When Does The Rut Start In Kentucky?

When Does The Rut Start In Kentucky
FRANKFORT, Ky. (WBKO) – The end of summer brings with it chilly fronts and frosty mornings, but many hunters in Kentucky welcome the change in season since it heralds the beginning of deer hunting season. The sport of deer hunting in Kentucky is a significant contributor to the tourist sector in the commonwealth, as it generates an annual economic benefit of more than $550 million and contributes significantly to the state’s overall economy.

Every year, over 300,000 people in Kentucky go hunting for deer; however, Kentucky’s large deer population also brings in thousands of hunters from other states during the several hunting seasons.
The cash generated from hunting helps to conserve natural resources in addition to being beneficial to the state’s economy.

This year, the season for shooting deer with modern firearms begins across the state on November 13 and lasts until the 28th of the same month. According to deer scientist Kyle Sams of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, modern gun season accounts for around 60–70 percent of each year’s total deer harvest in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The height of the fall breeding season, also known as the rut, when deer are more active than normal, will begin in the middle of November in Kentucky, and the state’s season will last for a total of 16 days. As there are fewer places to get food, deer will start to become more active and will move more distances.

The statewide mast output in the year 2021, also known as the quantity of acorns and nuts produced by Kentucky’s hardwood trees (white oak, red oak, hickory, and beech), was given a grade that was considered to be average. According to Sams, “at this time of the year, deer travel to search for high-quality feed.” “In the early part of the year, white oak acorns, which may be found in great abundance in September and October, are particularly appealing to deer.

Later on, as the temperatures begin to drop, hunters should concentrate their attention on any red oak acorns as well as any other food supply that is readily available.” John Hast, the department’s acting Deer and Elk Program coordinator, said that local conditions can have an effect on the results of the harvest.

“How and where you hunt at any point in the season should be impacted by the mast crop in your local region,” he said. “So you’ll want to go scouting to check what food source the deer are eating,” he said. “How and where you hunt can be influenced by the mast crop in your local area at any time.” Archery season kicked up in Kentucky on September 4, marking the beginning of the state’s deer hunting season.

The season for bowhunters will continue through January 17, 2022.
In addition to seasons for modern guns and archery, the state of Kentucky also has seasons for muzzleloaders, crossbows, and child hunters.
Sams stated that while September’s harvest numbers were above the 10-year norm, October’s harvest numbers were below average.

This was in part due to the warmer weather that we saw during that month. Sams invites anybody seeking for hunting areas to visit Kentucky’s public lands, which include more than one million acres suitable for hunting, fishing, and other activities that take place outside.

Sams stated that the use of bow and arrows for hunting is permitted at any time throughout the season in the majority of the Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) that the state maintains.
I would encourage hunters to consult the Public Hunting Areas Quick Reference in the fall hunting and trapping guide for areas where hunting with modern firearms is allowed during the regular gun season even though the majority of modern gun opportunities on WMAs are rifle quota hunts held during the first weekend in November.

“The majority of modern gun opportunities on WMAs are rifle quota hunts,” Due to the discovery of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Tennessee near the state border of Kentucky, hunters should be aware of special hunting regulations that apply to all deer hunting in the counties of Fulton, Hickman, Graves, Marshall, and Calloway (the CWD Surveillance Zone), regardless of license exemption status or method of take.

These regulations apply to all deer hunting in the counties of Fulton, Hickman, Graves, Marshall, and Calloway. Within the Surveillance Zone, the following special regulatory adjustments have been implemented: Check Stations for Chronic Wasting Disease are required to be in operation throughout these five counties throughout the modern gun season (November 13–28) and the late muzzleloader season (Dec.11-19).

During the contemporary gun or muzzleloader seasons, you are required to bring any and all deer you harvest to a check station, regardless of the manner of take or whether or not you are exempt from the license requirement. There is to be no baiting or feeding of deer.

The usage of carcass tags is required by law. Any deer carcass that is transferred inside or through the surveillance zone must have a carcass tag that is visible from the outside and clearly shows information about the hunter or proprietor of the carcass. Transportation restrictions imposed on carcasses Meat that has been deboned can be removed from the Surveillance Zone, as can antlers, antlers that have been cleaned and connected to a clean skull plate, a clean skull, clean teeth, skins, and finished taxidermy goods.

It is permissible to transfer into the monitoring zone the carcasses of deer or elk that were harvested in another part of Kentucky. It is important for anybody planning to shoot deer in the Surveillance Zone to factor in these additional requirements at an early stage in their preparations.

Visit fw.ky.gov/cwd in order to obtain information on the placement of CWD Check Stations, as well as specific CWD Surveillance Zone rules, frequently asked questions, and the most recent updates regarding the department’s efforts to prevent the spread of CWD.
It is imperative that the high-risk portions of deer taken inside of the CWD Surveillance Zone, such as the skull and spinal column, be properly handled.

In addition to using rubber gloves, hunters should also consider bringing spare field dressing equipment for butchering and deboning deer in order to prevent the spread of the chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the event that one of the deer they shoot is found to have the disease.

According to what Hast indicated, if you harvest a doe and do not want to keep the head, all you have to do is remove the head and bring it to a check station. “Bring either the head or the complete deer in the case of bucks; the department will take a tissue sample from the animal, after which they will return the head to you.

We will put a tag on the head of any bucks that are going to be preserved by a taxidermist, and we will collect information on the taxidermist. After they have finished skinning the skull, employees from the department will follow up with the taxidermist.” Anyone who is not inside the CWD Surveillance Zone and is shooting deer is welcome to provide samples for testing at a Deer Sample Collection Station.

By taking part in the survey, hunters will be able to determine the age of the deer they have taken and will contribute to the work of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife to monitor the health of the state’s elk and deer herds. The findings might take a few weeks, but they will eventually be made accessible through an internet lookup system.

During firearms deer seasons, every hunter is required to wear a blaze orange cap in addition to a vest or jacket for the sake of their own safety. Before ever firing their weapon, hunters should always make sure they have a clear view of their target as well as what lies beyond it.

The mandatory hunter education requirements can either be fulfilled in-person or through the internet for hunters. A free exemption permit valid for one year is offered on a one-time basis to first-time hunters who are accompanied in the field by an experienced guide who meets certain requirements. The Fall Hunting Guide for 2021-22 is now available for download online.

How do you know when rut starts?

Rubs – The rutting season typically begins around the beginning of November in the Northern and Midwest areas. This is the time frame that can typically be relied upon. The presence of antler rub marks on the trees is a reliable indicator that the pre-rut season has begun to progress.

In the past, it was believed that this was only associated with the elimination of velvet; however, subsequent observation has revealed that these rubs correspond with the rut season.
Not only are the deer rubbing their antlers against the trees to remove the velvet from their antlers, but they are also rubbing their forehead glands against the branches to leave their fragrance and communicate with the other deer in the region.

Younger deer are less likely to rubbed their antlers on tree bark as much as older deer. The more we get into the rut season, the more severe those rubs are going to become. They will deteriorate into scratches in due time. Then, after you no longer see deer in the places where they have been scraping, you will know that the rutting season is about to begin.

How early can deer go into rut?

Deer with white-tipped tails – In the Northern Hemisphere, the rutting season of white-tailed deer, also known as Odocoileus virginianus, typically lasts for three weeks, although in tropical zones, it may occur throughout the year. During the rut, white-tailed deer, and especially bucks, are more energetic and less cautious than they are during other times of the year.

This not only makes them simpler to hunt, but it also makes them more vulnerable to being struck by motor vehicles.
Charles Alsheimer, an outdoors writer, conducted research that showed the rutting season of white-tailed deer is also controlled by the lunar phase.
His findings showed that the rutting season reaches its peak seven days after the second full moon that occurs during the months of October and November (known as the rutting moon), whereas the rutting season of elk begins on the 21st of September, which is when the equinox occurs.

A white-tailed deer doe can be in estrus for up to 72 hours at a time, and if she doesn’t get pregnant, she can go into estrus another seven times. If they are not mated, cows can go through the estrous cycle as many as four or even more times. The rut may begin as early as the end of September and continue on through all of the winter months if it is allowed to continue.

This process often starts for bucks when the velvet on their antlers begins to peel off, and it can continue all the way up until the point where they begin to lose their antlers.
However, the highest point of the rut is located smack dab in the midst of it.
The 13th of November is, on average, the busiest day of the white-tail rut in the United States.

Because the rut is in full swing at this time of year, the bucks and does are particularly active during this time period. It is not unusual for a hunter to observe a large number of deer pass by the area in which he is situated in a tree stand during this time of the year because other deer are likely to be pursuing one another.

During the rut, a buck will display a variety of behaviors, including those listed here. During the time leading up to the rut, bucks will fight with one another. A low-intensity kind of violent conduct, sparring consists mostly of pushing and shoving each other. Bucks of varying sizes will engage in this behavior toward one another.

After the pre-rut has concluded, a buck will mark its territory and proclaim his dominance over other bucks by rubbing his antlers on a tree (creating what is known as a “rub”) and making scrapes on the ground with his hooves. Both of these behaviors are examples of how a buck will mark its territory.

In most cases, these pursuits take place in the evening. Fighting is the most common activity observed during the peak of the rut, when bucks compete with one another to demonstrate their actual power over other deer. When they fight, bucks often face off against other bucks of a similar size, and young bucks do not typically attack older, larger males in the regular course of events.

Most of the time, younger bucks avoid the territory of dominant deer because they are afraid of the more mature bucks. The battles can continue on and on forever, and whomever emerges victorious will be awarded the herd of does. It is fairly uncommon for one of the combatants to get an injury even if the conflict does not continue until one of them is killed.

A significant amount of weight can be lost by a buck during the mating season due to the high amount of energy that is expended during activities such as pursuing and fighting.
Some studies have shown weight losses of up to twenty percent of the body weight.
Before mating season begins, an adult male deer may weigh up to 180 pounds on average (82 kg).

After going through the stages of the rut, he is able to drop almost 50 pounds (23 kg) of weight, which is a significant amount, especially considering the short amount of time involved (just a few months). After the rut, a buck will need to refuel his body in order to make up for the weight and energy that he has lost throughout the rutting season.

According to some sources, once the rut is over, a buck will retire to his bedding area where he will lie “motionless” for an extended period of time, maybe even for as long as two days due to the sheer amount of energy required to compete in the rut.
After he has had some time to rest, he will get up and immediately begin to eat a lot in an effort to make up for the deficiencies in the nutrients that his body needs.

Croplands provide a great deal of grain that is heavy in carbohydrates, and a buck may frequently be seen in these areas eating and obtaining the nutrition it needs. In order to take advantage of the milder temperatures that may be found in swamps and bogs, a buck may choose to go to an area that has a climate that is unusually cold.

Are deer in rut right now 2021?

The Best Times to Hunt White-Tailed Deer in 2021 Multiple scientific studies have indicated, as we said in the rut predictions from the previous year, that between November 5 and 20, 90 percent of mature whitetail does in North America will be in estrus and ready to reproduce. This window of time falls between the dates of November 5 and November 20.

What time of day are most big bucks killed?

To be more specific, the majority of them take place between the hours of 9:00 and 10:00 in the morning. It is a period that has been proved to be effective, and it may have a lot to do with the widespread belief among deer hunters that things slow down once the early morning hours have passed.

What triggers the deer rut?

When Does The Rut Start In Kentucky It is that time of year. If you are a committed bowhunter, there is no question that you are now in the woods. Even though the bow season started four weeks ago, the deer activity is just starting to pick up again. It is the time of year when whitetail deer reproduce, and this period is referred to as the “rut.” In any case, at this latitude, you can reasonably estimate the rut to last from the beginning to the middle of October to the middle of December.

The rut is not affected by the phases of the moon, shifts in the weather, or planetary alignments, despite the widespread belief to the contrary. The photoperiod, or the amount of sunshine that occurs each day, is what causes females to go into estrus, and the does are the ones that decide when mating takes place.

Bucks are ready to breed as soon as the velvet on their antlers is shed in September, but it takes longer for the females to enter estrus. Even though photoperiodism is the most important factor, some females do enter estrus before others. It is dependent on factors like as age, previous sexual experience, and the availability of adequate bucks.

More: Outdoors Calendar of Events In the autumn, a whitetail doe of reproductive age will go into heat for a period of between 24 and 36 hours.
If she is not bred during that window of opportunity, she will regress and go back into heat after another 28 days have passed.
The cycle will begin again if she is not bred throughout that time period.

Each year, more than 98 percent of all mature does are successfully bred, which is a very high success rate. When you hear hunters speak about the “rut,” they are almost always referring to “the peak of the rut,” which is the brief period of time during which the greatest number of does enter their reproductive cycles.

The date and time will remain relatively constant from year to year.
Old pal Charlie Alsheimer of Bath, who was a nationally famous deer aficionado, made his profession by forecasting the peak of the rut in various locales.
He also created books, calendars, and series of magazine articles on the enigmatic biology of the mating season.

He stated under oath that the rut was determined by the phases of the moon. The majority of contemporary wildlife biologists are of the opinion that it is not. No matter what, the level of activity around here often begins to increase around Halloween and reaches its highest point at the end of the first or second week of November.

The timing of the firearms deer season in this area ensures that the majority of mature bucks will have mated and given birth to their young before the hunters ever enter the woods, which results in the highest possible rate of reproduction.
The rut reaches its height once more in early to middle December; the following estrus cycle for those who did not breed occurs in the middle of November.

During the mating season, known as the rut, typically cautious bucks are overtaken by tremendous hormonal cravings that cause them to hunt far and wide for receptive does. The heightened activity that hunters observe looks like this. In all honesty, the most of the breeding takes place in the dead of night during the evening hours.

However, it’s not uncommon for deer to continue their pursuits even after the sun has risen.
The onset of the rut is said to be triggered by cold weather, but in reality, an increase in daytime activity might be attributed to the fact that bucks are uncomfortable lounging around in the cold.
Mike Hall, a deer researcher, once informed me that the cold causes deer to roam around more, but that this has nothing to do with the rutting season.

“When the guys notice increased deer activity, they assume that the rutting season has begun. When they don’t notice much activity, they conclude that there isn’t a rut occurring that year. Do they really think that something as fundamental to the continuation of the species as reproduction would be dependent on weather patterns? Each year, a mature buck has the potential to sire numerous does, and an experienced doe has the potential to sire several bucks.

When they reach a particular weight, which normally takes place later in the year, certain female fawns can really go into estrus. This happens when they are six months old. Hunters, of however, have a tendency to form their own opinions on the rut based on what they observe from their respective stands.

Because of this, I often hear statements from so-called “experts” such as “there was no rut last year.” (I can’t help but wonder: Where did all of those newborn deer come from in the spring?) Alternatively, “The rut came on quickly (or slowly).” It is sufficient to say that the rut will reach its height at the same time next year as it did this year and the year before that.

What is the rut prediction for 2022?

In September of 2018, we published a blog entry in which we predicted that in a year like 2021, when there were two “rutting moons”—the first on October 20, and the second on November 19—the whitetail woods will experience a typical “trickle rut.” We hypothesized that some adult does would take their cue from the first full moon and enter estrous at the end of October, while others would take their cue from the full moon in November and be ready to breed sometime in the middle to the latter part of November.

You would observe ebbs and flows of rutting activity in the time frames and between full moons that were mentioned before. Testimonials Following the bow season of 2021 was through, Big Daddy sent us a message on Messenger saying, “Mike, the previous year you forecast a decent rut after the full moon in October.” You have a perfect understanding of the situation up in northern Pennsylvania.

On October 30, 2021, Big Daddy was successful in taking this magnificent deer (top photo). On the 17th of November, 2021, Zach sent us a message on Instagram saying, “Well, Mike, yesterday afternoon I got it done.” This ancient doe was at the top of my hit lister.

Because he is completely blind in his right eye, we decided to give him the name “Scar” because of this condition. When I arrived into the stand at noon, this rascal was already out in the field, chasing after a doe that was about a hundred yards distant. Zach’s shot with the bow was accurate, and the monster was only knocked back ten yards.

You can read the story right here. Many people, including both scientists and hunters, are unconvinced that the moon has any influence at all on the migration of whitetail deer during the rut. These people feel that the moon has no impact at all. Not me.

I haven’t missed a hunting season in the past four decades, and during that time, I’ve made it a point to go out and do my best deer hunting around and during a rutting full moon in late October or November. I have no question whatsoever in my mind that during the rutting full moon and in the three days before and after it, I witness greater buck movement, both on camera at night and, better still, from a stand during the daylight hours.

This is something that I have observed both on video and in person. As is the case with the majority of seasons, there will be just one rutting full moon in the autumn of 2022. On November 8, the rutting moon will reach its full phase, which is about as favorable as it can get for a bowhunter. When Does The Rut Start In Kentucky

Is it better to hunt in the morning or evening during the rut?

There is never a bad moment to go hunting. Be positive even if you can only spend a few hours away from the office during the day. Elk, whitetail deer, and pronghorns are all known to frequent drinking holes when the weather is hot. During the middle of the day, the best strategies involve sitting in a treestand or blind close to water.

In addition, if you are patient enough to wait out a stretch of hot days, colder weather might cause animals to move continuously throughout the day as they try to catch up on their eating.
During this time, males of both sexes, known as bulls and bucks, will typically cover enormous regions in their quest for females.

When it comes to having success in hunting, the gray light of dawn and dusk is typically your best bet. Keep an eye on the breeze to make sure you don’t give away your position, and try to maintain as much silence as you can as you draw closer to your hunting spot.

Where do big bucks hide?

If you follow our advice, you’ll see more mature bucks in autumn, and you’ll have a better chance of taking one of them. Just keep your fingers crossed that none of your friends read this column. The strategy calls for them to continue acting in the same routine manner throughout the process.

You can slip into a neglected outlying area and go for a large rack while they are content hunting in the same place they usually have. Where the Forces Are Concentrated The “pressure maps” that the Missouri biologist Grant Woods creates for various private properties in the Midwest and South are created with the use of GPS technology, specialized software, and good old-fashioned observation data (such as sitting in a treestand and counting the number of deer).

His research demonstrates that humans tend to overhunt in specific areas while ignoring others. For instance, on a large test tract, Woods discovered that hunters spent 100 hours or more in five “hot zones” of around 100 to 200 acres each. Only 10 to 20 hours of pressure were applied to the forests and thickets that were located surrounding such zones.

There were certain areas that were not hunted at all. According to Woods, “I’m never shocked to hear that some of the oldest bucks are shot in or near such infrequently hunted regions.” Where Other People Go Hunting Hunting on 100 or 1,000 acres of private land or on public land yields about the same results in terms of the hot zones.

First and foremost, hunters are drawn to croplands, food plots, oak ridges, and stream bottoms. They will also go for clear-cuts, electricity lines, and other openings of a similar nature if they can get to them. According to the findings of Woods’s research, the majority of hunters set up their stands within a mile or so of a logging road or an ATV track.

Because these hunters often encounter and kill a respectable quantity of deer, they continue to participate in the activity year after year. Year after year, the zones are subjected to a more intense level of strain. Where You Ought to Be Going Woods calls the weakly pressed edges of the hot zones “de facto sanctuaries,” and he adds that adult bucks discover them fast and utilize them a lot, especially when the guns start booming in November or December.

This is especially true when the guns start booming in November or December. These are the locations that require your attention precisely at this now. Think back to the woods and ridges from the previous hunting season where you and everyone else went looking for game.

Utilize an aerial or digital map, and then go walk the perimeters of those zones, circling a quarter mile to one or even two miles out from the center.
Look in out-of-the-way places like thickets, steep slopes, deep draws, and tiny marshes for places where elderly males could be hiding.
Finding an area to hunt that is secluded, peaceful, and with a wind direction that works in your favor is essential if you want to avoid scaring away any bucks.

Check your maps and conduct some further exploring to determine the best way to get in and out of the area. The interesting part is this, though: Woods recommends that you go out and fertilize some natural honeysuckle, blackberry, or other browsing plants in your hidden location.

Or, choose a narrow strip of level land that will be exposed to both the sun and the rain.
It should then be cleaned with a leaf blower and/or raked before a patch of wheat or clover is planted there.
Mount a stand close in a spot where the prevailing wind direction will be right on the majority of autumn days.

Be sure to keep your aim steady when Mr. Big emerges from hiding to have a bite to eat.

What is the best time for deer movement today?

As a result of the fact that deer are at their most active in the morning and evening, many hunters believe that these times of day are the most productive for hunting deer. There are a few notable exceptions, but generally speaking, deer sleep during the day and are more active at night.

What calls for pre rut?

Calling Whitetail Deer in the Pre-Rut Phase Grunt calls and rattling can be efficient means of calling Whitetail Deer in the pre-rut phase. Bucks are still often found in their core region, and if you have a bully buck that has a hostile disposition, this might be an excellent moment to hit him with a couple of quick grunts to catch his attention.

Bucks are still typically found in their core area. When the pre-rut phase begins, bucks start to actively work the outside of their core region and become quite territorial. This phase lasts until the rut begins. Hearing a few grunts from a subordinate buck near to his primary bedding area might increase a dominant buck’s curiosity just enough to motivate him to explore who has moved in on his territory.

Calling someone at random without any prior knowledge is almost never a good idea. A mature buck will often attempt to circle in down wind of the call in order to wound the hunter without the hunter ever realizing what has happened. I seldom use my call unless I have already seen the deer in the area. When Does The Rut Start In Kentucky

Has the rut started in South Carolina?

The vast majority of hunters are aware that the RUT is the ideal time to take a trophy buck. When hunters phone us to inquire about organizing a fantastic autumn hunt, we are typically asked about the hunt and when it will take place. Now, this is a topic for which there are several responses available, depending on how you choose to describe the rut.

According to the commonly accepted explanation, the rut in the lowcountry of South Carolina begins about the 15th of October and continues until Thanksgiving.
Therefore, there is no reason to doubt that going on a hunt at any point throughout this period should result in a fruitful excursion for you.

However, in order to fully comprehend the rut and hunt it in an effective manner, you will need to segment it into a number of smaller time periods. And the following is a description of the three primary subperiods that occur during the rut and how they influence the movement of the deer: The Unruly Phase: (usually runs from early October until about the 20th) At this point in time, the does are often not at all interested in having young, but the bucks are beginning to feel the natural drive to have a family.

Therefore, the bucks begin to roam a lot more around their core regions, leaving their “calling cards,” which consist of rubs and scrapes, to let the does know that they are there and ready. They are now more likely to be seen moving around during daylight hours as a result of all of this traveling and increased activity than they were in the past, which makes them easier to harvest.

It is important to keep in mind, however, that this increased activity does not begin on day one but rather builds up gradually throughout the course of the pre-rut, which means that the tail end of the pre-rut is often when there is more activity than the beginning.

Breeding: (This typically begins around the 20th of October and continues through the 15th of November) This is the time of year when the majority of the does go into heat.
This causes the bucks, who would normally be very skittish during shooting hours, to run willy-nilly through the woods either searching for a hot doe or chasing her in an effort to breed her.

This can be one of the most exciting times to be in the woods for a lowcountry hunter. It can also be one of the best times to harvest a real wall hanger because bucks are now on the move at all hours of the day and night. They are also much more likely to leave their core areas and range out into new areas looking for hot does, making them even more accessible to hunters because they are not as familiar with these new areas.

However, this may also be a challenging period due to the fact that the bucks are frequently sprinting rather than strolling, which makes it somewhat more difficult to get your crosshairs on them before they are out of your shooting lane or range.
Since of this, when hunters spot a doe approaching, they need to pay extremely careful attention and be ready to shoot at a moment’s notice because they never know what could be lurking behind her.

The Slump That Follows: (usually runs from mid- November until the end of the season) Even though a lot of bucks will have been taken during the pre-rut and the breeding time, the post-rut still provides a lot of possibilities that are worth taking advantage of to bag a nice buck.

Because during this time some does will still be coming into heat – some because they were not bred the first time around, and others because they are early-maturing fawns who are coming into their first heat – the remaining bucks will really have to move around looking for these late breeding opportunities.

This is because some does were not bred the first time around, and others because early-maturing fawns are coming into their first heat. This keeps many bucks active during shooting hours, which means that even though they are more vulnerable to being taken, there are still a lot of them.

Even though there won’t be nearly as much activity in the woods after the rut as there was during the breeding season, this is still a wonderful time to go hiking or camping in the forest. We also found that the weather plays a significant role in a lot of the activity that occurs after the rut, and the colder it is, the better.

As you can see, providing a quick and simple response to the query “When is the South Carolina lowcountry rut?” is not something that naturally lends itself to being done. However, hunters are able to make more accurate predictions on when and how they should hunt during the rut if they are aware of the various times.

Has the rut started in Arkansas?

The 14th of November, 2018, Randy Zellers was promoted to Assistant Chief of Communications. LITTLE ROCK – (also known as Last weekend’s opening of the modern gun season in Arkansas could not have been held in a more ideal environment, and this was despite the fact that there was some light rain over the majority of the state on Monday.

At deer camp, the frosty temps produced a sufficient amount of cold in the air to keep mosquitoes and other insects at away, and the settings were ideal for some wonderful fellowship around the campfire.
The harvest statistics and biological samples acquired from Arkansas deer hunters over the course of the past few decades suggest that the finest hunting activity may still be ahead of us.

Even if the two days that traditionally have the biggest harvest of the year have already passed, it is not uncommon to have a successful deer harvest at any point throughout the month of November. Even in December, weekend harvests often reach 3,000 deer checked, and the Christmas Modern Gun Hunt, which takes place from December 26-28, can account for as many as 10,000 or more deer being harvested in a space of only three days.

Even while the number of hunters out in the field may decrease as the season progresses, seasoned hunters are aware that the ideal opportunity to take advantage of a trophy buck’s lowered defenses is still just around the bend.
Because they are more concerned with locating does than with avoiding danger during the peak of the breeding season, normally cautious bucks may experience a slight loss of their edge during this time of year.

The annual breeding season for white-tailed deer occurs in the fall, with the peak of the activity occurring in Arkansas within a very short window of time that falls between between October and December. The peak of this “rutting” activity happens in the middle to late part of November over the majority of the state.

This is true even if certain females may be amenable to breeding earlier or later. A date range that most does in a particular location are likely to have their young within has been calculated by scientists using biological data collected during the late winter months. The western part of the state experiences the height of the rut sooner than the eastern part, with the majority of counties seeing their peak conception dates between October 28 and November 21.

On the other hand, the most likely time for the peak of the rut to occur in the eastern part of the state is between November 22 and December 14, with the counties around the Mississippi River being the last to display conception. This is especially true for white-tailed deer.

When it comes to filling your tag on a consistent basis once the increased hunting pressure of the modern gun deer season begins, the AGFC Deer Program Coordinator Ralph Meeker recommends that hunters remain stationary throughout the day, particularly on public land, in order to increase their chances of success.

Meeker stated that every year he goes through and looks at thousands of deer hunter observation logs. “The data collected as a consequence of this clearly demonstrates that the majority of deer hunters will arrive at their stand before sunrise and will leave between 9:30 and 10 in the morning.