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CO rut

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CO rut

Postby TennMatt » 10 18, 2017 •  [Post 1]

I'm a second rifle hunter in Colorado and am wondering if anyone out for first rifle saw or heard evidence that the rut was still on.

Given the warm temperatures my guess is that the animals are up high and hiding in the shade of dark timber.

What did you all see?

Matt
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Re: CO rut

Postby Swede » 10 18, 2017 •  [Post 2]

I do not mean to hijack this new thread or cut off any conversation, but weather does not change the biological clock on animals. The elk breed at the same time every year. Calves are being born in May and June every year. If a cow does not get bred during the first estrus period she will come back into estrus a time or two until she is bred. Those rare cows that are bred late, have late calves, but they are the exception and not the norm. Weather is not a significant factor.
I hope I did not offend Co rut. I am guessing that by having a handle like Co rut, you have a broad interest in the rut. I hope my post helps you and others that have an interest in the subject.
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Re: CO rut

Postby cohunter » 10 18, 2017 •  [Post 3]

I wasn't in the woods a ton over the last two weeks, but over 4-5 days I heard nothing... I'm sure there are a few odd rutting pockets here and there, but there's not much going on at this point. I do disagree with Swede to some extent - 2 years ago about 2/3 of the calves I got on game cam during the first 2 weeks of the archery season still had spots. This year I had roughly the same number of calves during the first two weeks in the same location and... zero spotted calves. It's not a large body of evidence, but SOMETIMES weather, pressure... something delays the rut from its NORMAL 3rdish week of September to something later. Swedes right for most elk most of the time, but you can find pockets where something disrupted the rut and a large portion of the cows weren't bred. The hottest rut activity I've ever witnessed happened one 1st rifle season several years back. I just happened to have a cow tag. :roll:
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Re: CO rut

Postby Swede » 10 18, 2017 •  [Post 4]

Good point Cohunter. I have to agree with your take on the subject. I still have not seen warm/hot weather change the rut, but would have to reconsider, as you suggest, if a serious storm blew in. I believe the cows come into estrus regardless of the weather, but there may be other reasons they don't get bred the first time. I have not seen what you did, but have no doubt about your observation either. Thanks for bringing that up.
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Re: CO rut

Postby Swede » 10 19, 2017 •  [Post 5]

As I commonly do when I am stumped by something I read here, I start reading other places to see what I can find out. This morning I have been reading in the book "Elk of North America, Ecology and Management".
On page 280 under "Seasonality of Estrus" paragraph 3 it says, "A shift in the mean date of birth could be expected in two particular instances." !. This was an explanation of elk from one area being transplanted into another. 2. "Another mechanism whereby the mean date of birth could be shifted is a failure of the ovum to be fertilized during the first estrus, followed by a lapse before a subsequent estrus and successful fertilization".
Cows are receptive for about 12-15 hours. If they are missed during that time they come back into estrus about 21 days later. They have been known to come into estrus three and on rare occasions four times. The gestation period of Rocky Mountain elk has been known to vary by as much a 13 days. (Taken from "Elk of North America, page 280, paragraph two.)
This is probably more than most hunters want to know about elk population dynamics. Sometimes when you write something I just get curious and want to know why.
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Re: CO rut

Postby cohunter » 10 21, 2017 •  [Post 6]

Swede, Your curiosity and motivation to find the answers is one of the things that makes this board great! Good find on this little tidbit. 12-15 hrs is a surprisingly short window to me. It makes it seem possible that some event could prevent a cow (or several) from being bred the first time around.
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Re: CO rut

Postby Swede » 10 21, 2017 •  [Post 7]

Thanks Cohunter. I like it that we can discuss things, including what we have seen or experienced, without peoples ego getting in the way. Your observations are as good as any including my own. The benefit we have from a campfire conversation is, a lot of observations and experiences can be shared while we have a cup of coffee or poke sticks in the fire. Keep sharing.
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Re: CO rut

Postby Navesgane » 10 24, 2017 •  [Post 8]

I was trying to fill my buck tag yesterday and spotted a herd of elk with two sparring younger bulls and a herd bull keeping them at a distance along with a dozen cows that were mewing frequently. Here's the video. I heard bugling before I spotted the herd.
You can hear the cows towards the end of you turn up the volume.
https://youtu.be/jb4EwxI8dyI
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Re: CO rut

Postby TennMatt » 10 30, 2017 •  [Post 9]

Thank you for all your responses. In retrospect, I did not ask the correct question and did not realize this until after returning from the field. The question I should have asked is "Will cows still be herded up with bulls and will the bulls still be bugling a month after what may be the peak of the rut?".

This likely varies by location but for me, north of Hayden, CO in Unit 4, the answer is yes, somewhat. I feel that his made elk much easier to locate and track all week.

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Re: CO rut

Postby >>>---WW----> » 10 30, 2017 •  [Post 10]

Matt: I live in unit 4. So to answer your question, you my hear a bugle or two during the first rifle season but nothing hot and heavy. There may be a few cows that either weren't bred or didn't settle and are going through their second heat cycle. For the second rifle season, it is not likely but when it comes to elk hunting, just about anything is possible.
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Re: CO rut

Postby saddlesore » 10 30, 2017 •  [Post 11]

This past Friday, bulls were bugling around 80- 100 elk during the night . Unfortunately further back in than I could travel. Three young fellows I know pack in that far and killed a bull and a cow at first light out of that herd and had killed two bulls earlier in the week. One had an "A" and a "B" tag. Plus a buck tag, so they filled all their elk tags but were hard pressed to pack another animal out so gave up on the deer.
I have found that thru the years when one tries to put hard and fast rules to elk behavior and such they will eventually be proved wrong. It doesn't matter how many books one reads or hunts a person has been on, how many elk they have killed or what thyehaveobserved. This whole thing about elk in rut and bugling can changed drastically . Just because elk are not bugling does not mean they are not breeding
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