Elk hunting in their rut

[Jeremiah Johnson]

I have a question about what other hunters think about if the heat affects when the bulls will be bugleing or is it have to do with the amount of light in the day?

[Jagermeister]

Good question. I think that the light of day may put the cows into estrus. It has been reported that as long as the bull's horns are growing, he will not go into rut. So, basically, when the bulls are knocking the velvet off, rut on. The cows were probably already in estrus.

[elkdom]

Good question. I think that the light of day may put the cows into estrus. It has been reported that as long as the bull's horns are growing, he will not go into rut. So, basically, when the bulls are knocking the velvet off, rut on. The cows were probably already in estrus.

a lot of the big bulls have shed their velvet about a week ago, in areas I
have been watching,

Monday morning at 5 am the temp was -2 Celsius, and a very hard, heavy white frost covered the ground and low plants and logs,,,

let "the Games Begin",,,,,,,:wink:

[eaglesj]

a lot of the big bulls have shed their velvet about a week ago, in areas I
have been watching,



I don't believe you elkdom. You'll have to give me the waypoints so that I can go and verify this for everybody on this site.:-D

[mark]

Elk are rubbing trees already! found a whole pile of fresh rubs on the weekend!
Heat has little effect when the rut is really on, which doesn't peak til about sept. 20

[elkdom]

I don't believe you elkdom. You'll have to give me the waypoints so that I can go and verify this for everybody on this site.:-D

I wander the swamps, aimlessly, gathering useless information, only I can decipher, try as I may,

No One understands,,,,:cry:

No one cares,,,:?

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Thanks for the response everybody reason why i ask the last 3 years we have had bulls answering and even seen herds running away but the bulls dont seem to be as horny in this heat. Maybe more of my Bad Luck syndrome.:cry:

[J_T]

Heat is a factor but a very minimal factor in rut activity. What it takes is a cow to be in estrus. And we see that lots in the first week of Sept. Mark is correct, the peak is somewhere near the 20th of Sept, depends more on the location but the 20th is a good rule of thumb. Bulls over 1 1/2 have their velvet off now and the weather is perfect (-3 yesterday morning). The hunt is on in one week's time.

[Ltbullken]

Temperatures will not affect triggering of the rut, it is dependent on the daylight and specifically the subtle shifts in light frequencies as the earth tilts and the season moves towards autumn. The temperature may impact animal behaviour and routines related to warm temperatures but not the rut itself. So warm days and clear nights might mean a lot of nocturnal rut behaviour and frustrated hunters. Cooler, cloudier days may mean more rut movement during the day. But get a bull in vicinity and bugle him, you may get some response regardless of weather.

[boonerbuck]

I was looking at fresh elk rubs on Aug 13th. My buddy saw a huge white tail yesterday. He said all the velvet was off already.

Can't wait...