Fallow rut

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first year of having my own land so learning, what dates should i expect the fallow rut to kick off ??

land is located near stone/stoke area.

ATB

Dave
 
This year i think it is on the 13th of november at 1.30pm.......


Seriously though you need to get out on your ground and learn the patterns and behaviour of the deer on your patch, watch out for rutting stands, and when you think its almost time for things to kick off have your eyes and ears peeled. The big boys will already have secured the prime stands and they can be in and out in a flash (no pun intended)
 
as a rule does the rut tend to be the last week in oct/ first week in november just roughly ???????????????
 
In Herts/Cambs it starts middle/last week in October and goes on for about 2 or 3 weeks. I was told that it only completely finishes when the first frost appears. I have been doing the same area for 20 years and I have found no 2 years seem to be the same. Bucks seem to start moving from about the middle of September. I have found that only about 50% of them will stink, game dealers normally still take them as if they are hung for three weeks they can almost get rid of the smell (good luck to them). If you want one yourself take one before about 7th October. I normally only eat 2yrold does.

All my fallow stop moving about 7th December (they go through a hormone change) and herd up in groups of 100+ and stay on hill tops making them impossible to shoot. They start moving about 12th February. Bucks will group up early March and will lay up in wheat fields (in dips) giving some good stalking.

Good Luck.
 
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I usually hear a good number of bucks groaning in my part of North Wales by about the 3rd week of October, sometimes a week earlier depending on the weather, the rut continues into early November. It varies from place to place and for example in the Forest of Dean the deer in the outlying woods on the Welsh side of the forest traditionally tend to start rutting a week or so earlier than those in the main forest.
 
I normally hear a good amount of noise around middle to late October once the temp has dropped abit. A good foggy mourning normally excites them.

on the same subject but slightly different has anyone tried or experienced calling fallow bucks during the rut? is it possible?
 
Clive I have called bucks, not to shoot but just for fun I found you had to be close to get them to come to you.
 
Fallow normally rut around he end of October weather wise the cooler the better.

Clive, I've been experimenting and have a Primos Grunter, been practicing with he call whilst listening to Fallow Ruting on You Tube going to try to call them in this year.

Jase.
 
Don't shoot any Dave if you plan on eating em yourself. Be ok for the mother in law though.:D

Atb Steve

Is the taste that bad, or is the meat tough? I am going for three days stalking on the 14th, 15th and 16th of October in Scotland and the land offers Red, Fallow and Roe. Should I stick to Roe as opposed to Fallow and Red?
 
High levels of testosterone and the fact they pee and wallow in it makes them a very stinky beast, you'll smell a rutting stand before you see it.
 
I normally hear a good amount of noise around middle to late October once the temp has dropped abit. A good foggy mourning normally excites them.

on the same subject but slightly different has anyone tried or experienced calling fallow bucks during the rut? is it possible?

Yes I have called bucks in on a couple of occasions. I have the Primus grunter that was marketed as a fallow buck call but is actually an American call and isn't really very convincing although not too dissimilar. I use my voice and find that a couple of slurps of a gassy drink help to produce a belch that works OK. It is however quite hard on the throat, doesn't always work and the result is sometimes a cough that spooks anything close.

I have got bucks to within 20 yards using this method and in fact have some camcorder footage of a buck that I called in to about that sort of range trying to work out where the grunting was coming from. He was there for a good five minutes before deciding that discretion was the better option. He caused me some pain as although I had been getting him coming towards me for about 10 minutes and he was returning my grunts, he suddenly turned up in view when I was in a half crouch and I couldn't move for fear of spooking him and had to hold position with increasing discomfort.

Many years ago in the Forest of Dean I called a buck in very close as the light faded and actually had to stand up and wave my arms to convince him I wasn't another buck looking for a fight and he was down to about 20 yards and still walking purposefully towards me.
 
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Clive I have called bucks, not to shoot but just for fun I found you had to be close to get them to come to you.

Yes I agree, I think you have to be in their rutting territory or at least close to the boundary as they tend to defend their area unlike red stags that defend females wherever they happen to be. I can sometimes get a buck within say 70 or 80 yards to come to me, but the closer the better. If you're not in their territory they seem to come so far, possibly reach their boundary, and then just parade up and down challenging you to come out and fight.
 
Is the taste that bad, or is the meat tough? I am going for three days stalking on the 14th, 15th and 16th of October in Scotland and the land offers Red, Fallow and Roe. Should I stick to Roe as opposed to Fallow and Red?

You'll smell reds before you see them Rutting Fallow and Reds don't taste very nice and came be quite tough, roe bucks might start to show as they normally disappear after the rut however there is a false roe rut in September so might find some hanging around. Personally if it's in season consider shooting it but maybe pass up on the venison.
 
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