Cold weather VS Rut

[Pigfuz]

Does anyone have any idea how the cold weather will affect the SW Blacktails when it comes to rutting?

[madmack76]

They have been in rut for a month? So what would you like to know.

[bobcat]

The ruts over. Cold weather won't change that. Of course if an unbred doe comes into heat for the second time, any buck around will happily take care of her. But I doubt if bucks will be moving much. They're tired from the first two weeks of the month when they were chasing does all over. And their main priority now is probably feed. Just my opinion, I'm no biologist.


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[Hawgdawg]

I never could understand how we hunted those bucks in AZ in our t-shirts and shorts getting sun burnt and they were in rut? Day light savings time......................??

[Pigfuz]

So did the rut come much earlier this year?  It seemed as if more bucks were killed in the four day long late modern firearm season than all of the other because the four days landed right in the rut.

[bobcat]

So did the rut come much earlier this year?  It seemed as if more bucks were killed in the four day long late modern firearm season than all of the other because the four days landed right in the rut.

The peak of the rut is actually before the late rifle season. The first week of November they're rutting hard, and then it tapers off gradually during the second week. I think it helped that the late season started relatively early this year.
(Some years it can be up to 4 or 5 days later than it was this year)

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[AKBowman]

So did the rut come much earlier this year?  It seemed as if more bucks were killed in the four day long late modern firearm season than all of the other because the four days landed right in the rut.

The peak of the rut is actually before the late rifle season. The first week of November they're rutting hard, and then it tapers off gradually during the second week. I think it helped that the late season started relatively early this year.
(Some years it can be up to 4 or 5 days later than it was this year)

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Not necessarily, I've found it depends on where you are. Down south where you are rut is over. Up north sound here the prerut started end of the first week of November. Does just actually started going I to estrus this last week so looks like rail end of the main rut will still be going next week. Pretty normal for around here, maybe a week later than normal this year.

[RadSav]

So did the rut come much earlier this year?  It seemed as if more bucks were killed in the four day long late modern firearm season than all of the other because the four days landed right in the rut.

When it comes to blacktail hunting 60-70% of mature buck harvests happen during that four day hunt every year not just this year.  Only difference this year was the rut started before the end of the early season instead of during elk season.  Happens that way every four or five years.  I will try and find the WDFW report that stated these figures.  Been about three years since I read/found it, but I'll give it a try.

If you have a good low pressure area to hunt I actually like archery hunting the post rut.  These big bucks are so dang tired they become very stalkable.  During the rut they can be flighty and inconsistent.  That's great for the rifle hunter as you do see more bucks during the rut.  But for the archery hunter it can sometimes make getting up close difficult unless you tree stand hunt.  My second largest buck was killed close to the 15th of December.  He had zero fat after burning it all chasing does.  Only one thing was on his mind now and that was putting food in his belly.  He flinched as the arrow went through his chest but then he took one last bite of vegetation before his body shut down.  Too dang tired to even care he had been given a lethal injection.

I had tried a couple times in early September to stalk this same buck.  He was having none of it.  Sharp as a tack and nervous as heck.  Getting too caught up in casing the women was his death sentence.  Just like it has been for men since the beginning of time