everyone's opinion on what exactly triggers the Rut. In my 30 plus years of hunting I've heard a variety of things. To this point I feel as though I'm still just as clueless as the first time I heard Old Timers talking about it around a fire back in the 70's. I've been buying in to the whole photo period thing, but hunting in South Alabama leaves one pondering just what the heck is going on. Thanks!

Does coming into heat.

The new moon.

I think they are ready when they are ready. Weather aint got anything to do with it. We had a doe taken Sunday evening and she had been ready. I saw the buck that was shot along with her chasing and grunting a week earlier.

I truly believe it has to do with the daylight changes. Where I hunt for the past several years, you can mark your calendar from December 23 thru January 3. Does not matter if it is 70 degrees or 22 degrees, it is that time of year.

That is definitely the main factor..

This time last year the pre-rut was on in Henry County where we hunt. This year I haven't found a single scrape or rub yet and the bucks are still in bachelor groups. Hopefully it will get good soon, but we are on track for a March rut lol.

Then how would that work with Bankhead rut a month ago and LA rut a month from now?

No one really knows. Its funny I was just thinking of my hunting today. I hunt the first 12 - 14 days of season. I will quit sooner if I kill a buck. Then come Jan. I will start back. Not the way I have it planned but from passed experience I will start back on my northern most property and end my season on my southern most property. Didn't even realize I was doing this until today when I thought about it. I was just going on past experience when I found the rut usually happening on certain properties.

It appears to be that they are genetically programmed to do it when they do it, at the same time each season. Has NOTHING to do with a moon phase or weather parameters. Photoperiod appears to contribute to the timing, but there are other environmental factors that contribute to the predetermined time does come into estrous. Over most of their range from Canada to TX most breeding takes place in November. Then you get to the southern states. You can throw the photoperiod theory out the window altogether. In the lower coastal plain of South Carolina deer breed in September/October. In the lower coastal plain of AL and MS they breed in late January and February. The state of FL has a range of peak dates that covers nearly every month of the year. Deer breed when they are genetically programmed to do so.

I buy into all of it I guess. It just always seems to be anyone's guess at times. Like I said, I have been buying into the photoperiod thing, but I feel like there are so many other factors at play down here in Alabama. Herd genetics, weather, lunar, and a lot of other factors. I've been watching the lunar calendar a lot this year, and I've been kind of hunting around it, and I must say that I do tend to see a lot more deer during the suggested feeding times and so forth that they display. Not sure if it's just coincidence or not. I tend to get out and sit all day anyway, but I just thought I'd pay more attention to the lunar phase of hunting this year just out of curiosity.

Lunar phases do have an impact on deer movement and activity, but that's entirely different than triggering an estrous cycle, which all studies have indicated it did not.

I live in a part of the state that has three distinct rut periods in a 30 mile stretch. Just across the line in Marion co TN they are wide open Mid Nov thru Thanksgiving. Along the Al/TN line to about Stevenson Mid Dec thru Jan 1. Prv/lower Jackson mid Jan/end of season.

I don't think you can nail it down to an exact day or week to start. I think the test they do when they kill a pregnant doe and see how far the fetus is devolped, gives the best date range of the rut in a given area.

Was watching a show about conquest scents the other day and they somehow condition their does to "stay" in heat. How else would they be able to do that besides photo period control.

Limestone county has 3 maybe even 4 different distinct ruts. I'm in the extreme early one on my farm. Then it moves later the further south you move to the river.

no idea so i'm with him.

I think their breeding dates are molded by environmental factors�..when is the most ideal time to drop fawns.

We have pretty much the same weather in a our 30 mile stretch.

What Matt Brock said ...