #6 10-23-2008

The moon has nothing to do with it.
The does are starting to produce a bit more estrogen and other horemones, and therefore younger bucks get all twitterpated.

The does are not going to even be ready to breed till about the middle of November at the earliest.

When the does are ready to breed the rut is on.

You fellows are seeing pre rut activity, brought about by the photoperiod, resulting from the amount of daylight versus the amount of night.

The moon plays no other significant part in the rut than my Grannies trick knee.

The moon will play a part in the amount of deer movement though.

decker · #7 10-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dick284

The moon has nothing to do with it.
The does are starting to produce a bit more estrogen and other horemones, and therefore younger bucks get all twitterpated.

The does are not going to even be ready to breed till about the middle of November at the earliest.

When the does are ready to breed the rut is on.

I agree Dick284

WTBooner · #8 10-24-2008

The "peak" of the rut is around the middle of November. That's when half of the does have come into estrous. There is a range and some of the earliest does will be coming into estrous in the next week or so. Likely 5-10% come into estrous between now and the first week of November.

savage_pro · #9 10-24-2008

if u think this is the rut u wont believe what happens late november

sbtennex · #10 10-24-2008

Dick 284. Believe what you like, but truth is if no does were bred until mid November, you'd never see fawns born until mid June. WT's are 200 days gestation - do the math. BTW, I've spent 35 years chasing, watching and living in one of the densest WT deer populations anywhere and I'm telling you that lunar phases do affect activity including hormone triggered breeding receptivity - very much so. Cripes, aren't you married? You'll see more and bigger bucks later, granted, but that's second or third go-around for receptive does' behavior. Different amounts of external pressures will change frequency of sightings as they all become even more nocturnal than usual. There are also more bucks breeding in Dec and early January than ever before. It's adaptive reaction to everything from hunting pressure, weather, feed quality and quantity and so on, demonstrating that deer don't require generations to alter their more primeval behaviors. The bucks I've been seeing were anything but young hormone crazy forkhorns. These are big, bullying mature WT's in the rut. Seemed early to me, but I know what I'm seeing.

Dick284 · #11 10-24-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbtennex

Dick 284. Believe what you like, but truth is if no does were bred until mid November, you'd never see fawns born until mid June. WT's are 200 days gestation - do the math. BTW, I've spent 35 years chasing, watching and living in one of the densest WT deer populations anywhere and I'm telling you that lunar phases do affect activity including hormone triggered breeding receptivity - very much so. Cripes, aren't you married? You'll see more and bigger bucks later, granted, but that's second or third go-around for receptive does' behavior. Different amounts of external pressures will change frequency of sightings as they all become even more nocturnal than usual. There are also more bucks breeding in Dec and early January than ever before. It's adaptive reaction to everything from hunting pressure, weather, feed quality and quantity and so on, demonstrating that deer don't require generations to alter their more primeval behaviors. The bucks I've been seeing were anything but young hormone crazy forkhorns. These are big, bullying mature WT's in the rut. Seemed early to me, but I know what I'm seeing.

From November 17th to the end of May is 195 days.(13+31+31+28+31+30+31= 195)
Hmm.
When are the fawns born in Central Alberta??

Talk to any to any game farmer (like em or not) and they will tell you the photoperiod plays the biggest part in the breeding cycle of deer. Coincidentally, any wildlife biologist I've ever talked to confirms the photoperiod, and gee whiz so does my kids biology teacher.

And that's only after 25 yrs of chasing deer.
But hey believe what you want.

have a read here:
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc...9/bio99826.htm
http://bowsite.com/BOWSITE/features/...es/moontheory/

JohninAB · #12 10-24-2008

Dick is bang on. Photoperiod is what triggers rut. Right now the youngens are starting to feel their oats but the big boys will not get going till Mid-November.

WTBooner · #13 10-24-2008

I'm tellin' ya guys, a proportion of the does will be bred before mid-November and it won't just be done by young bucks. When you start to see the big guys runnin' around stupid in mid to late November the peak of the rut is already over. I'm not saying that isn't a good time to hunt but don't think for a minute that the "rut" hasn't kicked-in until you start seeing that behaviour. The peak of the rut is just that, the "peak". Many does are bred before and after that peak. It's really about a two week window on either side. As was alluded to earlier, young females of the year and unbred females will come into estrous in December.

DJS · #14 10-24-2008

I agree with Dick284. Very well said. As far as moon phase, it just affects the amout of daytime movement from what I've seen over the years.

#15 10-25-2008

I believe Dick284 is right about the peak but at the same time the more I read and see the more I believe that some does start much earlier and the big guys are keen on this. There have been some quality deer taken on the first five or six days of the season. Supposedly this has something to do with them being more vulnerable looking for that first doe.

Schatz · #16 10-26-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbtennex

Dick 284. Believe what you like, but truth is if no does were bred until mid November, you'd never see fawns born until mid June. WT's are 200 days gestation - do the math. BTW, I've spent 35 years chasing, watching and living in one of the densest WT deer populations anywhere and I'm telling you that lunar phases do affect activity including hormone triggered breeding receptivity - very much so. Cripes, aren't you married? You'll see more and bigger bucks later, granted, but that's second or third go-around for receptive does' behavior. Different amounts of external pressures will change frequency of sightings as they all become even more nocturnal than usual. There are also more bucks breeding in Dec and early January than ever before. It's adaptive reaction to everything from hunting pressure, weather, feed quality and quantity and so on, demonstrating that deer don't require generations to alter their more primeval behaviors. The bucks I've been seeing were anything but young hormone crazy forkhorns. These are big, bullying mature WT's in the rut. Seemed early to me, but I know what I'm seeing.

Well everyone else can believe whatever they want to. Fact is, hes right.
Bucks I seen last weekend, are alone now... and necks are thick.
Next weekend the Rut is in full.

JohninAB · #17 10-26-2008

Deer I seen today, 40 plus, there were smaller bucks all in with the does, no swollen necks and definitely no big boys

Buckhead · #18 10-26-2008

In my 30 years of whitetail hunting in the 3 western provinces I have always believed that the rut is at its peak on or around November 20 give or take a week either way.

I was out in the field on Friday. Saw perhaps 100 whiteys - probably 15 of them bucks. The bucks do not appear to be breeding at the present, even the smaller ones. I would give it another week before the little guys get started. For the full-on staggering, slobbering rut about 2 more weeks.

However, I have in other years seen smaller bucks breeding as early as the start of October. There are some exceptions to every rule.

blackpheasant · #19 10-27-2008

Buckhead I'm with you on the big guys showing up around the 3rd week in November, the 2 Booner whitetails on our wall were taken on Nov. 19 and Nov.20 on different years, both these deer were taken in the deep south portion of the province and were rarely seen except for those rare 2 or 3 days a year when several does were in heat all at once, I don't need to know why because nobody knows. Cheers,,,,,,,,,,,,