one of the kids i coach killed a 7 point saturday morning during youth season that was trailin' a doe and swelled up.....a little cool front is headed thru in the next few days also that might kick it into 3rd gear...anyone else seeing bucks swelled and trailin'?

We're seeing lots of rubs and scrapes on our place but it's just normal pre-rut activities. The young bucks will chase for weeks before the rut actually kicks off. They are a lot like teenage boys. They don't stand too good a chance of getting any but that don't keep them from trying
When folks start seeing the big boys chasing, it's on.

MC

that kid could have been telling a tall one also..
i just wish it would go ahead and cool off a little better..it doesnt really show to be a very cold winter right now even though all the old timers are saying its going to be a cold one this year...either way i usually see the rut at my place from around nov 10th thru mid december..

rut is determined by moon phase, not weather. if its hot, the deer will usually run does at night.

one year when i hunted in east texas, it was warm all november and december,one of our hunters stated that we probably did't even have a rut. i looked at him and said, yep, no fawns next year, it was too hot for the deer to F***. he nodded accordingly and said, "yep".

talk about a goober

Agreed, deer will breed about the same time each year in a given area based on moon phase and shorting of the days, not weather. Cold weather makes the doe's more active as far as feeding and therefore you see more does and bucks, which probably leads to the misconception that cold weather triggers the rut. A ton of breeding goes on at night. How many times have you actually seen a buck breed a doe during a hunt. I have seen it a few times, but more times not.

so with the moon phase theory , what is going to be the optimal rut time in west texas...?

I would say around the full moon phase give or take a few days would be peak. If you bass fish, you see big waves of spawning bass moving up during the full moon of a given month. Although, I do believe that the shorting of the days has more to do with it than the moon phase. That is why you see deer rut peaking at different times within different geographical locations within the US. I have hunted West Texas for 30 years and I can tell you that if you want to see the big mature deer, go the week after Thanksgiving.

given that info , the rut has started early for some deer around here ...i have been doing this for about 25 years now and my theories are based on my personal experiences and not james krolls...it appears to me that yeah some of the younger bucks may be moving trying to "get some" etc. but if they are swelled , trying to breed a doe does that not make them in the rut? as a matter of fact this is the down side few days of a full moon...just kinda wondering , how can you pinpoint the rut by moon phases?? my father in law has a family of whitetail that stays in his back 30 acres where he lives..he sees their day to day activity and even their night time rituals...theyre chasing in taylor county too...on the young buck theory...my wife had to drive around a 10 point that had a doe hemmed up against a fence in the highway over here a couple days ago on the way home from the baby sitter..2 years ago when it was a wet year like this , i watched 25 deer in our wheat field on november 1st...5 were bucks and it looked like an airforce dog fight between the 5 bucks and about 4 does in the field...i guess what i'm saying is could there be quite a bit of lattitude on when the rut is "in gear" by region?? something to contemplate , up for discussion..when does the rut hit in montana , nebraska , kansas?? are they on schedule with the moon phases or are they ahead of us due to quite possibly earlier cold weather etc?? cuss and discuss

just prerut more than likely. Im out west also and have very little sign. just because they are chasing a little doesn't mean theyre in rut. you will know when the rut is without a doubt.

After last weekends report from the guys at your place west of Winters, the bucks are still just tearing up trees and posts. Nothing was seen looking at the does and some of the big bucks were still hanging out together not so much facing off. Might be a few weeks before the good stuff really starts.

i know that in east/central/south texas that the deer are a lot more centralized with smaller ranges which could contribute to different deer sightings etc...pre-rut/rut..its kinda irrelevant to me whats going on west of winters because thats a good 3-4 hours south of my location..not trying to start a rut war..just trying to learn more about it and find out if people in my area are seeing the same things i am ...evidently theres not very many people from my area on this site..i do know one thing for sure....saturday is opening day and i will be breaking down film all day...everyone else , enjoy christmas morning

Not sure who that was directed toward, but I will admit that I am no expert. All I have to go off of is what I read and personal expierence. I would not doubt that there are some doe's that may come in heat earlier than others. You are correct in that on a dry year, some cow's may not come in heat at all. This has to be natures way of keeping the population down based on weather conditions. I do firmly believe that the rut is strongly tied to shorting of the days, not temperture, and that the peak of the rut in the Albany to Coleman and surrounding areas is right around Thanksgiving. I have hunted these areas for to long and have seen it year after year. Of course you will see the younger bucks chasing early, but chasing is about all they do.

jason, after looking at your website and the pictures of the bucks harvested etc.. i would say that you might know a little about it...man those are some impressive bucks...i used to live in canyon and hunt lake meredith a little and saw some awesome deer while up there...where is your place located up there??

Most of our deer hunts in the upper panhandle take place North and East of Canadian in Lipscomb County. Some of the pictures are from around Childress and North of Pampa as well.

I definitely have to agree that 80% of the time the major rut is around Thanksgiving. I have seen it full blown on opening weekend too though. But, the dry does in our area are hot as they can be right now. It's funny to watch 15 to 20 does at a feeder and then a buck comes into view. The dry does take off on a dead run and the does with a fawn by their side stand there and watch the show.

Last night I had about 18 does around me and about 4 bucks. Some of the does were definetly hot because the bucks would chase them off the road and into the tree line. This all happened in Clay county.

MBB did you loose an arrow?

Not sure about the deer but im in rut, but i always have been. Thats why wife is glad I'm going to deer lease

Yeah I did loose a arrow a matter of fact, but not on a deer. I shot a bobcat that came creeping in from behind me. I didnt even know it was there until I noticed the deer starting to act spooked. He came about five yds from my treestand. This was the biggest bobcat I have seen alive or dead and weighed 31.7lbs on my scales.

this buck was killed out here saturday morning while occupying a hot doe...i saw him up close and he has to be 5.5 maybe 6...check out the neck..i think he green scored 146 ...rutting?