ORIGINAL: timbercruiser
T.R., not to beat a dead horse, but at the bottom of page two I noted what I have experienced in close to 42 years of deer hunting. If the shortness of days sets the rut then why don't all the deer rut at the same time? I hunted near Clayton, Alabama for over 15 years, up till about 25 years ago, and back then the rut was usually in December. I now hunt about 35 miles due west of there and the rut starts mid January and runs till sometimes in April. I don't know if Charlie or Karl are right or if both are wrong.
Firs off you can have regional differences, based on local weather conditions alone. But it is unlikely when it is 35 miles away.
Secondly, it is the meteorological/weather conditions (as in the arrival of spring weather, that allows new green growth for the does to eat, which allows them to produce milk for the fawns to survive) that actually is the determining factor (not the trigger) as to when deer "should breed". And, because spring arrives at different times in different areas, the does in each area set their "breeding clock/eye) to the amount of sunlight per day, in each area, to determine when peak breeding is best for them in that area.
But, unbalanced buck tro doe ratios (causee by hunting) can change the peak (1 week) of the breeding season for deer in any area. Not enough mature bucks (meaning some does get bred later than they should) often leads to breeding seasons ocurring later than they should, and it may also "stretch" what should be a 60-90 day breeding season, into a 120 day or longer breeding season. AND, breeding seasons at southern latitudes can be (and are) longer than the seasons at northern latitudes, because spring lasts longer, and winter does not come as early (so late born fawns do not die of hypothermia from cole weather). Which means that late born fawns can and will survive. In southern Mexico, breeding may occur almost all year long, while in southern Canada it may lost only 60 days. Look at any Rut dates char with several state son it, and you will se there are different dates in different states, nd even differetn dates within the saem state.
Studies by Miller and Marchinton, and other deer managers, have shown that some aspects of QDM (such as balancing the buck to doe ratio; letting more younger bucks go and grow - resulting in more breeding age bucks) can result in earlier peak breeding dates, and shorter breeding season lengths.
So, hunting can have a great impact on when the rut begins and peaks, and how long it lasts.
Also, the importatin of deer from another location, can change breeding dates, because it may take a few generations for the doe population to adjust to the dates when peak breeding "should" occur in their new area. urvival of the fittest...
God bless,
T.R.