Second rut is on.
Whitetail Deer
I saw 10 different bucks this morning in the black hills of South Dakota. Four different fights. Coolest thing I've seen in a long time. Two bucks would be sparring and another one would come in and break them up to get in on the action. Everywhere I looked bucks were squared off against each other. Really cool. Oh, by the way, this was all out in a field at almost 9 a.m. Obviously a hot doe in the group.
Wayne, congrats! Great story! Lets hope I've got one to doe for the bucks to fight over tonight!
Mark
Excellent! Most likely a doe fawn in heat unless you've got way to many does and not many bucks where you hunt! Doesn't sound like a lack of bucks! Good luck! C
No Charlie we have about the right balance. There were 20 -25 deer in the field and 10 of them were bucks. There was obviously a hot doe in the field but they weren't chasing. I would guess in the next day or two they will. It was just incredible to see. Especially since there was a month long rifle season all of November and the muzzle loader season has been in the whole month of December. I know you like the late season and I can sure see why now. Good luck everybody and keep at it. I'm going back out tomorrow night then hunt Christmas day and the 3 days after. Should be a good time.
Sounds like a great time to rattle in a good buck. How ling does bow season stay in?
Good idea. Bow season is in until the end of the month. Might give that a try. Could have swore I heard one grunting this morning but couldn't locate it then got distracted by a bald eagle landing 20 yards away. Rattling may be the ticket.
I would agree on the second rut...I was in my tree stand last weekend just looking for a doe to fill my tag and saw several bucks chasing here in NE Colorado. One very good one, it surprised me and changed my entire thought process. I passed on a slam dunk doe that I may regret now.
The rut was just kicking in here last weekend. 4 bucks chasing one doe. Now that's exciting!
Saw 9 bucks yesterday afternoon on an urban hunt in maryland.
There were two hammers and several nice 2 year olds after a fawn doe. This was at 2pm in a manicured lawn of a million dollar home. That poor fawn kept trying to get away but it was impossible.
Nothing was close enough for a shot but what a great feeling to know what survived the gun season.
On well managed properties remember it's the doe dawns over 75 pounds that are coming into heat not mature does! The mature does (In properly managed herds) will have been bred in early November (I am talking about the Midwest) The scared look on these doe fawns is priceless! Good luck all in filling your tags! C
Doe and or fawn calls can be very effective!
"Doe and or fawn calls can be very effective!" Good idea Charlie.
In jersey yesterday I saw 3 of the best bucks I saw all season standing with a small doe and 2 others while driving all mature.
Im curious. Is it really a second rut, or is it more like the mature does who weren't bred earlier in the fall are cycling info estrous again while the doe fawns are just now entering their first estrous cycle?
I've always looked at it as a continuation of the rut when bucks get a 2nd chance to breed the ladies that weren't ready to be bred, or possibly weren't impregnated
Here is the big fellow I mentioned earlier. Caught him on the trailcam the night before I saw him. You can see in the snow he is following the trail of a handful of does. This is why I chose not to fill my tag with a doe quite yet
milnrick: Go to the QDMA website and read Kip Adams current article on late season breeding. Where there are too many does and too few bucks it could be does that were not bred during the correct time.
In well balanced herds the does are all bred when they are supposed to be bred in early November so the activity now is with 75 pound or greater doe fawns. You will experience one or the other scenarios but not both! C
As I understand it does will come into heat until they are bred. In other words lets say they are first in heat Nov. 15th. If not bred they will repeat a month later Dec. 15th. As Charlie stated fawns will come into heat in the late season.
Additionally as I understand it the further south you go the longer this process drags out. (In other words the further north you go the more condensed the rut is.) Where I hunt in Texas the does usually start coming into estrus the first of December, and the process continues on for a month or longer. Up north I believe things are more condensed due to the biological need for it to be so.
Best of luck to you Wayne, I commend you for your efforts. I hunted up in Wisconsin year. My last sit was November 17th. It was about 5 degrees that afternoon and I had hit my limit and decided it was time to head back to Texas!!
Have had the same thing in ct 5 bucks 1 nights ,sparing in the field . sparing on camera !
I've got my last 5 days of the season to hunt starting tomorrow, hopefully I can catch some late rut action. My last sit on December 14 I had a fresh scrape under my stand that hadn't been touched since the second week of November so there is still some action. There are a lot of doe fawns in the area so I'm assuming some of them are starting to come into season. Hopefully the bucks are on the hunt! Good luck Wayne!
hope to see some pics on this thread of a dead buck soon. south Dakota was amazing this year...
Brad, I hope to play Santa and fill your Christmas wish in the morning! SD has been amazing this year, maybe too good as I've never been more selective in my life probably too a fault at this point! Time is running out and it's time to feed the family so something is going to have a decidely unhappy Christmas.
Charlie, Great QDMA article! Just read it....makes a ton of sense!
Thanks for referencing!
Mark
