The rut, movement and the weather...
 

The weather has been unusually warm where I hunt (Fingerlakes Region of NY) most of the fall (also across the country). A couple of times in October the temp fell and I anticipated the rut would be going full bore by 1st or 2nd week of November. Well here we are 3 weeks (almost 4) into November and the temps have stayed warm and the weather has been wet... it seems like the rut just hasn' t taken off yet. Am I having wishful thinking or is this it for the big rut of 2003 - across the country? I hunted opening day in NY on 11/17 (that was the coldest day in the last week and it was around 50 degrees)... today it is going be around 65 degrees... I hate to complain about warm weather this late into the year, but because of this I think the rut is on hold and the deer aren' t moving because they don' t have to go far to get to their food or water source. Anyone have any comments - when the temp goes down will the rut truly begin and will the deer truly start to move?

Wood Guy

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

I was wondering that to.The past few days I havent seen many deer only saw some yesterday morning thats it.

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

We have been experiencing the same here in Ga. I personally think that they are mating mostly at nite now and simply not moving about during the days as much as they have in the past. But that is strictly my opinion.

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

Here in Ms deer movement the first 2 days of the gun season has been minimal. Gunfire has been sporadic, not like the war zone it has sounded like the previous years. We have had high winds and warm weather but a cold front is supposed to come thru tomorrow. Maybe that will improve deer movement. In fact, sightings have been very slim this fall.

Russ

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

Ditto in VA & TN. Disappointing so far. I' m hoping for an eventful Thanksgiving hunt.

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

Hey woodguy,
I' m from central NY too. Fingerlakes region. I am one that believes the rut is dependant on the amount of daylight available to the deer. I don' t think cold, wind, rain, temp. affect the rut at all.
I do however think that all of the undesirable weather makes daylight movement next to nothing, which means theyre doing the deed at night. Does don' t move bucks can' t chase em' . This is probably the worst hunting season as far as deer movement I' ve seen in a long time (bow and gun). all and all i think the rut is going and probably on the downward side of peek. I saw some craziness opening day with bucks chasing does, but after that I' ve seen nada.
where you hunting anyway??

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

Hi,

NY Bowhunter is right. The shortening of daylight triggers the rut and it is not affected by temperature. However, warm days make deer activity less, so it seems as though the rut is not on, and they move more at night. But a sudden cold snap will spike deer activity and you will see more deer, that' s what has led many hunters to conclude that temperature affects the rut.

Good Luck this Season!
Mark
http://www.buckhuntersecrets.com

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

Hey Wood Guy, you should know that every single year in NY it gets cold and crispy right as bowhunting ends, which gets our hopes up, and then just as the regular season starts it gets warm and toasty again. Never seems to fail huh? I hunt down in Cayuga/Tompkins county and was there in the rain on opening day. My buddy took a small buck and I passed up a small 4 point, and had 3 does that would' nt give me a clear shot. Around 4:30 I heard some grunting and figured it was my buddy on the other side of the woods. 5 minutes later I heard it again above me and realized that nobody was hunting there.........I turned and watched a beautiful 8 point trailing a doe into the pines. Never got a shot but it made a cold and wet day that much better. But you are right, it seems the activity is very slow this year and that is the only " nice" buck I' ve had in sight yet. Hopefully it will cool down again? At least by blackpowder season you' d think!

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

If the amount of daylight triggers the rut, why is it that in different areas of the country (sometimes only a hundred or so miles away) the rut kicks in at different times of the year? The bucks in our area normally don' t start to rut until mid January.

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

Hi,

Local genetics and chance affect the timing of the rut slightly as well. And just like humans, does go into heat at different times in different areas also. This isn' t an exact science and does not work the same everywhere at exactly the same time.

If a doe goes into heat a little early in an area, the bucks will respond, and this will create a local early rut. But just because it happens to coincide with a local cold snap doesn' t mean that that' s the reason for it.

Mark
http://www.buckhuntersecrets.com

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

here in warren county, pennsylvania just south of jamestown ny, the rut is in full stride. i' ve been driving down the road and saw two trophy bucks on two different days in completely different weather chasing does across the road. one day it was damn near 60 degrees and sunny.... two does ran across the road right in front of me. i stopped my truck and a Huge buck damn near ran right in the side of me chasing them does. three days later i was driving on a different road, it was freezing rain, windy and cold and a bunch of does ran out onto the road chased by an even bigger buck than the one i saw the three days before.

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

This may sound crazy but here in NJ I hadent seen any sign of the rut so far this year. Sunday I went out and baited in preperation for thurtsday morning. While I was out I made a moch scrape and used a couple drops of tinks #69. I went out today to make a couple shooting lanes and when I got in my stand I must have spotted 4 or 5 scrapes that werent there saturday morning. I dont know if the tinks made them frisky or just a coincidence

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

Down here in Texas, we have had a couple of cool days. I went out last week and saw some bucks chasing some does, but still have yet to rattle any in. Just this morning I saw an 8 point and a spike casing after some does. They were together, so I assume the rut here is not quite full blown yet. Maybe next weekend they will start getting more agressive.

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

I hunt here in ny too. and im telling ya i feel the same way u do wood guy. i havent seen a deer in gun season yet, and didnt see as much in bow season as i have in the past. this warm weather needs to go. i wish the rut hasnt taken off good yet, but i am afraid to say it has the night time is when the action is. hopefully we will get some cold weather here and get some daylight movement as the rut winds down, good luck though.




good hunting

RE: The rut, movement and the weather...
 

hey burniegoeasily,

you are going to be the topic of my next topic.