Can someone PLEASE explain this to me? as Ihave heard 10 different opinons and each one has been more bizzare than the next. The only common thing that I keep hearing is that this starts 4-5 days after the second full moon during the fall equinox when the bucks go completely nuts for 2-3 weeks chasing does....what do you guys say??????[&:]

Ican only tell you what I ahve experienced ....in northAlabama the rut generally kicks off about 7 to 10 days after the full moon in January thus being called the "rutting moon"

dd

Just google rutting moon and you will have mountains of info. Many articles from the guys at D&DH magazine and other wildlife experts. The second full moon after the Autumn Equinox is commonly referred to as the rutting moon. Many "experts" theorize that it is not just the moon but the photoperiod (amount of daylight in a day)that trigger does into estrous. Whenthe amount of light and dark are equal (12/12) or close to it it is believed thatis part of the "natural stimuli" that trigger does into starting estrous.This time can vary greatly depending onlatitude and longitude and canhappen overseveral days, and like DD mentionedthe deer in his area are not rutting until January which is muchlater than the rutting moon/2nd full moon of Autumn Equinox which is(approx.) Oct.26 at 0600 universal timebut it ispretty close as far as photoperiod. The full moon causes increased nightime activity in general and when coupled with rutting deer the activity tends to carry over to daylight hours.Many believe it to be a combination of these events that really causes spikes in activity.

I like reading the stuff and try to take it for what it's worth and apply if possible but realistically I am hunting whenever I can get off work and things like weather, storms, cold fronts, etc. usually effect me more than anything.

**Disclaimer** Just my take on some of the things I read, I am not one of the experts mentioned above.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input & just for info, This year i'll try to get into the woods as much as possible regardless of the rut. Be safe & have a great season. DD, good to see you're still around, hows the hunting in Kentucy? Have you found some good honey holes yet?

Just try and hunt a couple days before the rutting moon and about seven to ten days after the rutting moon. This is when you will have the best luck because the deer will be in the chasing phase.