are the whitetails rutting yet????

[heavy hauler]

i saw a 4x3 blacktail fri chasing a doe, and i was wondering if the whitetails are rutting now also.

[singleshot12]

Whitetail should start any day now,week before Thanksgiving is always a good bet..

[SHANE(WA)]

20th thru the 26th is best, best time in my opinion to hunt huge whitetails

[Skycruiser]

20th thru the 26th is best, best time in my opinion to hunt huge whitetails

Amen. That's why they changed the late hunt so it always ends on the 19th.

The earliest I've ever seen evidence of the rut (over 30 years) is on the 15th of November. Give me those last five days to hunt whitetails and you can have all the rest!

[boneaddict]

THese guys nailed it.

[Palmer]

I've heard them fighting as early as the 5th of November and I've rattled them in during the last week of modern firearm season.  I imagine that pre rut and post rut can be pretty good.  However, the articles I've read state that most movement during the day occurs during the rut.  A large buck will be on the move following hot does without much sleep or much eating for a couple days from what I've read.  From what I hear from other hunters, the rut usually occurs during muzzleloader season during the week of Thanksgiving.

[hunt4]

  I kinda like the pre rut myself. Better chance calling in a buck and fooling his nose.  A person can still kinda pattern them to. Peak rut all bets are off they are were they are and that HOT doe is going to drag him any were she wants, alot more eyes and ears to deal with.
Its all fun Pre, Peak, Post, remember they are ready to rut as soon as they go into Hard antler...you put a hot doe infront of a buck in Octoberor or January its going to get the high hard one

[SHANE(WA)]

yep, biggest bucks I have ever seen have been Nov 23 thru Nov 28

[Sagedawg]

 One of the reasons I like the late muzzy hunt so much....to bad the wife bought me the wrong tag ....


  Sage

[croix]

There was an article in NAHC magazine that claims the rut should kick about a week earlier than normal this year. There were a lot of facts quoted about moon phase, distance, declination, etc. but the long and short of it was that the rut should peak right around the 16th.

I'll believe it when I see it, but I am leaving today for a nine day WT hunt so I have my fingers crossed.

[Gobble]

From what I have seen the BT doing I would be the rut is a week early this year.

I will be heading out in a couple of hours for a 5-6 day hunt as well  I'm stoked, hopefully we will be coming home with a nice buck. By buddy tagged out early so he will be my Sherpa 

[Skycruiser]

A large buck will be on the move following hot does without much sleep or much eating for a couple days from what I've read.

As the days shorten in November the decreasing light entering the eyes triggers the does estrus cycle, which is why it is so predictable. I haven't read the article mentioned above, but my experience over 30 years hunting the same ridge in Stevens County indicates that mature bucks (2 1/2 years and older) stick to their after-dark-only lifestyles until at least the 15th.

WDFW data indicates approximately seven whitetail does for each mature buck. Early in the rut, when the does begin to cycle into estrus, a buck has no problem finding a receptive mate (or she finds him) and will spend EVERY MINUTE with her, mating with her repeatedly (a quick poke, lasting about twenty seconds or so) until she cycles out in 24-26 hours. Then, he easily locates (or is located by) another and repeats the fun. At this point, there is little or no competition and no difficulty finding (or being found by) a willing paramour. Bucks aren't "on the move" any more than usual, although they may visit their scrapes if they are between does. Even so, almost all of their activity continues to be nocturnal.

The buck follows the doe wherever she goes, though often carefully and reluctantly. He isn't on his feet and moving all this time. He beds down near her when she beds down and browses when she browses. At this time, the key to success is knowing where the does hang out and capitalizing on the bucks' reduced wariness. Early and late, even mid-day, they may appear with does in open areas that they would otherwise shun until after dark.

After a week or so, almost all the does have cycled through. THIS is when the bucks start to go nuts, running almost non-stop in an attempt to find ONE MORE DOE, showing little regard for their safety, nose to the ground, covering and recovering every corner of their domain and more.

In order to improve the mature buck populations, WDFW several years ago began closing the late whitetail hunt on the 19th, before the "crazy period", which occurs between the 22nd and 26th. As it is now, modern firearm hunters can hunt only about three or four days into the festivities.

These last days of the season are still the best time, by far, to find a big buck, but it's not shooting fish in a barrel. You must exercise all the care and diligence you would otherwise and hope that a big buck will make ONE MISTAKE in your favor. Big whitetail bucks are after-dark-only hermits and these few days are the only time in the entire year that they might slip up. Be in the woods from dark to dark and hunt every minute of every day and you MIGHT get lucky.

[TeacherMan]

I hunted North of Spokane today and saw around 20 does and a couple yearling bucks, no mature animals, and the yearling bucks where not even interested in the does. I would say there are not rutting south of Newport. Give them another week.

The deer where out all morning, we saw more around noon than at day light. A good constant rain and low fog kept them out all day. 

[Palmer]

I looked up the ratio for 105-124 areas and the WDFW states in the 2006 Game report a 28:100 buck to doe ratio.  2.8:10 is a much better ratio than 1:7 as quoted earlier.  However 58% of the bucks were yearlings.  So that does nock it down to about 1.4 mature buck out of 10 deer or 1:7.  As long as the ratio is better than 20:100 buck to doe than I'm happy.  I've heard that when it gets worse the bucks are less responsive to calls and rattles and that you'll only see yearling bucks.

The report for areas 105 - 124 also states that 7,122 bucks were taken and 19% were 5 pt+.
Judging by the graphs there appeared to be about a 35% success rate for a hunter to harvest a deer.  Not bad.

[heavy hauler]

thanks fellas, i am going to break out my stick and string next year.sounds like a  way better season