*This 2016 Whitetail Rut Forecast as well as many other advanced mature buck hunting strategies, are covered in my 3rd Whitetail Success By Design book series,”Mature Buck Success by Design”, which details how to scout, prepare, forecast for and consistently kill mature bucks.
Do you like research? To some research is king and to others it is extremely boring. Heck, let’s face it; to most research is boring! However, there are two important articles from the Quality Deer Management Association, that you can read to help you wade through the clutter of 2016 whitetail rut, predictions and forecasts:
1) “What Triggers The Whitetail Rut?”
-The rut will begin in your area at the same time, every single year.
2) “No Link Between Moon Phase and Rut Peak”
-Moon charts, predictions and forecasts will lead you astray in 2016. Sure, moon phase predictions get lucky at times and even can predict minor changes in feeding patterns, but only if they fall during the typical period of the rut for your area, and only if you match your sits to the optimum weather conditions to be in the woods. What is the best advice you can live by when it comes to “moonisms”?
“Poor weather during a great moon phase will still equal a poor day to hunt, but great weather during a poor moon phase will still be a great day to hunt!”
-The moon has very little influence if any, over the timing of the rut, let alone activity levels during the rut. That was the same 100 years ago, 50 years ago, 20 years ago and the moon will still have very little influence over the whitetail rut in 2016. Can you predict which days to take off from work this year? Not until you know the weather forecast. For example, in most Northern locations November 8th is typically a can’t miss date on the calendar to sit in a treestand. However, even the calendar can be deceiving. If November 8th features 30mph winds and a daytime high of 84 degrees, then save your sit for another day. But, if a major front just blew through, leaving November 8th to feature a high pressure blue sky days, calm to moderate winds and a 17 degree temperature drop from just 2 days prior; head to the woods! Make sure to check out my formula below, to predict your own 2016 whitetial rut forecast, because not all November 8ths are created equal.
My system for predicting the 2016 whitetail rut is simple and it all begins with food. A deer’s stomach dictates so much of it’s daily movement pattern that it should not only be the foundation for forecasting your deer hunting strategy during the entire season, but for the entire whitetail rut as well. Deer are rhythmic pattern feeders and typically feed 5 times during a 24-hour period. I believe you can relate: When you miss a meal, you become hungry. Of course deer don’t share the complexities of life that cause our meal times to be disturbed, but they do experience several predictable feeding activity predictions that you can take advantage of to highly define the timing of your potential rut hunting success. They are: major temperature changes, extreme weather conditions and, changes in feeding intensities based on the phases of the moon.
