[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/why-the-october-lull\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/why-the-october-lull\/","headline":"Why the October Lull?","name":"Why the October Lull?","description":"Few things in life are as exhilarating as a string of frosty autumn mornings.\u00a0 Add in the chance to witness...","datePublished":"2015-10-05","dateModified":"2018-12-04","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/11-Alsheimer_00248201.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/11-Alsheimer_00248201.jpg","height":798,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/why-the-october-lull\/","about":["News"],"wordCount":1381,"keywords":["News"],"articleBody":"Few things in life are as exhilarating as a string of frosty autumn mornings.\u00a0 Add in the chance to witness a forest\u2019s green canopy changing to fiery gold and red, and you have the recipe that makes autumn so stimulating to the senses.\u00a0 In many ways autumn is the crowning moment in the whitetail\u2019s yearly journey.\u00a0Historically, what goes on in the whitetail\u2019s world in October generates far less interest than what follows in November when the rut is raging.\u00a0 Except for the tail end of October buck sightings are tough to come by.\u00a0 On the other hand, does typically continue their normal movements.\u00a0 With doe sightings normal and bucks sightings rare, hunting can be frustrating, especially during the first 20 days of October.\u00a0 For this reason hunters across the northern portion of the whitetail\u2019s range call this period \u201cthe October lull.\u201d\u00a0 This is not imagined for there are many reasons why bucks seem to shut down prior to November\u2019s rut.This photo of a buck and full moon pretty much sums up the October Lull…..whitetails during October are primarily “night owls”.\u00a0 Daytime sightings are hard to come by.The Fur FactorOf all activity suppressors, air temperature is perhaps the most powerful influence on daytime deer activity.\u00a0 Warm temperatures shut down deer activity in a heartbeat.\u00a0 By the time October arrives the whitetail\u2019s winter coat has grown in to the point that they cannot tolerate heat, especially if the temperature exceeds 60 degrees in the North.\u00a0 Unlike humans whitetails have no sweat glands to help them cool when temperatures rise.\u00a0 So, if October is unseasonably warm bucks will bed throughout the day, limiting their movement to the last two hours of daylight and through the night.Bucks during October spend 90% of daytime activity bedded.FoodThroughout October hard and soft mast (acorns, apples, etc.) are falling and standing cornfields have matured along with a host of other food sources.\u00a0 With food seemingly everywhere all whitetails gorge themselves, with 90% of their feeding occurring under the cover of darkness. \u00a0Research shows that from late August through the end of October it\u2019s not uncommon for bucks to\u00a0increase their body weight by 20-25 percent.During October bucks gorge themselves on food plot forage, ag crops, apples and hard mast like acorns.If food is readily available in a buck\u2019s core area the amount of territory he covers during October will be minimal, especially during the first 20 days of the month.\u00a0 Various studies have repeatedly shown that bucks travel little until late October when their hormone levels ramp up.\u00a0 In the early 1990s the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation began radio-collaring whitetails near our farm in western New York to determine their movement patterns.\u00a0 Our farm was in the study area so on occasion I was able to travel with the biologists as they monitored various bucks.\u00a0 It was amazing to see how predictable both bucks and does were during the first ten months of the year.\u00a0 If food was available the bucks being monitored didn\u2019t cover more than a square mile of territory, until late October.\u00a0 Then things changed.HormonesIn a whitetail buck\u2019s world sex drive changes everything.\u00a0 From January through mid-October their sex drive is minimal.\u00a0\u00a0 By early September, a buck\u2019s serum androgen levels trigger the velvet-peeling process and the rutting season technically begins.Sparring increases as October inches toward November, some of which can turn ugly.Once velvet has peeled (in the North around September 1st) a buck\u2019s hormone level begins to rise.\u00a0 Between September 1st and October 1st it doubles from summer levels.\u00a0 Though a buck\u2019s sex drive begins to increase by early October their quest for food, disdain for heat, and does being a month or more away from entering estrous keeps them calm, cool and collected.\u00a0 As a result they continue to travel little, spending the majority of daylight bedded. \u00a0But this is about to change.With each passing sunset a buck\u2019s hormone level increases and by the end of October his testosterone level is twice what it was when the month began.\u00a0 Simply put, hormones are the primary trigger of the different types of rutting behavior exhibited by a buck.\u00a0 Their stimulating effect can be seen in rubbing, scraping and breeding behaviors. \u00a0Rutting BehaviorsOther than occasional sparring matches between subordinate bucks witnessing rutting behavior in early October is rare.\u00a0 By mid-October shortening day length and near peak hormone levels cause bucks to travel, scrape, and rub more as the rut approaches.\u00a0 In my part of the world (western New York State) significant scraping activity begins October 10-15 each year.\u00a0 By the 25th of October more and more rubs show up in prime travel corridors and new bucks show up on our trail cameras, signaling an end to \u201cthe October lull.\u201dWhitetails scent marking their core area with rubs and scrapes is intense by the end of October.A Day in the LifeOctober 1-20:\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0North of the 35th latitude (Charlotte, NC to Oklahoma City, OK) heat can be significant during the early part of October.\u00a0 Because of this bucks and does will feed throughout the night, head for their prime bedding area about an hour before sunrise and stay bedded until just before nightfall.\u00a0 In most cases bucks will bed close to their prime food sources, in the thickest cover they can find.\u00a0 Content to bed, rest and feed most bucks will stay in a core area consisting of less than 1,000 acres.October 21-31:\u00a0 During this time frame a buck\u2019s infusion of testosterone will begin taking effect, causing them to cover more ground, in some cases 2,000 or more acres.\u00a0 In addition they seemingly work overtime to scent mark their territory by making scrapes and rubs.\u00a0 Sparring and fighting also become a big part of their daily routine.\u00a0 If day time temperatures are at or below normal bucks will be very active the first and last two hours of daylight.Hunting the last two hours of day light, in and around\u00a0primary food sources is the key to being successful in October.\u00a0"},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/why-the-october-lull\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Why the October Lull?"}}]}]