Rut vs. Weather Question for BSK

[Spurhunter]

@BSK Where I hunt in MS the rut light switch usually gets thrown on Christmas day. December 26th my cousin saw 2 big bucks chasing does, but didn't have a shot on either. We hunted hard December 29-January 2, but the highs were in the upper 60s and we didn't see much of anything. The highs went from 10*F to 70*F in a couple days. Does a huge weather swing like that affect the rut at all? Will the cold front coming in Friday have a positive effect on the rut?

 

[BigAl]

Its my understanding the rut will not be affected by the weather but deer movement, particularly in the daytime, can be affected.
I'm not BSK and I didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn express last night either.

 

[BSK]

Its my understanding the rut will not be affected by the weather but deer movement, particularly in the daytime, can be affected.

This exactly. The weather doesn't shut down the rut, but a sudden warm spell can shut down a lot of daylight movement.

 

[Spurhunter]

This exactly. The weather doesn't shut down the rut, but a sudden warm spell can shut down a lot of daylight movement.

That's what I have always heard but wasn't sure if such an extreme temperature shift could affect it. As always thanks for sharing your knowledge!

 

[BSK]

From the years of observation data I have, increasing temperature and decreasing daylight buck sightings aren't an absolutely link, but statistically the decline is there. Moving from lows in the upper teens to lows in the upper 60s, buck sightings are basically cut in half.