Now that last years rut is over with...?

[JRM6868]

I'm sure you've all read how last years rut from some of the experts was going to be drawn out because of the full moon hitting the way it did.They said it wasn't going to be as intense.People were altering their vacation because of what they said. I didn't because of my past experiences and if I did I would've missed alot.

How was your rut compared to other years?

Mine was probably in the top three of ruts I have experienced in the chase seek phase and lockdown phase. I saw more rutting activity than usual. I had a buck chasing a doe all over the place they even jumped in our pond at the one farm and swam 3 times just to cool off. I wish I would of had a video camera to video all this. It was an amazing thing to watch. This went on for about 20-25 minutes.The bucks were running good. Maybe my buck to doe ratio was perfect,but the moon never affected it in my area or on the other farms I hunt by trailcams.

I've come to the conclusion after all the hype last year that the moon doesn't affect the rut as much as people say it does. When the daylight hits the sweet spot it's on moon or not.

In my area they hit the seek chase phase November 4th -14th lockdown around the 15th of November. It was the same last year.

[headgear]

Same experience here JRM, I saw the usual action in our area. Young bucks on the move the first 5-6 days in November, then the big boys were shot or sighted between the 8th and 12th with the lockdown shortly after that. I got my rut buck on Nov 9th in a funnel. I will say overall the rut did seam a little slower last year but that could be attributed to very low deer numbers and a higher than usual wolf population in Northern MN.

I did see a nice buck chasing a doe right at the end of Oct when some of the moon/rut believers said there would be some action so I think there could be something there. The moon might have a way of triggering some does into heat so you could see a flurry of action but overall I think the rut is the rut and most of it happens as usual from year to year.

The one thing I love about this site is people have a lot of deer knowledge and keep a level head about everything. I visit a few other sites and you can just about set your watch to the "Rut Is On!" posts when someone spots some activity, they think every doe in the state is hot because they saw a buck chasing a doe late Oct.

[VA5326]

Yep, saw a lot of activity around the same time this past year in Virginia. I killed my big buck on November 8th. Like always, I saw a good week or so of chasing/seeking/ cruising activity and then it slowly waned. I do have to say it was a little wilder this year than what I have seen in the past few years.

[kenn1320]

QDM did a survey on this and polled over 41k hunters. They basically found the moon didnt affect it like predicted. You can read more at the following link (scroll down to find the article and there is a link from there to view the charts)

http://www.qdma.com/programs/reach-in-action/

[JRM6868]

QDM did a survey on this and polled over 41k hunters. They basically found the moon didnt affect it like predicted. You can read more at the following link (scroll down to find the article and there is a link from there to view the charts)

http://www.qdma.com/programs/reach-in-action/

I don't know if you were part of that survey but I was and It was very generic.
They never got into detail how many days hunted that year over last,what sign was there over last etc. But the end result came back like you said it didn't affect it much.

[dan]

We here that crap every year. I have found that the rut is at the same time every year. The reason some years are more intense or appear later or earlier is due ( in my opinion ) to whether or not they are moving in daylight. On a couple of years when guys were complaining about the lacvk of rut activity, I was shining tons of bucks chasing does all over the place.
The moon effects the rut, but more it effects the time of day, as does weather rather than the date.

[kenn1320]

I agree Dan. Guys think its the first frost that triggers it as well. I think it occurs within the same window every year, but that a cold spell shows more daytime activity versus a hot spell.

[dan]

I agree Dan. Guys think its the first frost that triggers it as well. I think it occurs within the same window every year, but that a cold spell shows more daytime activity versus a hot spell.

Agreed.. a certain amount of daylight is what most scientists claim triggers rut.
They actually are able to get does to come into heat at different times of the year in indoor enclosures where they make doe in estrous scents by timing how long they leave the lights on.

[headgear]

I think pressure has a lot to do with it too, MN likes to send out there rifled orange army during the middle of Nov, talk about a rut killer. If you can't get away from the pressure don't plan on seeing much activity. The 4+ year old bucks know the hunters are there and just lay low until darkness, a lot of the biggest bucks in our area are seen from the roads at night.

[U.P. MAN]

I think i may have posted this awhile ago but in B.C. last year, the murray moon chart showed something like 29th - nov 2nd as prime movement and in the picture/registration book over twenty bucks were killed in that window. I shot mine nine am on the 24th though.

[JRM6868]

I agree Dan. Guys think its the first frost that triggers it as well. I think it occurs within the same window every year, but that a cold spell shows more daytime activity versus a hot spell.

I agree...When the heat is high the daylight activity slows way down. This is where hunting the buck beds come into play during this phase because the mature deer aren't going to move in the heat with all that extra weight they packed on for the rigors of the rut.

[Dewey]

I think i may have posted this awhile ago but in B.C. last year, the murray moon chart showed something like 29th - nov 2nd as prime movement and in the picture/registration book over twenty bucks were killed in that window. I shot mine nine am on the 24th though.

That was right on according to my rut sightings last year. Nov 2nd was my single best day ever for mature buck sightings and after that everything seemed to shut down even though I was hunting in a large variety of spots in three different areas of the state. Seemed like they went into lockdown with the does from Nov. 3rd until about the 6th or 7th from other guys I talked to as well. I didn't see another buck until gun hunting.

Every year seems to be the same for me and the time period never changes even though the experts predict other dates. The only thing that changes anything is very warm temperatures during the day but I'm sure the activity just shifts to nightime movement when it is cooler. As long as daytime temps stay below 50 degrees it's game on.

[GRFox]

Around here the general consensus was it was the worst rut year in a long time. I personally only had 2 days of rutting activity, one on November !4 and one on November 26th.

[Schultzy]

I'm with Dan on this one. One other thing, number of bucks (mature bucks) In an area will help make the rut seem that much better. Last year was awesome for me, mature buck numbers were higher then normal thus the competition was there. Competition means everything.

[Zap]

I have somewhat limited experiance with this subject.

But I felt there was a less concentrated rut activity then I had seen in other years.

Has anyone noticed many fawns being born later than usual?