Deer expert needed

[curt]

Complete curiousity here it appears general feeling is peak Muley rut is aprox Nov10-15!?!? So for the guys that really know Dana Mark Jelvis and everyone else but me how long do they typically rut for? Reason I ask about 3-4 yrs back I was in Region 8 for bow season Nov 25 or 26th cant remember exactly but I've never seen deer rut like that, bucks were everywhere chasing Does!! Does were leaking blood it was on in full swing never have it hit it so perfect but that appears to be considerably later than most people say so what the deal they go hard for 3-4 weeks then???

[f350ps]

Jelvis?????? You can't be serious! You'll find ruttin bucks from late Oct to Dec. K

[Weatherby Fan]

rut is basically all of November,there will be signs of it in late October and have seen bucks chasing does in the first few days of Dec,hunting in Princeton years back seen a buck mounting a doe on Nov 5th,middle of November would be a safe bet anywhere in BC

[Jelvis]

Look hunters let's not complicate this.
Mule deer rut
...................
... mule deer have a gestation period of 210 days altho 187 can be considered full term
... mule deer habits and hormone changes happen by the amount of length of day light
... it's not frost or cold nights etc
... rut is the same each year in and out for decades.
... fawns are born the same time each year end of May early June
... count back 210 days from the end of May and you will see the outcome
... buck starts pre rut oct 9 then for real october 23rd
... the breeding of mature does is done by Nov 2
... then yearling and left overs
... the peak is Nov 4th to Nov 19th of November .. tapers down then til end of season
Jel .. Breeding is done mostly in the dark, same as migration does.

[Pre '64]

Also, if a doe doesn't get bred she comes into heat approximately a month later so there is another flurry of activity then, just like a cow on the farm. A lot of things affect the intensity of the rut, weather, moon , buck- doe ratios.

[curt]

thanks guys that makes logical sense what i do know is the daylight thing is right on the money. I did talk to a Bio yrs ago with regards to moose and thats exactly what he told me. The rut is determined by the amount of daylight hrs and has little to nothing to do with weather. If weather was the deciding factor then the survival rate would be considerably lower, the cold frosty morning may get the animals moving out in the open blocks and meadows more than the hot dry days but they will still breed when the females say the time is right!! It just appeared to me that the deer seemed to have a considerably longer breeding season then moose so I now have it pinned down a bit better I wasnt far off maybe a week or two, I appreciate the input!

[Caveman]

There are two ruts, primary and secondary. Not all does go into heat at the same time nor do they get bred at the same time. Therefore the rut can run for a couple months while this takes place. The rutting action starts late Oct and can extend into Dec. The peak can vary, but generally is the first couple weeks of Nov.

[Gun Dog]

Look hunters let's not complicate this.
Mule deer rut
...................
... mule deer have a gestation period of 210 days altho 187 can be considered full term
... mule deer habits and hormone changes happen by the amount of length of day light
... it's not frost or cold nights etc
... rut is the same each year in and out for decades.
... fawns are born the same time each year end of May early June
... count back 210 days from the end of May and you will see the outcome
... buck starts pre rut oct 9 then for real october 23rd
... the breeding of mature does is done by Nov 2
... then yearling and left overs
... the peak is Nov 4th to Nov 19th of November .. tapers down then til end of season
Jel .. Breeding is done mostly in the dark, same as migration does.
So how does latitude factor in? The day in Terrace is already 45 minutes shorter than Vancouver (for example). Or do deer adapt to keep the end of May birth?

[Jelvis]

Terrace is close to coast and more north than south interior but it has daylight hours and they are losing two minutes a day down til First day of winter.
Blacktails are affected too and vegetation as well so mother nature keeps a system in place.
Blacktails migrate vertical up and down more than mules, mules travel across and down and up.
Different vegetation more deciduous trees and more wet precipitation etc.

[300H&H]

FYI...Here in Kelowna the deer on the west side of Okanagan Lake go into rut before the deer on the east side.

Weird or what !!!

[elkdom]

most years from the first and second week of November is the Hot Time for the Rut in NE BC, ( reg 7 B), but if it is really mild( temps around 0 celicius), the tempo lessens , best hunting is very Cold Mid November,,, Minus -20 or colder,,,,,,

[rides bike to work]

Are white tails rut different than mulies