Buck rut must be getting a bit of a start.

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fingers284

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I just spent an enjoyable 1/2 hour from my back door, watching 5 mule bucks congregate around one doe so she must be hot. No fights that I seen yet but the largest 4x4 sure wont let any of the others close to that doe...he's definitely the boss at the moment. there are 2 other smaller 4x4's but not in his league, he's probably only a 165 buck but for our area, bigger ones are very scarce.
 
I was hunting white tail scrape lines for last two days.
A nice parade of 3x3, 4x4 & 5x5's cruising around.
Responding well to light rattling and especially doe calls.

Much better response than last week.
I'm after one of two different WT deer, I call bent horn and high horn, no sightings, they're smarter than me so far :)
 
We noticed this with the muleys for the last couple days. Nothing drastic, but a few little guys following does around and a lil spiker full of piss n vinegar who came in on my rattle grunt sequence (I'm awful btw). The wife put the hammer down on one.
 
this guy's been hitting the gym

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I had 2 rubs 10' from my stand a couple days before my controlled hunt started. Hunt week, there was zero movement, in almost my whole wmu from what I understand. 2 days ago I watched a doe cross a field, eventually followed by a buck who didn't lift his nose from the ground once. Time to get the bow out I guess.
 
When wife was mz htg last month bucks were only on the trailcams at night. Today was, "shopping for this yrs Christmas tree at an abandoned yard we own" We heard some shots, and the rubs we saw were well, "rubbed" (as in beat to crap). Lot's of urine spots in the snow not too far from the rubs, guessing does? (was never a trophy htr, first healthy one with good looking back 1/4's is as far as I looked).
I'd say it's on, here at least. Trophy hunter friend in AB always said 3rd week in Nov's primetime if that helps.

Best of luck everyone!
 
I'm a believer that length of day light triggers estrus and a large moon increases activity.
For WT bucks It's been my experience that 8.5 hour long days or less combined with a few days before and after the full moon always seem to be the best days for them to be cruising around.
They can be wandering around anywhere and at any time of the day or night.
 
fingers284 said:
I just spent an enjoyable 1/2 hour from my back door, watching 5 mule bucks congregate around one doe so she must be hot. No fights that I seen yet but the largest 4x4 sure wont let any of the others close to that doe...he's definitely the boss at the moment. there are 2 other smaller 4x4's but not in his league, he's probably only a 165 buck but for our area, bigger ones are very scarce.
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A 165 buck up in my neck of the woods is a monster as far as rack size goes! I would put money on you seeing more deer in a normal course of two days than someone up here sees in in WMU's518,519,530, 531 and 532 whole season.
Nice to see that kind of activity while you are having your morning coffee for sure! :dancingbanana:
Cat
 
Norton said:
I'm a believer that length of day light triggers estrus and a large moon increases activity.
For WT bucks It's been my experience that 8.5 hour long days or less combined with a few days before and after the full moon always seem to be the best days for them to be cruising around.
They can be wandering around anywhere and at any time of the day or night.
Click to expand...

You're right about the daylight.

Any other argument like "First hard frost," "First snow," "grandma's tea leaves," "Uncle Dave always said...," are just a pile of hooey.

The truth is that photoperiod is the driver of the rut. Photoperiodism is defined as the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night. In other words, the length of daylight experienced over a 24 hour period. This is the primary factor in determining the breeding season at a given latitude. Near the equator, where the length of day doesn't vary much, fawns can be dropped in any month of the year. At latitudes like ours in the West, photoperiod follows the same pattern year after year and the rut is triggered at about the same time.


https://www.gohunt.com/read/INSIDER/the-science-behind-the-mule-deer-rut#gs.gl3cig
 
Rugdoc said:
You're right about the daylight.

Any other argument like "First hard frost," "First snow," "grandma's tea leaves," "Uncle Dave always said...," are just a pile of hooey.

The truth is that photoperiod is the driver of the rut. Photoperiodism is defined as the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night. In other words, the length of daylight experienced over a 24 hour period. This is the primary factor in determining the breeding season at a given latitude. Near the equator, where the length of day doesn't vary much, fawns can be dropped in any month of the year. At latitudes like ours in the West, photoperiod follows the same pattern year after year and the rut is triggered at about the same time.


https://www.gohunt.com/read/INSIDER/the-science-behind-the-mule-deer-rut#gs.gl3cig
Click to expand...

You are right that it is the usual time for rut to start in my area....but I'm not convinced it is "usual" for every deer.
I have read this before but my 50 yrs of experience hunting the rut in my area says that that is not provable by me. The "usual" heavy rut in my area when, bucks can be seen any time of the day, anywhere, even out in a wide open sunlit area is last week of Nov.. A traveling buck will have a swelled up neck every time and if killed near the end of a rutting season , will be skinny as a weasel....no exceptions. But I have killed bucks in the first week of the season with a swelled neck that almost is wider than their ears and already run skinny and had shot bucks in the last day or two of the season that have absolutely no neck swell and fat an inch thick. My old man killed a mountain ( pretty much the same latitude as we live so sunlight hours would be comparable) muley on an early October hunt that had a dozen does with him and his neck was puffed up like a beachball.

I don't know what triggers an individuals reason to put himself in danger over a 'once a yr" frivolity but i don't buy that it is a hard and true "only sunlight" issue.
 
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Rut not happening just yet here in Central AB but the bucks are keeping tabs on the does. Last year ,the final 4 days of the month was nuts with bucks chasing does everywhere.I frontal heart shot shot a 4x4 WT at 60ft coming right at me after using a doe bleat.
 
On my way home from today’s hunt, after legal light near Fort Saskatchewan my son and I saw a Muley buck breeding a doe. The rut is definitely on according to the buck we saw. On our property near Smoky Lake, Whitetail bucks were chasing the does, it’s on.
 
mbogo3 said:
Rut not happening just yet here in Central AB but the bucks are keeping tabs on the does. Last year ,the final 4 days of the month was nuts with bucks chasing does everywhere.I frontal heart shot shot a 4x4 WT at 60ft coming right at me after using a doe bleat.
Click to expand...

I'm going to disagree with that.

Grizz
 
Grizzly Adams said:
I'm going to disagree with that.

Grizz
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As much as I respect mbogo3's opinion, it's the cold and full moon making the Deer, etc more active.

The rut is determined by minutes of daylight anywhere from early to mid September and carries on through into December.

Just take a look at when the fawns are born. April to June.

Deer gestation period 200+days
Moose/Elk -appx 245 days

Intro What is Seasonality Seasonality in: Males Females Different Species of Deer
Comparison to Domestic Animals Practical Implications Sources
Intro:
The physiology of reproduction in the deer (family: Cervidae) can help us understand their behavior. Deer are seasonal breeders, with males exhibiting “rut” behavior in the early fall during the breeding season. The timing of the breeding season also has implications in survival of young. Different species of deer respond differently to seasonal changes. However, deer are not the only animals that exhibit seasonal breeding behavior. There are several practical implications of this reproductive phenomenon; here, we will look at population control.

What Is Seasonality:
Seasonal changes in temperature, rainfall, and day length all contribute to the cause of the breeding season in deer. In climates where seasonal changes are more extreme, seasonal changes in day length are the main cue used to time the breeding season (Lincoln). Puberty occurs at approximately 16 months of age and after this, they exhibit seasonal polyestrous. Deer respond best to short-day lighting, which means that they are not usually cycling during the summer months, but begin to show estrous behavior in late September and October (see diagram below) (Gordon).

The estrous cycle in deer varies from 17 - 22 days, depending on the species, and this cyclical breeding activity may continue for as long as six months in animals which do not become pregnant (Gordon). The seasonal changes in fertility are controlled by the secretion of LHRH (luteinizing hormone releasing hormone) from the hypothalamus, which is influenced by melatonin from the pineal gland. LHRH influences the secretion of LH and FSH from the anterior pituitary (Lincoln).

Seasonality in the Male:
The season when deer breed is called the "rut". Rut usually occurs during October, but some bucks come into rut during December, these are usually younger or weaker bucks. It is possible to advance the onset of the breeding season in bucks by controlling their melatonin levels (Adam). Melatonin is a modified amino acid hormone released by the pineal gland that has been seen to control seasonality in ewes. Less daylight triggers an increase in a buck’s testosterone, which causes antler maturation/growth. Fraction, volume and pH of the ejacuate, as well as sperm concentration and sperm motility change gradually during the pre-mating, mating and post-mating seasons of red deer (Gisejewski). The period of greatest libido (from the end of
 
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