ITT: Completely ignorant set of questions

[huntnnw]

Joe will tell ya the same from sherman creek outfitters,but many on here bashed him for it and said no way they rut at the tail end of the rifle season. I have hunted the Sawtooth in WA and watched muley bucks in the high country completely obsessed with the does

[grundy53]

The Mule deer my buddy shot last year on opening weekend was getting rutty. His neck was swelled up. The BT I shot last year on 10-25-2010 was definetly in full rut.

[Skyvalhunter]

It can vary from year to year place to place. Just as the does can have several different estrus cycles and get the boys going.

[jackmaster]

doe have differant cycles but the rut is kicked in by the light of the moon, differant lunar cycles change the exact timing of the time that bucks, mature buck come visit miss doe, thats why it varies every year by a few days here or there and it all depends on where you hunt, i mainly hunt B/T in 2 differant areas and late buck is great in one of them and the last weekend is the best in the the other. weather is also a big factor if the weather is to warm it can delay the doe from cycling into estrus and then of course that will also keep the bucks down 

[bobcat]

Bucks will "visit" a doe when that doe comes into heat and is ready to breed. The doe is the deciding factor, not the buck. I don't believe the moon has anything to do with it. The length of the day is what determines when the does come in heat, and that's why it's the same time every year.

[huntnnw]

yup..it never changes like some will say..if its to warm..they still breed the activity just isnt as much you would see when its cold. The fawns and calves have to drop in a specific time period to not freeze to death if to early and too late that they arent big enough to survive the upcoming winter

[Boss .300 winmag]

By the way, what the heck does "ITT" mean?   

 

[alecvg]

Generally the first half of November, and start to go on the prowl for does end of October from my experience.  I too have seen bucks fighting during general rifle, and have seen them starting to chase does.

[PA BEN]

I shot a mule buck when I was 18 the first day of late buck which opened around thanksgiving. He was in the rut w/7 does. 27" spread he wade over 300 lb's. BTW, the rut was on the back side.

[boneaddict]

Generally its elk, moose, Muledeer, Blacktails, whitetails in that order.   High mountain Muleys rut the middle/end of October and on into the first of November.  Lowland ones are starting about Halloween for the most part.    They then take a break about the time whitetails go Full bore around mid November, or November 19th if you want the peak.  Muledeer then catch a second estrous which takes them into the first part of December and so on.  Blacktails are just a smudge later than the muleys, but you could certainly lump them  together.
as noted by some, behavior can be very localized.  It can be isolated or regional.  For instance, there were a dozen bull moose rutting the middle of November in one basin in Idaho a year or so ago.  One hot cow had them all worked up.  At the same time just east of there, bulls were dropping their antlers.   Same climate, same topography same latitude. 

Rut activity and breeding are two different classifications. 

This hunt was an example of high mountain rutting activity.   I'm sure moon, weather, etc. played a role.  I would have thought/classified this was early, or a bit earlier than the norm.  I have been in the same place at the same time period with different weather and have seen little evidence of rut activity.
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,2182.0.html

[hirshey]

ITT = in this thread, I do believe.

It varies by place and animal, and seasonaly. The deer my gal friend shot in 2009 third day of rifle season in the Entiat was a young 3 point... fully in rutt.

But interesting topic, for certain.

[steen]

The lowland blacktails in Whatcom Co. rut in late October during modern rifle season and drop in late may and June.  We hunt them in the rut usually, of course if go a little higher they rut a little later.