sho-me_bhntr

This seems to be an extremely knowledgable crowd, so I want to pose a few questions concerning the whitetail rut. I am currently reading a book called "Hunting Whitetails by the Moon." I am curious if anyone has read it and what were your thoughts? The more I read, the more interested I get. I have gone back through my hunting logs (and from memory) and definitely see a correlation from when I thought the rut occurred and when the author (Alshiemer) predicted the rut to occur. Can anyone else verify a correlation also? And as a side note, I am just curious if anyone has their own theories as to the trigger (or triggers) of the whitetail rut in the fall.

b2simple

I haven't read the book, but I believe the rut is triggered by the amount of daylight there is.

Legacy357

i heard about the hunters moon which varies within a few weeks mostly around the 9th of nov. this year, the hunters moon is Oct 28th if i remember right so that means a little earlier rut...i think thats what i read somewhere

TOBY V

I did read that book and I have to say that he has some intresting arguments for his theory and the years of study they conducted to back it up. His predictions in Deer and Deer Hunting Magazine seem to be right on.

BenfromVa

right off the bat, fogive my spelling.

Some say and there is some if not alot of data to back up that theory , that the second full moon after the fall equanox is refered to as the hunters moon.the rut has directly been linked to photosynthisis, if that (the shortening of days) is any indication,and when the moon is full... well there ya go. I do know after seeing years of deer harvest data from a local Military base where I worked for the hunting program for over nine years, it appears that regardless of the moon I bet an entire week of vacation that the rut will fall in around Nov 11th year after year,in the area I hunt. What you are doing is the right step, Your gathering knowledge from others opinions,in reading, asking questions ect.... But most of yall you have kept logs of your sightings, harvests or whatever you were looking back into. Put all that together and you WILL become a better hunter. Good Luck

TXhighrack

Down here in South Texas I (along with others) believe that the rut in this area is triggered by changes in the weather. Are rut normally starts between Dec. 7-14 and peaks around christmas time. The temperature in sept-nov. is normally pretty warm, ranging from the 90's - high 60's. But it seems like we always get are first cold front during the first part of December each year. When ever that cold front hits, it seems like it makes all the bucks get up and start searching for does.

I normally dont hunt "by the moon", it really dosent make a difference to me what the moon is doing. But if any of ya'll are planning on hunting in South Texas, then you better be in a stand during the first cold front in December, because I can promise you that your going to see rutting activity. And one more thing, make sure you have a pair of rattling horns with you

sho-me_bhntr

curious...its interesting that the whitetail deer is one of the most hunted game animals and yet as hunters we really don't really understand what triggers the rut to occur. i mean, just in the few replies to my original post, we already have a few different theories as to what triggers the rut - amount of daylight, weather and the lunar cycle. maybe the rut is far too complex to associate the trigger to one specific event. maybe it is a multitude of events that must occur together in order to set off the rut. its been my experience that the rut does not occur at the same time every year. i always wondered why...i was always under the impression that the rut was caused by the amount of daylight (or lack thereof.) so, to me it would only be logical to assume that the lack of daylight would be the same year to year during the fall bow season, hence, the rut should occur the same time year after year. so, that really had me baffled...anyway, i was turned on to this book and decided to post the question here to see what others thought, especially specifically to the region they hunt. its interesting to see when the rut is occuring for different people. please keep the replies coming. this is great stuff!

(btw, i don't hunt by the moon either, i hunt anytime i can!)

TOBY V

Ben. Just curious did you see the same activity (fall 2003) as you had in years past. Usaully as you said you can almost pick a week. Usually around the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th of November when the big bucks really get into the mix. I'm not talking about the dinks chasing. But the Mature bucks that you would never know were there. They almost appear like someone flipped a swicth. Last year I did not see that. The dinks were still doing alot of chasing well into the 20th of November with not a mature buck within site ( except a high 140's 8 point that got himself shot). This is highly irregular for the area I have been bowhunting. Years past the mature bucks were out roaming in search of does well before the gun season. I didnt see that this last year. Its intresting that Alsheimer predicted a late rut last year. I dont buy totally into this moon thing myself but Alsheimer is starting to convince me a little piece at a time. I will have to keep more notes (mostly video tape with notes) before I will be totally convinced. I will add our buck to doe ratio is not where it should be to produce an aggresive rut. That may be part of the problem in itself. JMHO

warmdaze

I just recently read that the moon theory varies up to 11.4 days, that's not to good in my book. I'am sure that if the time is right, and the moon is bright something is going to happen. But for now I just watch the deer when in the woods and the increase of road kills when out of them. Other then that, the photoperiod correlation has a variation of only 4.6 days (AUG / Ask Bowhunter). I still say watch the deer.

BOWFANATIC

I'd be hard pressed to believe the rut "is triggered" by anything other than phermones(sp?) produced by the doe and the bucks own hormones.

I do strongly believe in the moon phases playing part in travel and feeding patterns.