How the rut works in my area

[Native Hunter]

The following in how the rut works in my area. It will be the same in many (although not all) areas of the country - only that the times will shift a little bit. Also, weather and other factors can make a difference in the intensity at various times.

Rut as a whole (October 5 through January 5): It begins slow and ends slow. It's like a modified Bell Curve with almost nothing at each end and peaks somewhere in between. But, it's possible to see rutting activity anywhere within this time range.

Crazy Week (November 3-9): This is the highest intensity of buck movement. You are likely to see anything. This is the most likely time to see a buck you have never seen before. There is no better time to bow hunt in KY. And, this is happening just before the gun opener.

Peak of Crazy Week (November 8): Or either day on each side of it. Magic!

Peak Lockdown (November 13-17): A buck and doe can lock down at any time during the rut, and breeding can happen at any time. But this is the highest point of breeding activity.

Second Peak of the Rut (December 12-19): Notice I didn't say "Second Rut." I said "Second Peak of the Rut." There is a difference. The rut is happening during the whole period I mentioned first in this post. But there are two peaks. The first is in November and the second one is 30 days later in December. Does that didn't get bred the first time may come back in, and yearling fawns may be bred as well. Bucks may be less wary now than they were in gun season. They sense that hunter activity is less. They are also eating a lot, trying to gain back some weight, so food sources are important now.

Just had a hankering to post this. Let me know if you see the same or different in your area.

 

[MarkDarvin]

There used to be a chart floating around the web showing the intensity of the rut by growing zone or the further north you went. It basically showed that the rut was a very tight window in the far north and into Canada, but as you went south, it smoothed out and went on much longer.

 

[Chainsaw]

Our peak day of the year here is between Nov. 6 and Nov. 14. The second peak of the rut are the 4 days after Thanksgiving. And here also there is no second rut, just two peaks with breeding or chasing happening throughout the entire rut with varying intensities. Yearling fawns have been observed being chased throughout the rut, whether any yearling fawns are bred early in the rut or not I do not know.

A few large deer are often taken in late October; In the first few days of Nov. is also a good time to wake up early and hunt lots of hours here as well. It seems when it is hot and humid though like 60 and 70 degrees and up that early AM or at dusk are usually our only chances, rut or not.

And I hate hunting in the rain;in the old days of still hunting in the rain, open sights, and any deer was a trophy it was the best; these days I prefer beautiful but cool sunny days with steady wind directions for stand hunting.

 

[pinetag]

The following in how the rut works in my area. It will be the same in many (although not all) areas of the country - only that the times will shift a little bit. Also, weather and other factors can make a difference in the intensity at various times.

Rut as a whole (October 5 through January 5): It begins slow and ends slow. It's like a modified Bell Curve with almost nothing at each end and peaks somewhere in between. But, it's possible to see rutting activity anywhere within this time range.

Crazy Week (November 3-9): This is the highest intensity of buck movement. You are likely to see anything. This is the most likely time to see a buck you have never seen before. There is no better time to bow hunt in KY. And, this is happening just before the gun opener.

Peak of Crazy Week (November 8): Or either day on each side of it. Magic!

Peak Lockdown (November 13-17): A buck and doe can lock down at any time during the rut, and breeding can happen at any time. But this is the highest point of breeding activity.

Second Peak of the Rut (December 12-19): Notice I didn't say "Second Rut." I said "Second Peak of the Rut." There is a difference. The rut is happening during the whole period I mentioned first in this post. But there are two peaks. The first is in November and the second one is 30 days later in December. Does that didn't get bred the first time may come back in, and yearling fawns may be bred as well. Bucks may be less wary now than they were in gun season. They sense that hunter activity is less. They are also eating a lot, trying to gain back some weight, so food sources are important now.

Just had a hankering to post this. Let me know if you see the same or different in your area.

This is spot on for what we see here in VA! Since we have the same hardiness zones it makes sense. Great post!

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[pinetag]

And I hate hunting in the rain;in the old days of still hunting in the rain, open sights, and any deer was a trophy it was the best; these days I prefer beautiful but cool sunny days with steady wind directions for stand hunting.

I hear that! I used to hunt any weather conditions but I got tired of not seeing anything, especially during hard rains, and then having to come home and take things apart and clean them to prevent rust. Now I'll hunt in a drizzle but I don't really like to and I also try to avoid days where the temps exceed 60. A sunny day with highs in the upper 40's/low 50's is what's most enjoyable to me and that's why we're out here right?

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[Buckly]

My area closely mimics Chainsaw's. Peak is always Nov 2 - 12 and then there is a second peak the last week of November after thanksgiving.

 

[dogghr]

Pretty good synopsis there Native. It is a shame that the deer don't read our thots or the mags cause you just never know, but I agree. Some years I see an aggressive second peak but most years not so much. I also have hunted obviously many a year in WV and also the far north of Canada and the midwest. More often than not, i've taken my best bucks the fri or sat before Thanksgiving. I think the bucks have been breeding heavy at that time, and happen to be between Ho's that particular weekend and are bar hopping looking for fresh talent thus are on the move a lot. Just my theory.
The real game changer in a lot of states is the season now begins in Sept and by Nov the smart bucks have caught on that it is hunting season. Between the bear seasons, early youth, early doe, they are much more skiddish by Nov than they used to be, especially in a state like WV where nearly 2/3 the residents have a liscense.

 

[SwampCat]

Those dates almost exactly mirror our rut here in SW Arkansas. The peak rut - we see a lot of bucks running around, but not as many big ones. We dont see as many bucks the second peak - but that is when we kill the big ones.

Interestingly enough, only 150 miles south, their peak is around Christmas and still very active in January

 

[Cap'n]

I'd have to say our" Crazy Week" is actually 2 weeks. 7 days before Thanksgiving and 7 days after. That's the time when our bucks drop their guard and are easiest to observe or harvest. After that it gets tough. Even does react to the hunting pressure when gun season starts (Nov. 17th this year) and change routines. Then after all the gun hunters go home it gets good again from mid Dec to mid Jan.

 

[j-bird]

Rutting activity here really picks up on sunday's....because the #$%@ing deer know I got to go to work the next day! I swear they do it on purpose!!!!

2 years ago I was hunting on a sunday evening and I had a buck grunting like a pig and chasing a doe all over in the neighbors thicket. That doe would pop out into the field once in a while and that stubborn SOB knew better than to step out after her. This went on for an hour or more until it got dark. I'll bet my last dollar that the following morning that brute was standing out in that field at that does side!!! He KNEW I had to go to work the next say...I just know it!!!!

 

[Drycreek]

The rut will drive you to drink here Native. From Late September on the Gulf Coast to mid December in S Texas, and everything in between. But where I hunt, yours is pretty close to mine. Biologists say it's because of all the different areas the stocker deer originally came from, but I don't know. We didn't have many deer here until the screwworms were annihilated. Hell, you had to get to a newborn calf in a few hours if you wanted to save it. I was just a kid, but I remember it well.

 

[weekender21]

The NC rut map is "all over the map".

https://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Hunting/Documents/Deer/Deer-Rut-Dates-2018.pdf

 

[Deadeye]

Ok time to make your head Spin.
Here in Florida the Rut and Hunting Season begins in South Florida in June-July and ends in the North West Florida Panhandle in January-February.

There are 4 distinct Zones in Florida, with one small Zone west or Orlando that runs with the Panhandle. Go Figure.

With the Current 2-Deer a Day Limit with Archery being 2-Bucks, 2-Does, or 1 of each, then in General Gun 2-Bucks Per Day. You could legally shoot about 200-300 deer if you hunted each zone and got the daily limit.

The FWC has suggested a new Limit of 3-Bucks and 2-Does per Year, and most of the Hunters here lost their mind. Forums blew up with comments like "I need X Deer to feed my family", "stopping me from killing Bucks won't help the bad hunter kill one".

 

[Podad]

Native Hunter your description of November is exactly what we see in NE Ga.
where are you.

 

[Native Hunter]

Native Hunter your description of November is exactly what we see in NE Ga.
where are you.

I'm in South Central KY. It's interesting that we are so much the same.

 

[Native Hunter]

The NC rut map is "all over the map".

https://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Hunting/Documents/Deer/Deer-Rut-Dates-2018.pdf

The first thing I noticed when I looked at that map was two of the counties right near the middle - Lee and Harnett. The map shows 21 days difference for peak rut in those two counties, yet they border each other. Similar examples can be found at other places on the map. That makes me doubt the accuracy of any of it.

 

[X-farmerdan]

Just some personal thoughts from an old man in Virginia that come from observation and objective study, for whatever it's worth. We have at least five different physiographic provinces; the Coastal plain, the Piedmont, the narrow Blue Ridge Mountain, Valley & Ridge (Shenandoah Valley and most of southwest VA), and the Alleghany Plateau. One could divided each of those into north and south areas. I'd bet the rut calendar for each looks a little different.

"The Farm" sits on the line between the Coastal plain and the Piedmont. The timing of the rut, if there is such a thing (the timing, I mean) is very confusing to me. Looking backwards from fawn drop, I might conclude does are bred from September to, dare I say it, early February? There may be little humps of activity along that straight line, but just about the time things seem to heat up it stops...and then it starts....and then it stops.

Sometimes I think we look for the patterns that best suit our beliefs...and I say that not to discredit anyone's observation, but only to express my fascination about how all this works. I, too, have seen the curves, the tight humps in the north to nearly straight lines in the deep south. Damn lazy southern bucks! Always ready, but bring me another beer, and when I'm ready I'll be with you!

 

[X-farmerdan]

The first thing I noticed when I looked at that map was two of the counties right near the middle - Lee and Harnett. The map shows 21 days difference for peak rut in those two counties, yet they border each other. Similar examples can be found at other places on the map. That makes me doubt the accuracy of any of it.

Sample size is extremely important and they are given on page 2. Drop the county lines and and work from the regional averages in the table accompanying the map.

I understand what you're saying as that's the immediate response most would express, but instead of looking for the outliers, look for the mean tendencies. And if one wants' to go so far, try to figure out why the outliers are out there. What the map doesn't relate is the big difference between land use and topography in each of those side-by-side counties.

If that sounds like a lecture, I apologize.

 

[Native Hunter]

Sample size is extremely important and they are given on page 2. Drop the county lines and and work from the regional averages in the table accompanying the map.

I understand what you're saying as that's the immediate response most would express, but instead of looking for the outliers, look for the mean tendencies. And if one wants' to go so far, try to figure out why the outliers are out there. What the map doesn't relate is the big difference between land use and topography in each of those side-by-side counties.

If that sounds like a lecture, I apologize.

I don't mind lectures at all. In fact, I must enjoy them, because I set through enough of them to earn 3 accredited college degrees and maintained a 4.0 GPA through all of them. That included classes in statistics and the importance of sample sizes.

My point is in the meaningless way (due to those small sample sizes by county + lack of other meaningful data) in which the data is presented. Perhaps at some other place someone analyzed it, drew meaningful conclusions and did a better job presenting it. It wasn't on either of those two pages at that link, and I didn't care enough about it to look anywhere else! When someone does a half A__ job, I lose interest quickly and move on to something else. Good day!!!!

 

[X-farmerdan]

I don't mind lectures at all. In fact, I must enjoy them, because I set through enough of them to earn 3 accredited college degrees and maintained a 4.0 GPA through all of them. That included classes in statistics and the importance of sample sizes.

My point is in the meaningless way (due to those small sample sizes by county + lack of other meaningful data) in which the data is presented. Perhaps at some other place someone analyzed it, drew meaningful conclusions and did a better job presenting it. It wasn't on either of those two pages at that link, and I didn't care enough about it to look anywhere else! When someone does a half A__ job, I lose interest quickly and move on to something else. Good day!!!!

A point well made and appreciated. No offense was intended and I did apologize at the end, but i still don’t find the information provided half ass. It’s just data and no one was making life or death recommendations. Personally, I don’t think data should be buried. Many conclusions, perhaps. I’m sure we will agree to disagree.

However, at the end of the day I read your posts and responses and leave with great admiration. Thanks for starting the thread and your contributions to the discussions.