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Second Rut

camo658

camo658

New Member
When do you guys say the second rut will kick in? The Challenge is determining when the peak of the rut was and then count 26-32 days later..

Now, our 1st bow season ends late this year to December 6th.

It looks as though that will not be enough to catch the second rut.

some say it starts around December 10th to the 15th..

Others say its starts December 7th to December 17th.

Some say it doesn't start till the 19th or 20th.. and so on.....



So, what do you guys say for us here in Iowa?
 
You should be in a tree as much as possible this last week and a half of the season, stragglers come into heat and a few yearlings will pop early. Hunting might be slower, but the bucks that are turning up the throttle on day time activity tend to be the 4 1/2+ giants.
 
slice and dice said:
You should be in a tree as much as possible this last week and a half of the season, stragglers come into heat and a few yearlings will pop early. Hunting might be slower, but the bucks that are turning up the throttle on day time activity tend to be the 4 1/2+ giants.
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Thank you for replying. I'm aware of that.. I was in the stand last week..
 
slice and dice said:
You should be in a tree as much as possible this last week and a half of the season, stragglers come into heat and a few yearlings will pop early. Hunting might be slower, but the bucks that are turning up the throttle on day time activity tend to be the 4 1/2+ giants.
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Completely agree with this.
 
There is no such thing as a second rut. The bucks do not come out of rut and then all the sudden get back in it. They are always looking for booty. From late october to gun season and beyond. I have seen over a dozen bucks dog does in january during late muzz. The big breeders become more visible now as there are less does in season and they are actively searching. They have a bigger will to breed than all the youngsters that have been beat up the past month. I realize the does that were not bred the first time around will come into heat again and that is why the big dogs are still searching. The rut does not start again, it is always on.

I would be out there any minute I could till gun season as the big boys are always on the hunt and in rut.
 
Liv4Rut said:
There is no such thing as a second rut. The bucks do not come out of rut and then all the sudden get back in it. They are always looking for booty. From late october to gun season and beyond. I have seen over a dozen bucks dog does in january during late muzz. The big breeders become more visible now as there are less does in season and they are actively searching. They have a bigger will to breed than all the youngsters that have been beat up the past month. I realize the does that were not bred the first time around will come into heat again and that is why the big dogs are still searching. The rut does not start again, it is always on. I would be out there any minute I could till gun season as the big boys are always on the hunt and in rut.
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EXACTLY!! quit thinking to much about it and hunt
 
Liv4Rut said:
There is no such thing as a second rut. The bucks do not come out of rut and then all the sudden get back in it. They are always looking for booty. From late october to gun season and beyond. I have seen over a dozen bucks dog does in january during late muzz. The big breeders become more visible now as there are less does in season and they are actively searching. They have a bigger will to breed than all the youngsters that have been beat up the past month. I realize the does that were not bred the first time around will come into heat again and that is why the big dogs are still searching. The rut does not start again, it is always on.

I would be out there any minute I could till gun season as the big boys are always on the hunt and in rut.
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Thanks Liv.. I understand that about the bucks.. When I say Second Rut I am referring to the when the does who weren't bread the first time go into Estrous..

As long as a buck has antlers on his head he is capable of breeding.. I think most deer in my area are focusing on feeding more. I was just focusing on the second rut because I thought there would be a little bit more cruising then..
 
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So if a doe was ready and not bred on Nov 1st, then today it is. If another doe was ready on Nov 20th, then shoot for Dec. 18th. Who knows when each individual doe will be ready? Like said before, the bucks are always on the lookout for available breeding opportunities. As for myself, I try not to think about what some call a "second rut". But rather some sporadic breeding activity from now until gun season. Once the slugs start flying, I feel that survival trumps breeding in most cases. But this is just my opinion.
 
KnuckleDragr said:
So if a doe was ready and not bred on Nov 1st, then today it is. If another doe was ready on Nov 20th, then shoot for Dec. 18th. Who knows when each individual doe will be ready? Like said before, the bucks are always on the lookout for available breeding opportunities. As for myself, I try not to think about what some call a "second rut". But rather some sporadic breeding activity from now until gun season. Once the slugs start flying, I feel that survival trumps breeding in most cases. But this is just my opinion.
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I agree it is less intense then the primary rut..

Here is a good link(clip) I found: http://youtu.be/bEYZ1bEANIo

you might have to copy and paste it in http..
 
camo658 said:
Thanks Liv.. I understand that about the bucks.. When I say Second Rut I am referring to the when the does who weren't bread the first time go into Estrous.. As long as a buck has antlers on his head he is capable of breeding.. I think most deer in my area are focusing on feeding more. I was just focusing on the second rut because I thought there would be a little bit more cruising then..
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I don't think you'll see much cruising, I would start to focus back on food sources or trails to them, I think that's where you'll see most does and if there's one in heat it'll bring the bucks to you, just my opinion though
 
nemohunter said:
I don't think you'll see much cruising, I would start to focus back on food sources or trails to them, I think that's where you'll see most does and if there's one in heat it'll bring the bucks to you, just my opinion though
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Yeah, that's what i'll probably have to do.. The only reason why I said I'd like to see more cruising is I hope I don't see the same bucks all the time..

Maybe, just maybe, a estrous doe will bring in a mature buck from a distance..
 
If you have some good food plots for late season you may draw in some neighboring deer, I've always got some different deer on cam late season
 
nemohunter said:
If you have some good food plots for late season you may draw in some neighboring deer, I've always got some different deer on cam late season
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Unfortunately, I do not have any foodplots on the properties I hunt.. At least, that I know off. It's mostly small timbers with crop fields surrounding. I'll just see when if I can go this next week and just wing it..
 
Makes me wander what I should do. Hunt food plots or a funnel trail the bucks cruse beside a bedding area? Last weekend I had 3 shooters on the trail Andy buddy I was hunting with was also noticing that it seemed like the does we're starting to hit the plots again. If I hunt the trail I can't see much else but the trail as it is thick. It really seed like the rut started very late in my area this year.
 
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