just outta cutiosity is there much of a “2nd rut” down here? nowhere NEAR as much as the first one but back home around early december a few bucks would chase remaining does that havent been bred and would actually respond to doe scent/calling so i could fill my last tags. same case down here?
on another note the neighbor kid (now 18 and grown up to be 6 foot 5 lol) got his biggest doe last night. ive known him since he was 4 and has been awesome seeing him grow up to be quite the hunter and fisherman!
nice shot on the doe. up north or down here? don’t personally see much of a second rut where i hunt. pretty sure folks with better buck to doe ratios might see some better action.
ha doe is from up north and was about 200 before he gutted it. even though he was a football/basketball player and is still in good athletic shape he said he had to have another friend help him to even move it much. its been great seeing him grow up learning how to hunt and thats bigger than any doe ive ever put down by far!
OhioNavy, I’ve never personally seen a “second” rut but have seen rut stretch out. I’ve seen fawns at pretty much all times of the year, so they have to be breeding before and after the rut.
You can check out our SC DNR site and they have tons of cool info. They have been tracking since 1970 and report that 80% of our does are breed in the last week of Oct and first week of November.
If only our does got that big! I’d eat a Nanny 10:1 over a buck.
The rut is actually a period of cycles. Whitetail does are fertile every 28 days. The major rut period is normally in the fall, and is when most of the breeding occurs not because of the fertility of the does, but of the virility of the bucks. Yes, it is dominated by the ability of the buck to breed. This is due to the fluctuation of hormones of bucks that are largely affected by environment, habitat, predator pressure, human pressure, nutrition, and health. This fluctuation of hormones is what triggers the shedding of antlers, antler regrowth, virility and the ability to breed. Bucks have fully regained the ability to breed the moment that it sheds velvet from its antlers. Because of the variance in each bucks age along with all of the other variables I mentioned before, this takes place beginning in late summer and continues until early winter, with the peak being in the mid-fall. Since the does that aren’t breed in the beginning of the period continue to reach estrus every 28 days, the breeding period known as “the rut” is a series of time periods. Researchers have identified four phases of the rut.
Pre-Rut
As the temperatures begin to fall and the bucks shed the antler velvet they begin their sparing matches. These are not life and death fights but instead of “push and shove affairs” where bucks get rid of some frustration and test their competitors to start establishing dominance. During this time, the bucks are ready to breed but most of the does generally arent; however, some will stand to be bred. During this time bucks will live together in bachelor groups.
Chasing Phase
About two to four weeks after the pre-rut, typically in late September and early October, the real chasing phase begins. The mature bucks begin now to leave the buck groups and lead a life in solitude, begin to follow the does around in earnest; some actually chasing them. At about this time the does begin to produce pheromones as their estrus nears. Researchers believe that these doe pheromones advertise the estrus cycle an
not so much in the lowcountry as does are bred very soon after the shed of velvet, not giving much time for all of those phases. This is not to say that breeding does not occur throughout the fall, into winter months.I have been seeing pregnant does(SKINNING) since early October.
big wes thanks thats pretty much what i was looking for! fred trust me id love to drop a doe like that!!! an average one for us goes 100-125lbs guts out so thats what 130-160ish live weight? told him that even though my buck this year had an 18" spread he killed me for weight since mine weighed 125 and his was around 200 (guts in). reason they get so big where im from is all the farm land we have. most of the woods i hunted were 10-20 acre plots surrounded by fields connected by fencerows. deer could bed down all day burning little energy, walk 150 yards to the fields and eat their fill of corn and soy, then go back to bedding with a full belly. biggest doe ive ever seen at a check station was in an S-10 bed laying across it. rear end was touching one end, head/neck was folded up and the shoulders/neck was touching the other…MASSIVE!!! bucks on the other hand ive seen some on the scales at 250 guts out…however i never got one like that.
not so much in the lowcountry as does are bred very soon after the shed of velvet, not giving much time for all of those phases. This is not to say that breeding does not occur throughout the fall, into winter months.I have been seeing pregnant does(SKINNING) since early October.
I have no doubt that you have. Gestation of a whitetail deer is between 190-200 days +/-. Probably seen fetus fawns in does from zygote to 35-40 days in age. EDIT: Charles Ruth at SCDNR Deer Project says that most fawns are born in SC around May 15, give or take a week. Dennis Chastain wrote this very informative article for SC Wildlife in 2009. http://www.scwildlife.com/pubs/novdec2009/whitetail.html
This picture is courtesy of Vasser College.
The more we just complain…the more things stay the same.
