Silvertine's Whitetail Deer Rut Report History 2013-2009
The Information below is an Overview of how the past hunting seasons have gone as far as Rut Activity and Hunting. The information can be used as a guideline to allow you to get an idea of how things "Might" go as far as rut activity based on trends of years past.
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2017
Intensity Rating: great 9/10 Pre Rut Start: October 26th Start: November 4th End: November 30th Gathering: December 3th Weather: Cold and more cold. Rut Hunting Success: 100% Rut Mortality: 5 Overview: 2017's Rut was what I would call amazing. With the growth in our Doe herd, the rut is getting stronger and stronger each year. The bucks started rutting and building scrapes just as the cold started to hit. The rut intensity was great as bucks were moving around lots and checking the baits often throughout the day out of instinct looking for does. The days were cold yet sunny, and even though the bucks would not stay at the baits for more than a few minutes the activity was positive and all guests got really nice bucks! Some Bucks gathered their does and held them up in the back corners of the ranch and this allowed many of our Post Rut hunters to harvest amazing bucks that were off the grid during the rut. Sorry no rut report in 2015 and 20162014
Intensity Rating: great 8/10 Pre Rut Start: October 30th Start: November 4th End: November 29th Gathering: December 1th Weather: Cold and lots of snow fall. Moderatly windy as well. Rut Hunting Success: 100% Rut Mortality: 3 Overview: 2014's Rut was what I would call perfect. The bucks started rutting and building scrapes just as the cold started to hit. The rut intensity was great as bucks were moving around lots and checking the baits often throughout the day out of instinct looking for does. The days were cold yet sunny, and even though the bucks would not stay at the baits for more than a few minutes the activity was positive and all guests got really nice bucks! 2013
Intensity Rating: Heavy 9/10 Pre Rut Start: October 27th Start: November 7th End: December 4th Gathering: December 8th Weather: Warm and no snow until mid Novemebr. Very windy season. Rut Hunting Success: 100% Rut Mortality: 2 Overview: 2013's Rut was what I would call picture perfect. With the introduction and growing Doe herd on the ranch the busk seem to get more active and the opportunity to breed dows is not just for a few bucks. The bucks started rutting and building scrapes earlier this year than others. The rut intensity was great as bucks were moving around lots and checking the baits often throughout the day out of instinct looking for does, as the does frequented the baits far more this year late with the higher numbers of does on the property. The days were warm this year and our winter all came in one big dump of several feet. Mortality was normal this year as the amount of does to buck ration I think allowed lots of opportunity for the bucks to breed, and not fight as much or compete for the select few does around. 2012
Intensity Rating: great 8/10 Pre Rut Start: October 29th Start: November 5th End: November 28th Gathering: December 3th Weather: Cold and massive amounts of snow fall. No wind. Rut Hunting Success: 100% Rut Mortality: 5 Overview: 2012's Rut was what I would call violent. We had just a handful of does on the ranch this fall and started building our breeding herd, and with the amount of bucks on the ranch and the few does it was amazing how aggressive the bucks were competing for breeding right of the few does that were around. Mortality was up this year as the amount of activity caused more fighting and a few broken racks were observed but not too bad. The amount of snowfall made it very difficult to get around and still hunt the bucks so tree stand hunting was our only option. 2011
Intensity Rating: average 5/10 Pre Rut Start: October 25th Start: November 1th End: November 20th Gathering: November 22nd Weather: Hot, only 3 inches of snow all season. No cold weather to speak of and very little wind. Rut Hunting Success: 100% Rut Mortality: 2 Overview: 2011's rut was very poor and hunters had a hard time connecting on the "perfect" buck, at least the bucks I wanted the guests to harvest. Thanks to the trail camera photos as few guests were able to see the bucks on the ranch and shot their der first day because they knew this was the "perfect" deer for them. Even though success was 100% and the guests were very happy with the bucks they got, the rut was not as active as we have seen in years back as the season remained hot right through until early December. The bucks were not moving as much as other years but during the night when things were cooler the activity was a lot higher, but that does us no good. 2010
Intensity Rating: great 8/10 Pre Rut Start: October 30th Start: November 4th End: November 29th Gathering: December 1th Weather: Cold and lots of snow fall. Moderatly windy as well. Rut Hunting Success: 100% Rut Mortality: 3 Overview: 2010's Rut was what I would call picture perfect. The bucks started rutting and building scrapes just as the cold started to hit. The rut intensity was great as bucks were moving around lots and checking the baits often throughout the day out of instinct looking for does. The days were cold yet sunny, and even though the bucks would not stay at the baits for more than a few minutes the activity was positive and all guests got really nice bucks! Mortality was up this year as the amount of activity caused more fighting and a few broken racks were observed but not too bad. 2009
Intensity Rating: Great 9/10 Pre Rut Start: Oct 15th Start: November 1st End: November 25th Gathering: Novemebr 30th Weather: Cold and not a lot of snow. Rut Hunting Success: 100% Rut Mortality: 2 Overview: 2009's season was another one for the books. The bucks had perfect weather for a rut, and the snow was not deep at all. But the cold was harsh. The activity was excellent and bucks moved all day long and came to baits often. they were very active during the full moon, and we used lots of batteries in the trail cameras. The nocturnal bucks that were we so concerned about not being able to kill started to rut and broke their normal patterns and we were able to capitalize on them. The intense cold did not discourage the bucks but it made it a bit tough on us humans waiting for them. 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005 No data was collected sorry.
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Key:Intensity Rating: How Hard the animals Rutted. Judged on fighting, vocals, and rubbing, scrapes or wallows, and amount of travelling/moving around.
Pre Rut Start: First sign of rut activity stating to show by rubs, wallows, or bugles heard. Start: Date things really start to amp up. End: Date things really start to slack off. Gathering: The date the bulls or bucks start to associate with each other in bachelor groups again. Weather: A overview of the weather for that time frame. The weather can have a HUGE effect of the rut activity. Rut trends tend to be similar when weather patterns tend to be similar. Rut Hunting Success: Hunting success that year during the rut time frame. Rut Mortality: Number of animals that died as a result of Fighting during rut. Direct reflection of rut intensity. Overview: A description or overview of how the season went with relation to rut activity. |