When a doe has been bred and the dominant buck goes his way will other bucks chase her for any amount of time?

I've never bought into "the lock down phase". If there is one, it's certainly not as long as people think. Couple years ago either NAWT magazine or the QDMA Mag had a great article debunking it.

But to answer your question, other bucks may breed her. DNA has shown many times in does with multiple fawns , those fawns have multiple fathers.

Per a recent study, 25% of all twin fawns have different fathers. Usually this is from a young buck getting to her first and then a larger deer running him off and breeding her. Antler size was proven to matter to doe's when in heat. So, yes SIZE DOES MATTER! I think Mississippi state did that study.

I have seen a doe pee in a scrape and hang around waiting on a buck. I shot him after he bred her.

I don't believe in a mass lock down phase....all yer does would have to come into esterus on the same day er two for that to work.

I do know that a mature buck will push a hot doe to a secluded spot and stay with her for 2-3 days. And by secluded I mean to deer, not folks. I've jumped some big bucks with hot does in some strange places.

a friend of mine told me about a huge buck on my place several years ago, said he was pushing a doe along. I went the next day and killed a 150+" buck, bedded with a hot doe, about 100 yards from where it was the day before.

and if you shoot a big buck off a hot doe, go back the next day and check out her new boyfriend. I killed a 240# 9 point off a hot doe one morning. Bedded in a small spot out of the way. Went back the next morning and killed a 147" 11 point off the same doe in the same spot, well, 50 yards away. Doe had a big split in her right ear was was easily identifiable.

This for sure. I have killed multiple deer back to back days off the same doe

I believe the answer is yes, but I could be wrong. If I remember correctly a doe may be bred by several different bucks through out the estrous cycle. If she is not bred during her first cycle she will come into estrous again in 28 days.

DAYUM... good to know!!!

It works well, IF the doe stays close by.

Good Intel.

Thank you

I agree with Troy. If you know where a hot doe is you better hang around, or at a minimum send somebody you like in to watch the show after killing a big one on a doe. He will quickly be replaced.

In theory, for lock down to even be possible, you'd have to have a mature buck for every breeding age doe, as well as nearly all the does going into estrous in a very short time frame. In AL you get neither of those two, and you need them both to actually experience lock down.

I think you are misquoting that study about antler size. The MSU study stated that antler size in no way affected a doe's choice in a mate. I just finished listening to the 1st 3 episodes of MSU's Deer university podcast and they repeat that several times. Antler size doesn't matter to a doe. I did find the 25% of twin fawns finding very interesting. I had always heard that there could be two or more sires to a litter but I always thought it was folklore/wives tales.

The study I saw ranked antlers size last of four things that influence a does choice. If I remember correctly they are in order, 1. Attitude/ Dominance 2. Size/Health 3. Age 4. Antlers.

It may not have been Mississippi state study. It could have been save the habitat save the hunt. I watched a video. They had 2 bucks, they cut the horns off of them. They put fake horns on both of them, one smaller than the other. They had 3 pens, they put one buck on one side, one buck on the other, and a doe in estrous in a pen between them. They videoed her interactions with the bucks. Then they took the bucks out of the pens and swapped the horns and they also swapped pens. In both instances the doe spent the majority of her time interacting with whichever buck had the larger set of antlers on. It was very interesting. I watch and read so many studies I confuse them sometimes.

I got dizzy listening to the Drury boy's show Thirteen talking about all the "phases". I like their programs, but the over analysis and descriptions about all the "phases of the rut" is too much for me. "It's Dec 1st, between 12:30 and 2:00pm and we've just entered the Heavy Lock Down phase, with a touch of Getting Excited phase still lingering. The bucks just finished a cigarette and coffee break, and will be back to chasing does after this commercial from Ozonics."

All I know is Oct 15 - Feb 10 is the "Get up in a tree and hunt" phases