Rut same time in Northern MN as Southern MN/Southern WI

[MossbackCD]

Hello out there. Any informed/scientific explanations as to whether the Whitetail rut in Northern MN is the same time as in Southern MN and Southern WI? In other words if the peak of the rut takes place in a given year on Nov 1 in Bigfork, MN does it also take place that same year on Nov. 1st in LaCrosse, WI? I know that isn't the date just using that as an example. Any knowledgeable/researched feedback on that?

[Musky Buck]

I'd guess it's amount of daylight drives the the rut so ? I'd say bucks are ready October 20th seems to be the heavy beginning the look for a doe in my area and setting up their territory according to trailcams and that will go through about November 20th or so, last years November 17th buck I got had a harem of 10 he was grunting at and it didn't take long to figure out which doe was the 1. They rut at night so much who knows really, must vary year to year state to state, county by county but that's the window, that month then again some Muzzy openers I find fresh scrapes so the bucks are game as long as they are finding receptive does, brutal answer lol not that it was 1.

[MossbackCD]

So if according to daylight is what drives peak rut the amount of day light the further South one goes is a little more than the amount of daylight the further north you go as we head toward December 22 which is the beginning of longer days again. If this is the case it would make sense that the rut would take place a day or more later in Southern part of state than in North. I know the entire 'rut" season overlaps in both areas but the peak date in each area might be a couple days apart over that 350 mile difference. Your thoughts?

[KJMinion]

I've often heard that the diminishing daylight triggers the rut which would lead one to believe that the deer further north would hit the rut earlier than the deer further south. However, on the flip side, the winter is often longer the further north you go so I would think that the peak rut would occur later the further north you go so the fawns are born later in the spring.

[Musky Buck]

either way texas or here the does get bred around the same time every year and it may not feel like winter in texas when it should, the does still get bred and fawns still surface each year about the same time.

[harvey lee]

Length of light of day triggers the rut.

I do not believe northern Mn to southern Mn makes any difference.

[InTheNorthwoods]

While I agree that daylight (photoperiodism) has a role in the onset of rutting behavior, I disagree that peak rutting/breeding takes place at the same time between locales. The fact is, deer (like humans and other mammals) have the same getstational period from region to region. However, the ideal time for dropping fawns varies from region to region. For example, successful recruitment of fawns (dropping, weaning, etc.) in Southern climates is not going to begin and end at the same time as Northern climates (i.e. a fawn born in early April in Northern Canada has a much lower survival rate than one born just a few weeks to a month later). There are studies that show that whitetail deer in certain areas of Florida (I believe it is Florida) have wildly varying breeding periods (from mid summer to mid winter).

With that said, I do believe there is a distinct possibility that there is a noticeable difference from Northern MN to Southern MN in peak breeding periods. (As much as 1 - 2 weeks possibly - think about spring thaw and green-up between N. MN and S. MN - the fawn drop mimmics these events fairly closely).

[Bear55]

If you look at the entire northern half of the country the rut does land during the same general period each year, this of course can vary week to week depending on your exact location. I feel the rut in the far north is a little more exact every year, if the fawns aren't born at the right time it will either be too cold to survive or they won't be large enough to make it through the hard winter. The further south you go I think you will find the rutting activitiy spread out a little more but most of the activity will fall in Nov as usual and of course there are alwasy those handful of early does in Oct.

[Bear55]

You also have to take into consideration that our rifle season opens up just before the peak of the rut, this can have a big effect on daylight rutting action. So while everyone might see the best rutting action just before rifle opener most of the does get bred at night after the rifle opener. Because the pressure what we see and what is really happening can be two different things.