Early Rut?

[Fishin' Rod]

I decided to do some scouting yesterday. I'm scouting in an area that hardly any hunters will attempt to bowhunt due to how harsh the habitat is. There is hardly any food other than what is natural to this area (there isn't any acorns, probably due to our dry summer) and there aren't any farms around. After a few hours of wandering through the woods I finally came across a small scrape on what looked like an old scrape line. I thought this was on the early side of the season for a scrape considering the small buck that made it. I do know that early in the season dominant bucks will breed with older mature does. Do you think that the rut will be early this year? Or, do you think this is a young buck just feeling his oats?

[jlirosi13]

Probably just a young buck messing around. As far as the rut being early I doubt it. It's always set off by moon phase and weather. Full moon kicks in and as long as weather is cool and crisp the rut usually takes off. 3 to 5 days after the full moon is when the seeking starts. Leaving for Illinois oct 28. That should be when the seeking begins this year. Again as long as weather is right. You ever want to see a crazy rut. Take a trip to the midwest Nov 1 to 14 You really can't go wrong.

[sud-z]

I've been bowhunting for 23 years and every year I hear guys say "the rut is early this year".
Yesterday I saw a bachelor group of 5 buck still together. Stop already. Of course the Bucks are ready! They are males. We are always ready! If you only got it one month a year woludn't you be anxious?
The rut won't be till after the next full moon.

[Fishin' Rod]

I've been bowhunting for 23 years and every year I hear guys say "the rut is early this year".
Yesterday I saw a bachelor group of 5 buck still together. Stop already. Of course the Bucks are ready! They are males. We are always ready! If you only got it one month a year woludn't you be anxious?
The rut won't be till after the next full moon.

Then that will be the 31st of October. Traditionally, isn't the rut around the 10th to the 23rd of November? If you go by the Full Moon Theory the rut is early this year.

[sud-z]

Didn't I say AFTER the next full moon?:razz:

[Fishin' Rod]

my bad

[stephenf]

the RUT is so mis represented in terms of guys over using the meaning and the term the RUT. There are distinct phases, the pre rut where bucks will now not tolerate other bucks around them and will also start to really scrape and rub to mark territory, they will now start to get moving a little earlier and stay on the their feet in the am a little later , this usually starts up the last 10 days of october give or take a few , you will see younger deer showing RUT signs as there hormones are heating up and they dont know how to handle the change , like a young teenager , there can also be a few does that come into estrous and that may get a few big boys crazy and also breeding.

then a chaseing phase where they really have there hormones raging and they seem to be really heating up scraping rubbing is now at a fever pitch and the bucks are moving more and more , and they really can get into all out fights, :fight:...there is some breeding taking place and more does are now checking scrapes and they will actually go to the buck areas and also look for the stud of the area , but they will also breed with what ever buck is there, this is natures way of a balanced heard, it also is not uncommon to have a doe be bred by multiple bucks as the fighting may allow for anothe rbuck to breed her and tus two fawns withe different fathers ..... this is usually haloween and then till the 2nd week of november then ......
we get the breeding phase this is anytime during the first three weeks of november and then the bucks are tied up with a doe and then the scraping and rubbing pretty much stops and the bucks will not leave her side. .....
the its the post rut as the bucks willl seek again and rub and scrape alot again then the little does come in and the bucks stil have there testosterone levels crazy so any thing could be happening , fighting , breeding and chasing.....

as far as timing and early or not for the rut , you could sit in an area and see bucks going nuts and then see nothingthere for the next couple nights ... it is being inthe right place at the right time as well as so many factures like pressure , heat , wind , /././../ it could happen within a week of any thing the pros tell us but it has so many variables that it is just about getting out and seeing what your area to hunt is doing.......

just my two cents

[hunt4life]

I agree with stephenf 's summary above.

[Fishin' Rod]

rut
noun (the rut)
An annual period of sexual activity in deer and some other mammals, during which the males fight each other for access to the females.

I agree, the word "RUT" does not just imply a specific time. My original post was vague but as a male I'm probably looking for the breeding activity to start as early as possible. As nature changes and seasons start early and late in the environment such as have a first frost or an early snow fall the RUT can also start it's cycle early too.