I read an article recently that said some bucks do not participate in the rut. "Research shows that in specific years, some older bucks never sire any fawns"? I always assumed it was like ringing the dinner bell for every buck out there. Anyone know if this is true>??

NYB,I have read some bucks are more interested in survival than breeding.David Morris,author and one of the founders of North American Whitetail magazine had a theory about secretive superbucks.The get to be the biggest by not fighting and not participating much in breeding.

No different than humans. They are called steroid users.[8D]

I'm sure if a bucks lives long enough that could very well be. When it comes to whitetails, nothing surprises me.

i read that before also...that older bucks dont breed, or breed nearly as much as the young bucks.

just like in life...us 20 somethins do alot more of it than the old, mature guys...hey i put that pretty nicely...didnt even point fingers or anything

i dont think the rut is too fun for any deer personally. one morning i had a doe come running by me. looked like she was gunna die. panting, sweating..then here comes the buck. jacked off lookin as ever..same thing..panting, sweating...trashed a tree right behind me...he was jacked.

next comes a group of does and a nice 6pt. they hung around for a while like teenagers in a group..then the 6pt got guttsy and smashed his nose somewhere he shouldnt have...after wanting nothing to do with the group of females all year..here he comes and did something like that. pretty sure she kicked him...he came by me walkin all slow with his feelings all hurt...he was crushed. lucky for him, he didnt have a 4th point to make him legal or i would really rained on his day

so that is why i say the rut is not fun for most any deer...bein chased for MILES...getting used just because its that time of year...getting kicked and ignored by some snobby stuck up does...hey...sounds like my teenage years

LOL ditto

It took me 34 years to liberate myself from the romance… Don’t get me wrong, I’m an active participant, but I’m not going to be foolish, waste money or swallow my pride for it anymore. Maybe these guys feel the same.

Now we just need to find thier man-cave...

By the time the "fawns" come into estrous.....I'd think the mature bucks have had their fill of breeding. They get their choice anyways (why do you think the does lead the bucks on a chase?).

The breeding ritual of the whitetail is fascinating. She leads the immature bucks on a chase to let the matur ebucks know she's ready.

Natural selection at its finest.

As stated.....that quoted line doesn't surprise me one bit.

Does make some sense that the older the buck is the less sexual active he is. Or maybe he just hasn't found the right doe yet. As for some of us other bucks we never slow down. Ah crap that didn't go where I expected it too.
Maybe it is a testosterone thing, Hey throw out some little blue pills in yer timbers and watch what happens!!!!! Just pray they don't get that prioprism thingy.

A lot of times the older bucks wait until later in the rut, after most of the 3 1/2s and 4 1/2s are worn and frazzled, then they come out for the easy pickings. I've seen some of the largest bucks from Nov. 25 through Dec. 15th (second rut) and then again around Jan. 4th (third rut, doe fawns). These guys are 5 1/2+.

I saw something a few years ago that is relative to this discussion.

A large racked 6 point came in to my stand area during the peak chasing phase of the pre-rut (early Nov.). He was being followed by 3 does and he wanted nothing to do with them. They were obviously hot & bothered and kept sniffing his butt and trying to nuzzle him. He finally had enough of it and turned around, lowered his rack and charged them trying to run them off. He then walked right under an estrous urine scent cannister I had hung on a branch and never reacted to that either. The only reason he was allowed to live was because he wasn't what I was looking for.

I think he was gay.