# Rut Peak 2013?



## SmittyN330 (May 17, 2013)

When do you think the rut will peak? I would say right around early December. Because of the warm temps before this week, the deer may be pushing back the rut farther. That's schmack-dab in the middle of Gun Week. Everything is going according to plan...


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

What? The rut peaks the exact same time every single year, within a couple days. And it's certainly not in Dec. If you look at a breeding frequency graph, it'll ramp up starting early Nov, peak around the 12th or so, and fall a bit faster than it rose. The first week of Dec, even without gun season, will find more bucks recouperating than looking for does. Not to say there isn't some activity, but it's minute.


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## SmittyN330 (May 17, 2013)

Thanks M. Magis. I used to know all this, but I'm forgetting my deer hunting facts left and right!  sorry for the confusion, and thanks for deleting my mind straight. Not much point in this thread anymore lol


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## Mad-Eye Moody (May 27, 2008)

Yep, he has it right,

I prefer the pre rut for hunting, that is when bucks are getting really anxious and really moving hoping to get some action. Great time to use scents and decoys.


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## mattlecon (Aug 6, 2013)

This week and next week would be a good time to be in the woods! The bucks are starting to move. Scrapes and rubs are starting to show up. Also I have seen some really nice bucks taken as well. They seemed to have idications that it is starting and I have passed on a few smaller ones out looking for does


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## OSU Outdoorsman (Sep 1, 2010)

Question then......I have scheduled off 11/11-11/14 for vacation to be in the woods. Any thoughts on that do you guys think this is too late? I had always heard that the 2nd week in November is prime time to be in stand.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

It's a crap shoot, but I've taken those exact same days before. For me, it usually works out well. If anything, it would be a bit early for me. I tend to prefer the late part of the rut, up until Thanksgiving. I see less deer, but I don't have to weed though all the little bucks. Most of what I see are much older deer.


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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

No IMO you won't be too late at all and you should be smack dab in the middle of the action. My family has deer hunted in OH since the late 60s and Veteran's Day has always been a majical time in the woods for whitetail in this state.

And I couldn't agree more with Magis....you'll often see the real whopper bucks in the latter part of the peak breeding period.


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

ive cashed in on veterans day the last two years. but as magis said the big boys own the show late in the game.

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## SmittyN330 (May 17, 2013)

I have generally done good in late November all the way out to mid-December, in the time between youth gun weekend and bonus gun weekend. I don't know why my best success runs that late, it just oftentimes does.


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## CarpetBagger (Sep 21, 2009)

Rutting moon supposed to be November 17 


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## OSU Outdoorsman (Sep 1, 2010)

Thanks for the feed back guys. Didn't mean to jack the thread. Sounds like I should be in good shape then. With the weekends I should end up in the mix of things hopefully. Good luck to all of you.


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## icefisherman4life (Aug 5, 2007)

i took off that same week 11-15. I was going back in forth between the week before and the week of the 11th. I went the week earlier last year and seen deer but I think i was still a touch early.


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## BaddFish (Jun 20, 2009)

If you hunt "THE RUT" then you better have your does nailed down... bucks won't leave their side...
I like hunting the pre-rut (Halloween), Nov 1st, 3rd, etc... I get a feel for what's going on and where the does are.

The does get harrassed and bred in a big thicket that I hunt... its really cool to be in there when the bucks are all over them, except its extremely tough to get a shot off with a bow.


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## weasel (Mar 25, 2007)

I second what baddfish says. I like to hunt the chase phase. that's why I will be hunting all of next week. like he said you better know were the does are because the bucks will have them cornered up good luck to all!


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## NWfisherman (Jul 22, 2013)

Been seeing a lot of the little guys chasing this past week here in the NW part of the state...this rain and high wind they are calling for is going to put a damper on my hunting this weekend....been noticing some of the bigger bucks are getting more active... even got one on the camera I haven't seen yet this year...won't be long


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## carp (Oct 31, 2011)

I will disagree with the exact same time, every year, but the 1st of Nov. to the end of Nov. are the best days to be in the woods for rutting whitetails!

December is a little late , October is a little early.

But some years the 1st week in Nov. are the best. Some years the 2nd or 3rd week are better. Many other factors are involved. 

Last year my hunting partner and I were hunting 1/2 mile apart, Nov. 1st!

He video taped and took still photos of 9 dfferent bucks, and eventually got a shot at the biggest!

I saw a grand total of 0!

He would have said the rut is in full swing and I would have said the rut has not started yet.


I killed my buck 4 or 5 days later I saw 5 bucks moving that morning.

My opinion would have been different on those two seperate hunts on seperate days, and dates.

Who's right and who's wrong!


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

i base my guess on amount of roadkill and number of randon deer that showup on cams. i drive 75 miles one way to work and when i start seeing a roadkill about every 5 miles its on.
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## BaddFish (Jun 20, 2009)

Oh I hunt the rut too! Nov 6th thru.....15th or so...

My point was, if you decide to ONLY hunt the rut on Nov 7th or 9th or whatever day...you better know where your does are hiding out or are getting bred.
It could be a lonely hunt if your bucks are already hounding the does.

I start on halloween just to get a feel for where they are going or they want to be, so then I adjust my locations by the 4th or so accordingly.

I'll be out tomorrow, basically from sunrise to sunset.
Good luck everyone!


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

carp said:


> I will disagree with the exact same time, every year, but the 1st of Nov. to the end of Nov. are the best days to be in the woods for rutting whitetails!
> 
> December is a little late , October is a little early.
> 
> ...


That's just an example of different activity in different places. Whether you saw it or not, the does still got bred around the same time where you were hunting.


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## exide9922 (Aug 9, 2010)

So I still consider myself pretty new to hunting. last year was my first full year at it. During the rut, are you staying out all day? is it just mornings and evenings that are good or does even the middle part of the day have good chances? I'm planning on being out all day this saturday and sunday. just kind of curious. i dont get to get out often so i want to make the most of it by being out all day anyway.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Any day the first three weeks of Nov is a good time to sit all day. If I had to choose morning or evening I would always choose mornings. But, that&#8217;s based on where I hunt. Many people would prefer evenings, it just depends. There&#8217;s no right or wrong answer. 
Personally, I think the second week of Nov is better for all day sits, but don't let that discourage you from trying it this weekend.


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## exide9922 (Aug 9, 2010)

well too bad i cant the weekend of the 9th-10th as i'll be out of state that weekend. i'll be a little more careful with my november plans next year!! but this weekend i'll sit all day long, was planning on it anyway but just wanted to hear what the experts here thought about movement during the middle parts of the day. thanks!


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## Dan44149 (Apr 12, 2011)

The early stages of the rut is on now. It will peak somewhere around November 13. Most scientific studies show that the peak is 3-4 days prior to the first full moon of November. I popped a beautiful wide-racked 8 point that had been nocturnal on the game cam up until Sunday, 10/27 when he made his first (and last) appearance during daylight hours and within bow range. He came charging through a thicket of oak saplings after I gave him a couple of locator grunts, and he was looking for the mature buck challenging his location. He also came in from straight downwind of me. I also had Code Blue buck urine out in front of my stand location as well. I've been watching this buck move across our property with multiple game cams, and he was always nocturnal between 1am-3am for the past 3-4 months. Only thing that breaks a buck's pattern like that is the rut.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Dan44149 said:


> Most scientific studies show that the peak is 3-4 days prior to the first full moon of November.


That simply isn't true. All scientific studies show that there is no correlation what so ever. 
It's the non scientific studies that show what the "studiers" want them to show.


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## Dan44149 (Apr 12, 2011)

M.Magis said:


> That simply isn't true. All scientific studies show that there is no correlation what so ever.
> It's the non scientific studies that show what the "studiers" want them to show.


Really? You said the same thing in your earlier post... and I quote...



M.Magis said:


> What? The rut peaks the exact same time every single year, within a couple days. And it's certainly not in Dec. If you look at a breeding frequency graph, it'll ramp up starting early Nov, peak around the 12th or so, and fall a bit faster than it rose. The first week of Dec, even without gun season, will find more bucks recouperating than looking for does. Not to say there isn't some activity, but it's minute.


I do agree that it is certainly not in December. It's already ramping up, and if my Buck tag wasn't already filled, you can bet that I wouldn't be sitting behind a computer and I'd be in my stand all day long. 

We may not agree on the source, but at least we have concurrence of timing.

Do some research as to WHY the rut timing is where it is, and why it is nearly the same time (off by a few days maybe) every year. You can start by looking at the moon. This is also known as scientific study. The study of "why."

Happy hunting.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Sorry, I think you misunderstood what I meant. For sure, the rut is basically the same every single year, plus or minus a few days. It was the reference to the moon that I was saying isn&#8217;t correct. While you&#8217;ll certainly find &#8220;studies&#8221; trying to prove some sort of correlation, those studies are far from scientific. There has never been any sort of correlation between breeding and moon activity proven by actual science. It just doesn't exist. It doesn&#8217;t even take science to prove it. It&#8217;s a known fact that breeding takes place basically the same time every year, yet every year there is a different moon phase during that period of time.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Same basic time every year, year after year.

Every accredited study has shown the same results. Estrous and testosterone level elevation is directly related to the amount of daylight in the day.

If it was related to the weather or moon it would difficult to explain the differing typical rut times through the various latitudes in the US and Mexico. There is a reason that deer in South Texas experience their breeding time at the same time every year. It is the same reason the deer in Canada, Alabama or Mexico have their own distinct time frame that repeats year after year, every year and they are all at different times based upon one and only one primary influence.

There is breeding activity that takes place in Ohio every year from October through January, the peek breeding activity always occurs during the first few weeks of November. To try and somehow pin down this activity to just a few days would be a impossible task because it doesn't exist. Buck to doe ratio, concentrations, buck age structure, how many are breed the first cycle, timing of when and if first year fawns come into heat, etc, etc. What you see on the land you hunt could be totally different than what someone see just a few miles away

The one absolute is that the last week of October and the first 3 weeks of November are great times to be hunting deer if you want to see rut activity.

There is no reason to make this harder than it needs to be.


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## treytd32 (Jun 12, 2009)

to qualify as a scientific study there are a lot of criteria that need to be met.. thousands of grant proposals get turned down for different studies every year for a few miswritten words, let alone maintaining and performing unbiased scientific experimental design


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## ying6 (Apr 21, 2004)

This is a conversation that is consistent on this board. Why does this keep coming up? Just hunt or don't hunt.


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

well thank you for contributing ying6:what:

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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

NWfisherman said:


> Been seeing a lot of the little guys chasing this past week here in the NW part of the state...this rain and high wind they are calling for is going to put a damper on my hunting this weekend....been noticing some of the bigger bucks are getting more active... even got one on the camera I haven't seen yet this year...won't be long


Was in SE Ohio Wed thru Fri AM. Wed and Thurs were warm and muggy. The big storm came through Thurs night. Lots of wind, and when it rained, it poured! But, it didn't last long. Fri morning came with cool, dry air. What a relief! I also saw my first doe being chased by a buck. He was a little spike. Could have killed him but decided to let him walk. Another trip down is in the works! Good luck everybody!


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

I've watched doe being chased all day today. It's going on in Hocking county for sure.


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## ying6 (Apr 21, 2004)

well thank you for contributing ying6:what:
Your welcome?

Here, I will tell you what I have seen... however I am not sure I would want to be in the woods during the "peak" of the rut. In my mind the peak would mean that the deer are all bedded down.... but that is my opinion.
READY: (my contribution)
in Delaware/Morrow County
Thursday - high winds, little activity
Friday - deer movement, bucks checking scrapes, 1 buck and 1 doe running in the field
Saturday - Morning (few deer moving, had 2 doe and 2 buck come in) 
Saturday - afternoon. Walked up on a 10 point bedded down with a doe actually on my property in a back barn
Sunday - morning (NO activity)
Sunday -afternoon (little to no true rut activity, however deer were moving around farm)
All stands hunted were within a mile of each other. Deer were active, larger deer seem to be bedded down, smaller deer were definitely more active. 
contribution completed.


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## chase845 (Nov 2, 2005)

Peak in December? You realize deer have their fawns around the first week of June. It's a 7 month gestation roughly. Pretty easy math. Temperature doesn't change this.


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