Is the rut coming later than it used to?

[ChrisB]

I spoke to a CO outfitter yesterday for a bit and one interesting subject that came up was how in CO he has seen the actual rut come later and later over time.


I was interested in hunting 2nd week but he said I should consider week 4, immediately following muzzy. Of course, firearms changes things in other ways but his explanation was that the rut will more likely be on full steam at that time and better chance of screaming, more active bulls.


One note to consider is that this outfitter has 13 wall tent camps in the wilderness area he covers so he has many options on where to place me as a solo drop camp hunter.


Is peak rut coming later than it did back in the 80's or 90's in your areas?


Thanks!

 

[turbo1967]

I have been elk hunting for 36 years , bow hunting for 34 of that and in my area the rut starts at a different time every year. last year was early , in late August, this year was later in early October. Have seen years the rut started in late October to early  November.If you can find the reason for the start of the rut than hats off to ya.My theory and only a guess no prof to it is elk can predict the up coming winter same as birds know when to migrate. If it is going to be a long winter than rut will start late so they will calf later in the spring. Some say its the moon ,some say the weather . I have found no relation to either.Just a thought but it makes sense I think !!!! If all else fails hunt Montana , season last for 12 weeks so your covered.

 

[cowboystl1]

well im not sure if its the same but they are related deer rut is depended upon the coming spring longer the winter later the rut. its an internal weather clock in the doe. that brings her into heat at the time of when it will be the best weather for her baby to survive when it is born. i would only imagine elk to be the same

 

[ChrisB]

Well, looks like I am going to go week 4 after the Muzzies as opposed to week 2 prior. The guns will stir the animals up and push them.  However, perhaps the rut will be stronger and the bulls will be less apprehensive to come in.


I am sure deer and elk both have internal clocks that work incredibly well.


I just found it an interesting overall observation the outfitter made about the last 25 years and the the timing of the rut.

 

[Arrows4Elk]

I have been elk hunting for 36 years , bow hunting for 34 of that and in my area the rut starts at a different time every year. last year was early , in late August, this year was later in early October. Have seen years the rut started in late October to early  November.If you can find the reason for the start of the rut than hats off to ya.My theory and only a guess no prof to it is elk can predict the up coming winter same as birds know when to migrate. If it is going to be a long winter than rut will start late so they will calf later in the spring. Some say its the moon ,some say the weather . I have found no relation to either.Just a thought but it makes sense I think !!!! If all else fails hunt Montana , season last for 12 weeks so your covered.

x2 what Turbo said.  It all depends on temps, moon phases, area, etc.  Here in my area of CO, its most consistently between 3rd week of Sept and 1st week of Oct.

 

[jamesctaylor17@gmail.com]

As has been said above it depends on a lot of factors. One thing you can't forget now a days is the influence that wolves have on elk behavior. When there's wolves in the area and elk know it, they're not going to ring the dinner bell by bugling their heads off. They know they're being hunted and will stay quiet later into the year IMO.

 

[coloelko]

Just got back from a cow hunt in area 201 in Colorado! And the rut was going full bore still! Saw a dandy 7x7 chasing cows, and several 6x6's as well. They were all going crazy.
Does seem like the rut started later this year. During archery season, we really didn't hear much at all.

Just my observation of this year

 

[lang]

Only one factor that decides the rut and that is the amount of light that enters the elks retina.  Sure there are variables, some cows will come into estrus before or after others.  Bulls will always be wanting to get things started early especially the younger the bull.  Weather might affect what we hear/see certain days, but according to elk ecology and management the peak will hit around the 16th to 20th each year with the majority of breeding happening ten days before or after that window.  Cows that aren't breed will come into a second estrus 3 weeks later, and hence the late rutting activity that you can see.  There can even be a third cycle nto November but each cycle the number of receptive cows decreases dramatically. 

 

[Hycntryhtr]

I shot my bull the second weekend of the season last Sept. He was a young 5x, but was rutted up hard. But it was cool and rainy. Temps got warmer and things slowed down till the last weekend of the season, then it was a mad house here in co. I've heard the theory about light in the retina, can't be much different than horses. My dad puts our mares under lights to get them to cycle. I wish I knew how much light it took for elk.

hunt or die

 

[Hycntryhtr]

As for my last post,I found it takes 16 hours of day light for a mare to cycle, so maybe there is some relation. I know it's easy different horses and elk but hey it's a thought

hunt or die

 

[hank4elk]

DR. V.  Giest discuss' this in his book, "elk country".
It has to do with amount of light entering females eye.  I forget how and why. Gotta dig my copy out.

It can vary and the days can shift easily.  Days the hunts fall on shift too.like the moon.

Last year there were bulls screaming at my place well into Nov.  Year before the 1st week. 3 yrs ago it was last week of Oct.  Same unit.
I had to wait til Dec for the cows to settle down enough for me to hunt them after the rut this year.

 

[idelkslayer]

The rut happens during the same time every year.  Look at the dates of the calving season for proof of this.  90% of calves are born within a 15 day window in late May to early June.  With a 250 average gestation period that puts the majority of cows being bred from Sept 22-26 every year.
The variables that everyone talks about: weather, heat, rain etc.  only affect what we see and hear.  The rut and the breeding occur whether we are aware of it or not.  If the rut were truly getting later and later then we would calves being born later in the year and as a result they would be going into winter underweight and too small to survive. 

 

[ElwoodUT]

From what I have observed I thought that the rut was coming later and later as well.  Mid October they were still bugling up a storm here but the fact that idelkslayer mentioned is hard to contest.
Either way you will want to get out there when they are bugling so if they are for some reason breeding in September but aren't screaming until Mid October I would choose mid October.

 

[Bullhunter]

Some places in Idaho I have ran into them bugling as early as the third week in august and in others i have ran into them starting as late as the last week of September.  It really depends I believe on the hunting pressure and also the pressure of the wolves here in Idaho.