ORIGINAL: VT Ridges
I'm not sure I agree. While no expert, I've seen most deer acting stupid Thanksgiving week. I've read predictions from some very knowledgeable and successful hunters using everything from moon phasesto weather and I'm sure that they're all factors, but in northern VT and NH, it seems the third week of November is the most consistent for producing "Stupid, Love Struck Bucks".
To me, it makes sense that does are likely to go into heat after a set period of time after they give birth to a fawn(s). Keeping time through hours of daylight. Has anyone else heard this explanation?
When that happens, I think it is because young or unbred does come into late estrous and the bucks all compete for that last few left. Competition gets fierce at that point. This kind of action can be unreliable though because it is a scattered phenomenon. My Dad killed a beaut of a mature 10 point in just that kind of a situation on Dec 1 in the big woods of the ANF in 2002. He was chasing a hot doe all over the mountain. Had it not been for that late doe, he probably would have died of old age.