Some Late Rutting Thoughts

There are as many theories about deer movements during the rut as there are deer roaming this state. The secret to a good fib is to keep a bit of truth in it, and that seems to be the primary ingredient in the many guesses I hear about when whitetails should begin their rut.

Take for instance the hot-button theory on when the rut occurs. Some would have you believe that it will occur on or about the time of the second full moon period after the autumnal equinox, which is the first day of fall.

Believe that, and some years the rut will not occur until late November. That wouldn't work in northern states. On the other hand some hunters believe the rut starts in early October, and that would have many fawns being born in late April or early May.

The answer to the true rutting period falls somewhere between these two periods.

The rut, or so many hunting folks tell me, doesn't begin until about Nov. 15. The rut was basically over at that time several years ago. Some people would have us believe the rut starts with the first frost or cold snap, which often comes in late September. If that were true, fawns would be born in late winter snow storms, providing them with a certain death.

The whole thing about the rut is that many people believe what their grand-pappy told them or what Uncle Abner said 50 years ago. More old wives tales exist about the rut than anything else.

The primary rut ended sometime around Nov. 10-15 this year although some bucks were chasing does two weeks later. The second estrus was underway in late November and early December, but it didn't amount to much. Only late-blooming doe fawns were coming into estrus at that time of year, and there was a bit of rutting action but most bucks I saw were hungry and sticking close to food sites, such as standing corn fields.

Bucks will breed does as long as their antlers are hard and she is ready.

That doesn't mean if Mr. Big Buck was peacefully eating, and some young maiden in estrus showed up, that he won't bird-dog her through the brush until she stood for him. He'd breed her, and resume eating, and perhaps breed her again, but the secondary rut doesn't mean much. There often is too much snow by the time the second rut starts.

The primary rut in Michigan, and in my area, usually kicks off about Oct. 25 and runs through Nov. 10. That's an average, and it can change by a day or two either way from year to year. It can start a few days earlier in the U.P., and a few days later in southern counties.

Watching deer is one thing I do a lot of, and what all deer hunters should do, and when bucks begin chasing does and checking their scrapes, the pre-rut has begun. When the bucks are tending does, nose to the ground, grunting and ignoring the scrapes, the rut has begun. When bucks look at does, and begin feeding, the rut is basically over. It's all pretty simple.

Before any of you jump my frame on this issue, and say you saw a buck breed a doe in early December, allow me to state that there are exceptions to every rule. Sure, it happens but not this year.

We are talking about a basic breeding season. Granted, some bucks will breed estrus does in February and some will breed does in early October, but those are exceptions to the rule. Most of the serious rutting activity in Michigan runs from Oct. 25-Nov. 10.

A buck can breed whenever his antlers are hard, and once his antlers fall off, he is done breeding for this season. If someone says they saw a buck with raw, bleeding pedicles breed a doe, I'd suspect this person doesn't know much about deer.

No degrees in wildlife biology for me.

I have no degree in wildlife biology but have studied whitetail behavior for many years. I know what happens here, why it happens, when it occurs, and the same basic patterns hold true from one year to the next, and there is very little variation from one year to the next.

Having said that, most hunters saw very little breeding activity this fall. It seemed to be suppressed, and there wasn't nearly as much rubbing on trees and scrape making this year as in the past. Good active scrapes were at a minimum, and I think that hurt hunting success.

Studying whitetails is almost as much fun as hunting them. The more knowledge a hunter gains about the animal he hunts, the better success he will have. It's just important for deer hunters to keep their thoughts somewhere along these lines, and forget most of what you heard from your Pappy and Gran'pappy.

For the most part, they didn't know much about deer and their breeding activities, and simply parroted what they heard from others. I still find it odd that many of the myths about deer have survived as long as they have because I still silly stuff now that I heard 50 years ago.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors