RUT REPORT 2017
General Topic
When the Bowsite was started I would always start an annual Rut Report thread. Kind of trailed off the last few years, but decided to restart it.
Please post any success photos, RUT Activity in your area, location, temperature, wind speed, weather condition, blue sky or sunny, AM/PM, and so on.
Thanks everyone and have a successful hunt this Fall!
Still stuck at work, I have no idea what's going on yet. I'll be in a tree in the morning though.
West central MN: Just started seeing some mild chasing and scent checking the does from the younger bucks in the past four days. Lots of scrapes (as usual for this time of the year).
This timing of this cold and snow is perfect!!!
Mark
Rut is going hard here. Still waiting for the deer to start though.
Haven't seen a buck, scrape, or fresh rub yet in NE CT, but haven't been out in six days.
I’m in the early season blahs here in New York. I was seeing a couple of bucks every time I went out. And on Monday the 23rd, in a 3 hour period, I saw 6 bucks, 5 does and 4 fawns. That was then, but in the past 3 days I’ve only seen a total of 4 does and fawns. Most of the pics I have on trail cams are mid –night, 11pm to 3am. On the day I saw 6 bucks, one of them was my prime target buck at 70 yds., and he looks as good hard horned as he did in velvet. Wish I could be rid of the south wind, it’s killing me. It didn’t help that they picked 2 big corn fields across the road.
Rupe: You accidentally omitted your report from Iowa:) Need an update please
Hi Rupe! My son had a 170+ buck and 30 yds and couldn’t get a clear shot on the 26th evening. Saw 5 bucks. Two smaller fighting an 8pt ran off a ridge and plowed over a smaller 6 pt knocking him to the ground. 3 does standing by. None of the bucks seemed to care about th does and it appeared territorial. I went next morning to same stand and did t see a thing :)
Nebraska just starting to warm up. Lil bucks chasing does. Some biguns on their feet already.
Here’s a write up on how photoperiodism affects animals. Hours of sunshine per day.
To understand photoperiodism, it is important to understand how animals keep time physiologically. The pineal gland, and its hormone melatonin, mediates photoperiodic time measurement in mammals [136, 195]. Pinealectomy blocks responsiveness to photoperiod in every mammalian species studied [138]. Information about environmental light arrives to the brain via the lateral eyes in mammals [228]. A nonvisual neuronal pathway, the retinohypothalamic tract, carries light information from melanopsin expressing retinal ganglion cells directly to the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus [55, 187, 284]. The SCN are the primary mammalian biological clocks [275]. From the SCN, the main pathway for photoperiod information to the pineal gland is relayed through the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, leaving the brain through the intermediolateral cells of the upper spinal cord, and then through the superior cervical ganglion. Postganglionic noradrenergic fibers project back into the brain and innervate the pineal gland, where neural information is transduced into a hormonal message [60, 100]. Melatonin, an indole amine hormone secreted rhythmically by the pineal [9], can induce photoperiodic responses when exogenously administered in a number of ways [20, 116, 284] (Figure 1). Particular aspects of the responses observed following constant release implants, daily injections, or daily infusions of melatonin led to some early controversy regarding the significance of various temporal characteristics of melatonin secretion. Melatonin is normally secreted in a circadian fashion, with an extended peak occurring at night, and basal secretion during the day [9]. The duration of this nocturnal ‘peak’ varies inversely with day length in several species, including humans. Results obtained in sheep and in Siberian hamsters strongly favor the overriding importance of the duration of the melatonin peak to transduce photoperiodic information. When pinealectomized hamsters or sheep were infused with melatonin on a daily basis, the types of responses elicited depended on the duration, but not on the phase, of the daily infusion [20, 38, 56]. Data obtained from similar studies in several other mammalian species support the conclusions that the duration of melatonin is the critical physiological parameter providing photoperiod information [13, 266, 272].
Little bucks with noses to the ground in Oklahoma this morning.
Chasing began in NE Ohio around the 20th, more and more every day since... About October 20th every year... I think that's about the time the first doe comes into estrus around here... Good indicator, look at the fresh roadkills... Soninlaw killed a big mature 17 pointer Wednesday...
Scouting public lands ...tons of new scrapes..some rubbing. Mostly small trees ...
Just finished a hunt in Southern Mo. Rut (chase) is still about 1 1/2-2 wks away. The biggest enemy the past 10 days was the unstable weather conditions (short sleeves, then rain, then high 30* temps with very brisk winds/20-30 mph gusts). Bucks were slow to move and does would come to plots late PM. Due to summer drought, the acorns were on ground, but when opened it was like saw dust inside. Not exactly "filet mignon"!
I have seen decent buck movement for the last 2 weeks. Haven’t seen anything that would be related to the rut though. I have had some good hunts in October. However there is nothing like November. 4.5 days of work till I can be in the woods for the next 2 weeks.
Manitoba, am, 2.5 yr. Old chasing on October 27.
Small bucks feeling their oats here in SoDak. Saw 6 1.5-2.5 year olds tonight scraping, rubbing, and generally harassing everything with 4 legs. The big boys know it’s still a few days away.
Eastern Pa within 2 miles of the Delaware: scrapes like crazy and occasionally a buck after a doe. Mostly seeing bucks moving around but the does seem to be a rarity this season. Some rubs but not nearly as many as the scrapes. Never saw so many in all the years. Weather gradually getting cooler but all over the place with still days mixed with windy, and into the forties at night and back to the 60-70 range during the day. Some crazy stuff this year. Even the weather report has the wind blowing in the wrong direction half of the time
Middle TN. Good amount of trees rubbed mostly smaller in size but I have come across a few decent sized cedars ripped up. Fewer than normal ground scrapes I feel. Out behind the house past few days had some decent sized boys following does during daylight so were starting to get there!!!
Here in upstate NY the lil bucks are starting to harass the does a bit. I saw 7 bucks yesterday afternoon and only one a shooter. The other six came in and checked every doe in the cut corn field. The shooter buck showed no interest what so ever and fed right along side the does. I would think the seek and chase phase is a good week to 10 days off around here. Lots of scrapes opening up so it won't be too long. Shawn
Deer in So Cal are ruttin, We dont have any big enough to leave scrapes on trees. They just spray paint their name on the trees, Fork Dog, 3 Point Cracka, Spike Killa, etc..
Saw a small 8 point cruising past my stand this morning, northern ky. Just started seeing bucks in daylight.
135 class 9 pt just came by the stand chasing 3 does. It may be on! Northeast Ohio.
Wednesday night on the way home from stand saw bug 10 pt bedded with a doe by the side of the road.
Found fresh scrapes and rubs this morning on public land in SW Missouri.
—Mitch
It’s on here in Northeast Ohio. Full out chasing.
I haven't been out yet, but lots of my friends are killing deer. I'll be hunting this weekend in some deep nasty timber. It's a 2 mile hike in so nothing smaller than 150 takes an arrow! I'll be a mile from where I killed my best buck. It's nearly the same moon phase and calling for some great hunting weather. Cold Friday, light rain Saturday afternoon!
The light switch turned on in eastern colorado on Saturday. Some pretty good bucks were lip curling and scent checking does. Younger bucks chasing does.
My friend killed a 202 inch buck on the 7th!
