I read an article in one of my favorite hunting mags where the author proclaims that there is a "Mini-rut" that takes place in October. This guy is well respected and respected by me as well, but his opening statement surprised me also.
Opening statement....
"Climbing into my stand that
mid-October afternoon, I hoped to see the mature 8-pointer I had set up on. I was hunting close to his bedding area, trying my best to outsmart him
before the October lull kicked in."
Wow! From everything that I've ever experienced the October lull is on it's way out and almost over by mid-October??
From what I've seen, mature bucks 3 1/2 and older start coming out just before dark to check for does, from about October 17th on.
What have you seen?
Back to the "Mini-rut". The author and one of his friends, a top notch outfitter, stated that their magical day was October 12th. They witnessed does exhibiting signs of being at or near estrus. These does were "the really healthy" ones. Oh yeah, the outfitter also said that after October 12th, they started oicking up large bucks on trail cams. These bucks were nocturnal before this date. This Is what I'm used to, not having the October lull kick in after mid-October.
Anyway, I'm not disputing that does are being bred in mid-October. It's just the way the article is worded that may be misleading.
"the really healthy" does?? I've never seen a sickly one, all the does that I've seen at or near estrus have been "really healthy".
What I'm getting at, is that does being bred in October is all part of "THE RUT". It's been known for years that the breeding season for whitetail deer, in the northern half of the continent, starts in October and lasts through at least January if not longer. From what I've read over the years is that some of the older does are the first ones to come into heat. The fawns are the last ones to come into heat. All does and fawns will recycle 28 days later if they are not bred the first time around.
Here is a graph that I found that shows breedind dates from MN.
For my area, I've always thought that the peak breeding dates were from November 17 - 23rd and the second rut was from around December 5 -12th. I'm not too far off from this graph. The graph is a bell curve that starts in October and ramps up and peaks in November then declines in December.
You can see that some deer start breeding in October but I don't think of this as a "Mini-rut", I think of it as the "Start" of the rut.
Also, from what I've experienced during the last two seasons, I believe that it is the older does that start first. Although the graph shows yearlings as well. In the story of the buck I shot last year, on October 30th, I stated that I believed that I stumbled upon an old doe that came into heat early. Naturally, I hunted that stand again this year and saw the doe get bred on November 3rd. Unfortunately, the buck she picked was not one I was looking for. However this early rutting activity is something to look for. As long as the doe survives the season, she should come into estrus around the same time the following year. You may find a gold mine.
Is this just semantics or would you also find this to be confusing, this "Mini-rut"?
I just want people, especially newer hunters, to see the big picture. Finding one of these early breeders is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Btw, this graph will work for everyone if you slide the dates for your areas rut under the peak of the graph.