Rut Question
 

I had a question about the rut. Is the change in the length of days what triggers the rut. Or is it the weather. Because i always have heard people complain that when its been hot that the rut wont trigger but ive always seen rutting action start pretty consistently year in and year out where i hunt.

Good question!!!!! Me personally I've always thought it was the drop in tempature combined with the right part of the season the gets the rut going.. IMO anyways. I guess if the tempature didn't drop till say late november the rut would kick in anyways...

Nope, it's triggered by amount of light. Cooler weather just means more activity during daylight hours. If it's hot, most will be done at night.

"The breeding season, or rut is induced by a changing photoperiod, or shortening of days, during the autumn months. The further south the state, the longer the breeding season will last, due to less restrictive photoperiods."

it isn't just one thing. the moon, the length of days, and the cold weather work together to define the rut in a given season.

the temperature needs to be below 40 degrees here in kansas or the deer get too hot and don't move as much for the rut. they have to do all the running and you can't physically do that when you are wearing a winter coat.

the moon plays a bigger role than most people think. right now the moon is lined up for the rut to start earlier in november. we expect the chase to start going good november 1st.

the shortening of light is what gets the does in heat and raises the testosterone of the bucks. it puts the deer in a time frame for the other 2 factors to take over and define what happens.

man, if you can answer that question, patent it

a combination, shortened days and colder temperatures make for increased deer movement, the latter of which i am speaking of...they are on their feet more, lookin for some prime doe "tail"

the common theme i hear is when it is colder it "triggers" them, i don't buy into it, as it seems that the light change, in addition to the does in the area, are what really gets it going for me in PA

I found the following information that seems spot on, you can make your own conclusions.

"Any worthy biologist will tell you that anecdotal data from hunters have value, but that biologists need quantitative data from scientific research to draw sound conclusions. Obviously, buck-to-doe ratios, a herd’s age structure, weather conditions, the general condition of the does, genetics and hunting conditions all play role in the rut. Just how much? Who knows? But maybe this is where both sides can find common ground? As Alsheimer told me, “The rut equation is most likely 80 percent photoperiod with the remaining 20 percent heavily influenced by the Hunter’s Moon.”

Overall, I really believe we may be simply splitting hairs with this topic. Although the subject is very interesting, who cares? If the moon guides work for you, then by all means, use them. The moon raises many questions simply cannot answer and many people, myself included, believe the moon must have something to do with deer movements and the rut. Just how much is the real question? As bowhunter Steve Keithley from Maryland says, “In my parts of the country, the rut will be in and around the second week of November, so if you have 10 minutes to hunt, then hunt!”

I agree. Whether photoperiod or the moon phase deserves credit, the rutting action might be happening in your woods, but only 5 miles away it could be nonexistent. Sound familiar? Bottom line is, you’ll never know unless you’re in the woods!"

Well Put!!!!!

This is definitely some good information!!! Didn't realize the cutting back of day light played such a big factor in the rut and doe's coming into heat. The moon phases are still a big mystery to me, when to hunt, what time of day they are most active do to the placement and phase of the moon, honestly I don't care. I'm gonna be out in the woods regaurdless and if I don't see anything because the moon messed it up O freakin well, cause A bad day hunting beats a good day at work everytime :)