Predicting the Rut

Photo courtesy of Apple Creek Whitetails

Predicting the rut is one of the hottest topics in whitetail hunting.

The short answer for when the rut will occur this fall is: the exact same time it happened last year.

Truly, the only effective way to predict the rut is to subtract the gestation period of a whitetail doe from when the fawns are born. The average gestation period for a whitetail doe was 200 days. In my neck of the woods, most fawns will be born in the last few days of May and the first few days of June. This puts the breeding season around November 15.

Midwestern deer, because of their larger body size, have a slightly longer gestation period. This moves their rut forward to November 8.

Check with wildlife biologist in your area and find out how long the gestation period of whitetail deer is where you live. Just remember those keep the fawns will hidden for the first two weeks of their life. When you start seeing your first fonts they are probably two weeks old. You’ll probably need to another 14 days on to your math to acount for this.

-Jim
http://jimcollyer.com/