What makes a buck go into rut?

[BEADLOCK]

Does any one know the answer

[Sportland_Bait]

I've read that the main factor as to when the rut begins is the amount of daylight. When the daylight gets shorter it signals something to the buck which triggers the rut. I'm no expert but that is what I've read.

Jason Erlandson

[irvingdog]

Photo-period (amount of daylight) mostly. Some also suspect that generations of deer will be triggered by temperature.

[catman71]

i have had great luck tacking up pictures of Pamela Anderson around my deer stand..........

[Stratosman]

where's your stand??

[Dan Thiem]

Too funny!

[catman71]

I was just kidding Statosman. I don't have a stand, I had to quit hunting years ago because I went blind.......

[Stratosman]

I knew it was true!

[CodyDawg]

Well, I hate to go technical on such a humor-filled thread, but here is what I know.

The rut is technically from when velvet is shed until the antlers drop. What many refer to as "the rut" is really the chase phase of the rut which occurs a day or two before a good number of does are in estrus and the bucks are running around like fools trying to get a piece of arse. So really what makes the bucks go crazy is the does coming into estrus. And that is fairly predictable from year to year and happens the first part of Nov in MN. Many old timers will tell you that you need a cold snap. This has nothing to do with it....BUT they are onto something. The cold helps deer movement. If it is 80 degrees, you just are not going to see the deer activity you would if it was 20 degrees. Another thought to keep in mind, just because you might be uncomfortable with the weather doesnt mean the deer are uncomfortable. If you are lucky enough to hit the right couple of days, you can see many, many bucks out looking for does. That occurs during the chase phase. Once the does come into estrus, the bucks will be shacked up with a doe and although they will still move some, it wont be like the chase phase. Hope this helps.

[BLACKJACK]

I agree with Codydawg, like any male, the bucks are ready anytime between velvet shed and antler shed, and there are even reports of bucks that have dropped their horns breeding late does. Its when the does come in heat that the frenzy is on, and that is generally dictated by the amount of daylight. Its natures way of getting a lot of fawns born at the same time, so that even if a few are eaten by coyotes and bears, the majority have a better chance of surviving.

So what makes a bucks neck swell up so much? Logic says its because hes rubbing trees, sparring, fighting, etc. that the neck muscles get built up, but you'd think you'd see alot more tree rubs if that was the case.

Now where is that tree with Pamela Anderson on it? Wait, don't tell me, I don't want to go blind!

[subzero]

I got to believe the technical answers are correct but in a perfect world the Pamela Anderson theory would be the one I would go with.

[FL SNIPER]

Pamela Anderson makes me go into rut.

[PerchJerker]

The rut is kicked off by photo period, the length of daylight. Bucks lose their velvet before this but are not in the rut yet. The photo period, plus the does going into estrus, creates hormone changes in the bucks and that's what makes their necks swell up.

During summer and early fall bucks hang out in bachelor groups -- ie. live with other bucks -- but when the hormone changes kick in the bachelor groups break up. This is the time you see all the pre-rut activity - scrapes and rubs - bucks marking their territory and taking out their sexual frustrations.

It can also be really noticable if you take a lot of trail camera photos too - you'll go from having photos of bucks together to only having single buck photos, or photos of bucks sparing.

Like codydawg said, temperature has nothing to do with it, but cooler temps will lead to more deer activity and more deer seen.

[CrappieJohn]

The available daylight also affects the mechanics of the female deer. It helps to establish when they go into heat. If not bred the first time they go into heat, they will come into season about a month later, and possibly even a third time if not bred during the second bout.

Next year start looking for scrapes when you first notice the days getting shorter. They will be there. When the velvet gets shed, this is more of a "prelude period" to the rut. When you can actually see swelling in the neck muscles, the hormones have also done thier work to the cajones and the "real" rut will be under way. Not all does will come into season at the same time within a general area and that is why the primary rut can last three or even four weeks. Does born late into the spring will be able to be bred that fall, but much later than the more mature and older does.

Another concept to think about...

We hear of how the rut is going in the north of Minnesota when it has already peaked and waned here in the south. We are closer to the equator here in the south of the state and the amount of daylight is actually shorter here than in the northern part of the state. The closer you are to the eqator, the faster the sun will rise and set. It goes from daylight to dark very fast and vice versa. The twilight periods are much shorter making for much less available light. Right now they'd be hopping in Texas.

This phenomenon may help to dispel the theory that temps come into play with the rut. By the time the deer hit the rut in northern tier states and Canada it is likely to be darned cold. In both sexes it is the amount of daylight that triggers the hormal changes which allow for breeding, not the temperature.

[Stratosman]

There used to be (and still is) alot of wives tales that the rut has to do with the temperature. But we know now that it is in direct conjunction with daylight changes. I have never really went by any calender period when judging the rut, just by deer movement and behavior, although still within a general time period. However, wouldn't it be accurate to assume that the phases of the rut all happen pretty much at the same time year to year? Since daylight tables remain the same year to year? So when you hear people say "it's gonna be an early rut" this year, what are they basing this on? My guess would always be temperature and would be incorrect.

[BLACKJACK]

Another myth is that the rut is timed with the full moon - hooey!

In my experieince, the hardest chasing that I've seen has been between Nov. 10-Nov 28. Last year, sitting on my deer stand the Friday bfore the second gun weekend, had a doe with a nice buck chasing her come running thru at a high speed, saw them for a total of 45 seconds, then they were gone, and they covered a lot of CRP. Pretty soon here comes a little buck following the trail. Several years ago, on Thanksgiving morning, one of the biggest bucks I ever saw had a doe cornered in a CRP field, he'd chase a small buck off, then back to her. I still regret not going after him, but I had guests coming. Last year, the day after Thanksgiving, I had a small eight point herding a doe within 40 yards of my house. Again a smaller buck was trying to hone in on the action. Neat to watch.

What it boils down to is spending as much time as possible on a stand between Oct 20 and Dec 1, the bucks go from the seeking to the tending to the breeding, then its off to find another doe. I actually plan my vacation for the first week of Nov, I believe that the bucks are moving more - seeking - vrs holed a with a doe somewhere.

[jlm]

The full moon part is right. However, there is some really good evidence that the moon phases do have something to do with the rut cycle. The moon phases may or may not have anything to do with the etiology (physiological or environmental) of the rut but there is some good and accuarate theories which help to predict the peak of the rut cycle. There a couple of researchers out there that really have this down to a science. I do not remember the names off hand but basically they were able to predict the rut more accurately than most other methods by utilizing the moon phases. Pretty interesting stuff for sure. Never rule anything out, that is for sure. Particularly when nobody really knows all the reason for the rut and estrous cycles! Good luck all!