ANNUAL RUT REPORT

BUGLEnmIN

BUGLEnmIN

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What’s up fellas? Going to start what has turned into my annual mule deer rut report!
I’ll be posting pictures here over the weekend along with the rut activity and caliber of bucks I’m seeing.
As of a few days ago bucks here where I’m at are swelling up and the bigger deer are showing face. The monsters are quite out of their holes but I’d say in 2 more weeks they will be!
Hop on board and feel free to share the same!
 
Rut getting going in northern nm, this guy was pushing a doe for hours midday

IMG_6055.jpeg
 
Well….. ain’t much to report honestly boys! Here where I’m at I haven’t seen anything but dinks, and the bucks don’t look to be rutting.
Weird year!
 
We saw em rutting today, chousin but no breeding or fighting that we saw. The bucks were pretty tolerant of each other, it’s still early I guess. On the other hand some of the bucks looked exhausted so i dunno- maybe they’ve been at this awhile.
 
gburk said:
We saw em rutting today, chousin but no breeding or fighting that we saw. The bucks were pretty tolerant of each other, it’s still early I guess. On the other hand some of the bucks looked exhausted so i dunno- maybe they’ve been at this awhile.
Click to expand...

was in 6C last week, pretty much the same as what you stated. Bucks were pretty tolerant of eachother. Bucks were chasing does non stop athough the does werent having it. Most buck looked exhausted. Guessing the rut was at the tail end last week in this unit anyways
 
Idk unless it happened way up high here this year ! Tons of does not tended here
Today I saw bucks crud in for em n nothing over 150”
Necks arent even swollen!
 
Some active rutting on the 1st then bucks bedding with does on the 2nd. no bucks cruising that we’ve seen. Since then they’ve made themselves scarce. I guess they saw this windy weather coming.
 
image638397812237562631.jpeg
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!It’s snowing like a mother right now! Maybe that will get em in gear!
This peckerhead is about the top end of what’s been around! Seen several around this size but it’s top end at the moment. Pretty damn disappointing!
 
Heard something from a SW NM local this past week that surprised me, his theory was that we are seeing the tail end of the rut here, which is unusually early. He thinks that because he saw coues bucks chasing at thanksgiving time when on a youth rifle hunt.

Now, whether it’s likely for fawns to drop that early (ie before expected monsoon start), or whether coues and muley ruts even necessarily run on the same calendar, I don’t know. But I will say that we’ve seen broken bucks, with no fighting, no breeding. Meanwhile all bucks have been herded up with does- no bedded or cruising loners. We’ve debated how many hot does we’ve seen- certainly a few, but only on the 1st did we see stupid buck behavior that showed disregard for self preservation. Since then, they’ve been pretty damned careful.

Another week in the unit would confirm whether this is the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning… but work and school call us back. On a normal year I would expect next week to be better, but who knows.

Any thoughts from the MM biologists on the idea that the rut might be about done now in some parts of NM?
 
gburk said:
Heard something from a SW NM local this past week that surprised me, his theory was that we are seeing the tail end of the rut here, which is unusually early. He thinks that because he saw coues bucks chasing at thanksgiving time when on a youth rifle hunt.

Now, whether it’s likely for fawns to drop that early (ie before expected monsoon start), or whether coues and muley ruts even necessarily run on the same calendar, I don’t know. But I will say that we’ve seen broken bucks, with no fighting, no breeding. Meanwhile all bucks have been herded up with does- no bedded or cruising loners. We’ve debated how many hot does we’ve seen- certainly a few, but only on the 1st did we see stupid buck behavior that showed disregard for self preservation. Since then, they’ve been pretty damned careful.

Another week in the unit would confirm whether this is the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning… but work and school call us back. On a normal year I would expect next week to be better, but who knows.

Any thoughts from the MM biologists on the idea that the rut might be about done now in some parts of NM?
Click to expand...
All I can say is what I know to be true here where I live, and that’s that it just hasn’t happened. The heat wave all the way into December pretty much screwed up their pattern , IMO set them back more like the central AZ deer. I’ve personally never seen it this late, but can definitely say it’s not happened here yet. I’m sure northern NM is a whole different story.
 
BUGLEnmIN said:
All I can say is what I know to be true here where I live, and that’s that it just hasn’t happened. The heat wave all the way into December pretty much screwed up their pattern , IMO set them back more like the central AZ deer. I’ve personally never seen it this late, but can definitely say it’s not happened here yet. I’m sure northern NM is a whole different story.
Click to expand...
This year has just been a weird year all around. From Elk rut to deer rut.
 
I hunted 2c the last five days of November and they were rutting. By now I would think maybe the does that didn't get bred are coming back in. But everything should be finished by now.
 
I have been photographing deer in rut the last couple weeks in Catron, Grant, Sierra, and Socorro Counties in NM, and in Apache County, AZ
 

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