2nd season rut ????

[PA stickbow boy]

I've been a little tardy with posting this. I hunt our old family homestead in south western PA. My dad and uncle like to hunt muzzleloader alot in after Christmas and I go along and take my recurve. This year I noticed something different while hunting. As I walked around I would see new fresh buck rubs. Then I saw more. Then more. Not only was I finding new rubs I found new scrapes and broken licking branches. Then I found more so I went to check this area where I would always find a scrape line. I wasn't disappointed! There was a line along a stand of pines that had 5 or 6 big new freshly tore up scrapes over a 200 yard span. I've seen this before in late October and early November, but never in early January!      I've heard of a "post rut" or "second rut" before, but....  Is this something really rare or something we've just never seen on our property before???? We all only had doe tags left or I would've been hunting buck hard second season.

[sam barrett]

I'm from the same area as you and I can't say personally that there is much to the "2nd" rut.  I've actually seen a lot of rutting activity during our rifle season which as you know is always after Thanksgiving.  I'm sure there are a few deer that get bred late in the year, but imo nothing that I'd try strategizing a hunt around.

[Bengal]

My ol man and I have hunted Nebraska  during the late season the last four years and  have rattled bucks in a few days before christmas. We rattle and use bleats just like we do in November and have success doing it. Just depends when the does have their second cycle.

[Duker]

When I lived in northern Illionis bucks would often go into a 2nd rut around the second week of December . Never any sign of a rut in Janurary thou .  

[Yellow Dog]

A few years back I watched a doe with two fawns being harassed by a little basket eight point in the middle of December. He just wouldn't leave one of the little fawns alone and Mama put a whooping on him a couple of times. Watched the show for about 20 minutes until Mom finally ran him off.

[PA stickbow boy]

Sam, I know what you mean. It was really strange. Like you guys said, never have seen it in January. I wish I would've taken pictures to record/document it. We all puzzled. Not complaing haha just puzzled. My uncle did see a couple nice bucks from a distance as they trotted through the woods. Hopefully they'll stick around for awhile.

[Pat B]

As long as there are does that have not bread the rut will continue.  These does will come back in heat every 28 days until they breed.
   I was in Cades Cove, in the Great Smokey Mountains a few years ago in March and two domanent bucks were still chasing a few hot does. All the other bucks had lost their antlers but not these two. So, they were probably in their 4th rut for that season.

[Skipmaster1]

I see chasing and breeding almost every January in Ct