What am I seeing in the data?

Could it possibly be bucks just scoping out different doe groups early on. Then by the second peak bucks just returning to those doe groups. But now some of those doe's actually being in estrous. And now you get the chases and breeding.
 
killingtime 41 said:
Could it possibly be bucks just scoping out different doe groups early on. Then by the second peak bucks just returning to those doe groups. But now some of those doe's actually being in estrous. And now you get the chases and breeding.
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Very possible. The first peak is definitely cruising bucks, not breeding activity. The second peak is definitely breeding activity.
 
Ski said:
By 2:1 ratio i get more 4.5yr+ bucks on camera Halloween day than any other day of the year, year after year.
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Maybe they are out trick or treating too 😁 Guys just throwing some fun at a very informative thread . I've really enjoyed you guys commitment to your deer activity !! Success comes to those committed to the cause ....but then you have a guy with a horseshoe up his rectum that does everything wrong but kills the big one ! Sorry to intrude but appreciate this thread wholeheartedly !!!
 
BSK said:
Crazy how so many hunters are seeing the same thing. Right around October 31 and November 1 is peak time for mature bucks on my place.
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I normally am excited around that time frame but on the farm we got no major movement till the 3rd week of November. I contribute it to weather and Helena strom.🤔
 
It's ironic that West TN is so much later than Middle TN! MZ season was usually when I killed my buck when I hunted the TN River area. Now that I hunt West TN, the first week in December is the best times and both my bucks this season came at the later part of December.

Why does 100 miles make 5-6 weeks difference in the rut timing?
 
fairchaser said:
It's ironic that West TN is so much later than Middle TN! MZ season was usually when I killed my buck when I hunted the TN River area. Now that I hunt West TN, the first week in December is the best times and both my bucks this season came at the later part of December.

Why does 100 miles make 5-6 weeks difference in the rut timing?
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Ames should be in Dec. area of this map.

deerassociation.com

The Southern Whitetail Rut Map is Crazy. Here's Why.

From July to January, whitetails are breeding somewhere in the South. See the rut map and an explanation for the widely scattered dates.
deerassociation.com deerassociation.com

1738438670620.webp
 
Ski said:
This is exactly the pattern I've been charting for quite some time and have been using to plan my hunts, with pretty darn good success. I've got a few theories that make sense and with each passing year I believe more & more that it's a convergence of factors rather than one simple answer.

Firstly this is when white oaks begin really dropping heavy, like raining acorns. You need a hard hat to hunt.

Secondly this is when the first does begin popping hot. In fact I chart specific days of heightened older buck activity because it repeats literally to the day year after year in very tight, specific areas. Since I have oak trees dropping literally everywhere, there has to be a reason 5 different mature bucks get caught on one camera in the same day when none were on it in the days leading up to that day or after. But on that day that one camera is lit up with older bucks. The only reason would be a resident doe that pops hot on that day. As long as she's alive and circumstances are relatively normal she will cycle pretty precisely from year to year. And bucks old enough to have experienced it know it. They know where to be and when. Young bucks do not.

Thirdly this is also the time leaves have turned color and begin falling. What was thick cover a week ago is now suddenly wide open. Also a deer's vision is super sensitive to movement and with leaves falling there is movement everywhere. Furthermore they see very well in the blue spectrum so green is vibrant to them but orange & yellow is not. Not only is the movement of leaves falling a lot to take in, the contrast of color in their world is quickly fading from vibrant to dull, likely losing resolution. I imagine it's sensory overload. That is at least partially what I believe accounts for the "lull" between activity spikes because leaf change/fall very closely mirrors the timing.

At least that's how I've come to make sense of it all. I could be completely wrong about the causation but the phenomenon happens predictably regardless and it has been like a cheat code for killing old bucks. As an archery hunter I often capitalize on the first spike. It's literally like having a schedule to know which day to hunt which stand.
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If I may ask a crazy question . Do the older guys know when a certain doe in his territory is coming in heat?
 
fairchaser said:
It's ironic that West TN is so much later than Middle TN! MZ season was usually when I killed my buck when I hunted the TN River area. Now that I hunt West TN, the first week in December is the best times and both my bucks this season came at the later part of December.

Why does 100 miles make 5-6 weeks difference in the rut timing?
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Your not the first person to notice that. I would like to understand that myself. Good question. 🦌
 

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