West TN rut

[Boll Weevil]

Last Friday I saw a little itty bitty tiny fawn that looked to be no larger than a big housecat that got hit on the road. It had to be only hours old (a day or 2 at the very most). Well, the next day I was bush-hogging at the farm and saw a big doe standing there watching me ride by...belly was just as big as a blimp so she hadn�t dropped yet.

I found a deer gestation calculator online and punched in some dates around July 6, 7, 8, 9 etc. Based upon that algorithm, those deer didn�t breed till Dec 18, 19, 20, 21 or somewhere along in there (assuming the 190-200 days of gestation).

Simply passing along another couple of data points for you folks in SW TN that might be of value.

 

[baller_9]

I've seen two newborn fawns in the last week that weren't 48 hours old in Shelby County. In West Tennessee they'll breed into January with some of the younger does coming in but it doesn't ever seem to get cranked up until the first week of Decemeber in the areas I hunt in West Tennessee.

Amazing how far apart Middle and West Tennessee are in terms of breeding.

 

[Andy S.]

Based upon that algorithm, those deer didn�t breed till Dec 18, 19, 20, 21 or somewhere along in there (assuming the 190-200 days of gestation).

Very believable for our area. TWRA shot a pregnant doe on Ames back in spring of 2011 and measured the fetus. Based on back dating, it was estimated the doe conceived on December 6, 2010.

 

[BSK]

The closer to Memphis, the later peak breeding is. Peak breeding in that region is certainly as late as early to mid December. Drop down into the adjoining counties of MS (along the TN border) and very late dates of peak breeding can occur.

 

[StalkingWolf]

I saw lots of rutting activity last December.

 

[Ratvol]

When is the rut for East Tennessee versus Middle Tennessee? I've always thought it was around the 3rd week of November for East Tennessee.

 

[BSK]

When is the rut for East Tennessee versus Middle Tennessee? I've always thought it was around the 3rd week of November for East Tennessee.

East TN is a real tough one, as I've seen various reports by elevation and location. It's possible to have different peak breeding dates between the bottomland valleys and the high mountaintops.

 

[make them gobble]

weahter and moon play a big factor in it. 2 years ago i killed a buck around thanksgiving that was cruising around730 am and it was 70 degrees and full moon. but had been witnessing chasing and deer roaring for a week. last year i didnt witness much rutting activity until 2nd week of december

 

[BSK]

weahter and moon play a big factor in it.

Weather and moon play NO role in actual breeding dates. Breeding in any given location occurs on or about the same dates every year, despite weather and moon conditions. However, weather and moon conditions CAN play a big role in when hunters see breeding activity during daylight, in that they influence how much of breeding occurs in daylight versus at night.

 

[oldmanelrod]

weahter and moon play a big factor in it.

Weather and moon play NO role in actual breeding dates. Breeding in any given location occurs on or about the same dates every year, despite weather and moon conditions. However, weather and moon conditions CAN play a big role in when hunters see breeding activity during daylight, in that they influence how much of breeding occurs in daylight versus at night.

I agree with BSK on day light sitings and weather.

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

My best deer and rutting activities been December 20-27 since 2006

 

[Mike Belt]

Based on what I see around the house here in northeast Shelby County I'd say most of the fawns are dropped between te last week of June and the first week of July.

 

[ghosthunter]

The deer rut activity really picks up around Christmas and rolls good through the first week or so of January. I hunt Southern Middle Tennessee. I believe that TWRA analyzed some does from that area and proved that it was true the deer in that location have an extremely late rut when compared to the majority of Tn.

 

[Vermin93]

Based on what I see around the house here in northeast Shelby County I'd say most of the fawns are dropped between te last week of June and the first week of July.

My trail cameras indicated the same in my area of Loudon county - fawns the last week of June and first week of July. I'm not familiar with deer gestation periods, so when would the rut be in that case?

 

[BowGuy84]

I hunted Hardeman Co. for a decade every year around Thanksgiving. The week following thanksgiving would see the best hunting every year. If we went prior to Thanksgiving it was 1.5s and 2.5s moving in daylight.

The thing is, in this setting I trust my observations. In wooded areas I don't. In Hardeman it was rare to hunt where you couldn't see hundreds of yards of thickets in numerous directions. Viewing deer wasn't the problem, getting them in range of the 25-06 sometimes was.

Based on what I know now, I was seeing the week or 2 before peak breading. The biggest bucks were killed around Dec 10 every year. Again, corresponds with what I believe now about how the oldest deer respond to the breeding cycle.