Rut Activity - Seen any??

[Mayfly]

Well I saw some good sign in th ewoods today. I took a brief walk exploring a semi-new area and what I found really got me excited. I found countless rubs and a few scrapes to go with it. I also found this in areas that I frequent so I know they are new. Although this "sign" that I have come across doesn't mean the bucks may be moving like I want them to be moving it is a change of pace as it is all new! Besides that I did run into a small buck cruising around back there. Not sure if I jumped him off a bed but he took off and stopped and then dissapeared. I also jumped a doe that was clearly bedded down. It was a good walk. I will be back in the woods tonight hoping to see some action.

This is the deer that I saw today:

[dearme]

I have also found a few rub lines about ten days ago and two scrapes  one of them i put up a camera and did get a few pics the first two days then it seems they abanded it as it is no longer open I have now moved the camera out to a new stand that i havent hunted this year waiting for the best day to hunt it  one scrape that i found was in the smallest opening in a row of pines just enough room for a deer to stand in as they were planted as a wind block  skipped last weekend so i will hit it hard this weekend and maybe every morning from there on

[thunderpout]

Mayfly...how far north where ya saw sign, I havent seen that much while workin on stands and grouse hunting.  I did see some scrapes up by the canadian border last weekend, but Im wondering if the deer'll be chasing each other around by opener...seems were behind schedual by a few weeks this year....      -thunderpout 8)

[outdoorfamilyof6]

Whats rut activity?  I have 2 bucks in my "backyard" and I have seen there they have tracks in the field, and where they travel and I know of the times they move.  I can watch them.  Kinda neat!  But if I know what Rut Activity is, I can look for that tonight on our nightly walk

[tripnchip]

  I haven't found any scrapes but the areas i was in yesterday i should of seen some if they were starting yet.I did see some rubs but they were on the little older side so feel they were nothing but get rid of the velvet rubs.

[Outdoors Junkie]

Some basic rut activity is when bucks are making scrapes, rubbing on trees, sparring a little with other bucks.

[Mayfly]

Pre-rut
The period prior to the breeding season (rut) when bucks shift their main attention from feeding to locating receptive does. 

Rut
The portion of the deer breeding season when most does are in estrus and receptive to breeding.

Rub
A scent and visual marker created when a buck rubs his antlers on a tree, shrub, or other stationary object.

Scrape
A scent and visual marker created when a deer, usually a buck, removes ground litter with its fore-hooves and exposes a patch of mineral soil.  Deer often urinate and occasionally defecate on the exposed soil.  Scrapes are often visited by multiple deer.

Licking branch
A branch, often over-hanging a scrape, that a buck deposits scent on by licking and rubbing his forehead gland.

Grunt
A vocalization produced by deer that can be used as either a contact call or to express aggression or excitement.  Bucks and does grunt. Contact grunts are short (less than 1 second in length) and quiet.  Aggressive grunts can be either short or extended (more than 1 second) and are produced with force. Tending grunts are produced by bucks as they trail a doe in estrus.  They are typically a series of short, quick grunts that are given repeatedly.


Tending phase
Portion of the peak rut in which bucks guards a receptive doe from other bucks until she allows copulation. The buck and doe will typically breed more than once during a 24 hour period. The buck will continue to tend the doe until she is no longer receptive to breeding, or until he is driven away by a more dominant buck. 

Estrus
The period of time when a doe is ovulating and willing to copulate.  Estrus typically last for 24 hours.  If the doe is not bred successfully, she will re-cycle and enter estrus again about 30 days later.

[repoman]

i could'ent of explained any better , ::rockon::

[Mayfly]

Mayfly...how far north where ya saw sign,

Forest Lake area.

[deadeye]

Last Wednesday my friend saw a doe "scenting" trails.  She had the dark patches on her hind legs.  She would walk a few yards up every trail and then return.  There was a fork buck following her.   This was in central MN.

[Russ-Judy]

we saw 14 fawns cross about 150 yards away from the Duck Inn yesterday while having coffee all in a line- now thats a good sign that the bucks are chasing the fawns away from the does

total seen in 25 minutes -- 18

[Mayfly]

Here is some good reading I found on the internet!

Pre-Rut
In its most general sense, the metamorphosis from soft to hard antler is indicative of the beginning of the start of the pre-rut. Representative of this phase is a switch into inventory mode. As soon as deer shed their velvet, they become increasingly mobile. No longer fixed in their daily prolonged feeding, meandering, bedding, feeding patterns, they instinctively begin to monitor resident doe groups.

This is the time of year when bucks are keeping an eye on the does and assessing where they should focus their breeding energy. As pre-rut activity heats up throughout October, bucks will often test the waters and step up their efforts to inspect the pheromones given off by does. Frequently, bucks on the prowl during the late stages of the pre-rut will jump the gun and attempt to mount does, only to get shrugged off or given the literal run-around. At this point, does may tease a bit, but they are not yet ready to accept the physical advances of their male counterparts.

Along with this growing urge to breed, bucks become more interested in checking out their competition. Sizing up their peers, sparring to establish dominance and posturing, are all part of the pre-rut ritual. By this time, bucks are becoming more vocal and visibly testing each other to establish dominance. The odd sparring match complete with posturing and, periodically a chase or two, can be witnessed. A word of caution though, if it's a bruiser you're after, be advised that these old boys will often let this stage of the game be played by their younger, less-experienced counterparts. Not until things really heat up, do these established dominant bucks begin to participate with heart and soul.

To maximize pre-rut hunting time, focus on staging areas in heavier cover adjacent to prime feed sources like pea, hay and corn fields. Using your grunt tube every once in a while, during the pre-rut can attract curious bucks and does, just as rattling lightly every hour or so can prompt the same type of curious attention. Keep in mind that breeding season is just around the corner, and every deer knows it!

Peak Rut
From the coldest northern Canadian whitetail range to the warmest southern range in Mexico, there can be as much as a two-month variation in timing of the peak rut. In Canada, it occurs smack dab in the middle of November. In fact, I can set my watch by the arrival of this festive period of the breeding cycle. My personal rule of thumb is that unless afflicted with terminal illness, locked in chains or worse yet, my wife assigns household chores, nothing keeps me out of the woods between the 11th and 18th of November. This one-week period in my home province of Alberta, has produced more respectable bucks and brought in more bruisers to my rattling efforts than any other time of the year. That said, the 48 to 72-hour first estrus cycle may occur as late as the middle of January in southern locales such as Alabama, Florida and down into Mexico. Regardless of timing, bucks literally travel around the clock in search of hot does during the peak rut.

Read the whole article here:

http://www.biggamehunt.net/sections/Whitetail_Deer/Whitetail_Hunting_Primer__20_Things_Every_Deer_Hunter_Should_Know_12080510.html

[Mayfly]

Here are a couple scrapes and 1 rub from the woods that my cousin and I are hunting.......