So called "lull period"

[SHKYBoonie]

I have been looking for answers as to why I was getting so many trail photos of bucks in July and early August then it seemed that they all disappeared. I bow hunted my farm in West Ky in September with any deer sightings few and far between. In the last few weeks of this month the activity has picked back up and I am getting photos of the bucks again. Some of the information I have read states that there is a lull period between late Summer feeding and pre-rut activity. Others say that the lull is between the rut and post-rut when bucks are bedding and tending certain does. Now, I have hunted turkeys for quite some years and know that there is a lull in the middle of the season when the gobblers are with hens but not yet breeding. I could understand where this could happen in the deer world too. We had this happen on our farm last year during the middle of November. The bucks just seemed to vanish! I might add that we have more than enough food and water on our farm. We supplement feed, plant food plots and manage the mast producing trees. What is right? Are there 2 different lull periods? Any helpful information will be appreciated.

[duckunder]

I still think the lull period happens when the trees start loseing their leaves in the fall...... Here in Wisconsin the leaves are all fallen and have been the past couple weeks...... There was a story in the Deer and Deer hunter last year saying alot of deer bed down during these few weeks of foliage drop because their bedroom is changing and that makes them uncomfortable, so they just lay low for a few weeks...... It makes sense to me....  

[SHKYBoonie]

I have read that too. Although, I have never experienced it in any of our seasons. The leaves are just starting to fall alot in West KY but the deer activity is picking up. The big bucks are starting to show themselves more and more in the daylight. The scrape action is just getting underway. I found the first true scrape line of the season just this past Sunday and it had just been worked within a day or so of finding it. I'm just wondering if these bucks are leaving my farm because it lacks something they need or are they just laying up and not moving?

[DeanoZ]

Yes, there are two lulls, so to speak.  The first one being that transition period duckunder speaks of, where the trees lose their foliage and the days are becoming shorter.  I personally think there are other factors that also influence this lull, but it is a noticeable one nevertheless.  The second lull comes when the breeding has begun and the bucks are tending does, at which point bucks will stay with does for up to 48 hours.  If you subscribe to CA's rut predictions this will happen generally 10 days following the hunters moon, or Nov 10th this year.  Activity will pick up again, following this phase of the rut but it won't be nearly as intense as the 10 days preceding.

[buckhunter21]

I'm not a huge believe in the 'october lull' period, but I know some people are.  I just think deer change their patterns and habits during this time, as food changes from one type to another, and they change their travel routes.  I think you have to change your mindset up a bit and try something different....JMO!

[SHKYBoonie]

That's kinda my thinking too buckhunter21. I'm one who just needs a better answer than "It's the Oct. lull period". I'm from Ms originally and down there we never heard the term used. Of course, we very seldom had a good strong rut either. You learned to change with the deer patterns to be successful. I'm just having a hard time figuring out what these deer are doing when I can't seem to find them on my farm in KY. They will be in an area like clock work, then no where to be found, then back again.

[Stickman]

Where I hunt in October the deer transition between summer crops into mast crops. I have a lull here when my areas mast crop is bad. This year the surrounding properties have sold there timber so the property I hunt has the only mast crop around. I am seeing deer like crazy and have killed one doe and seen several bucks.The only other lull I have seen is the lockdown phase of the rut.  

[shaman]

I'd say there a lot of reasons for lulls, and I'm not sure there's anything like "THE LULL(S)" .   Let me give you some examples.

1)  Just last weekend, I hit a minor lull in activity that pretty well matches other lulls I've encoutered on my property in previous years.  The deer just disappeared, and it looked like they hadn't been there all week.  My guess is that there's something tasty that comes ripe just at this time and the deer all flock to wherever it is to eat it.  In past years, I've stayed home the 4th weekend just because there's so little to hunt, but the last couple of years my sons have become interested in Fall turkey.  I know the deer will  be back-- either this coming weekend or the next.

2)  I have another lull in activity in September.  My deer appear to be taking the month off at the shore.  There's nothing to see the whole month.  This year, it rained all summer, and for some reason that made them decide to stay. 

3)  I once hunted a big dairy farm over by Warsaw that had the biggest lull I ever saw:  massive sign up until bow season started and then nothing.  The deer didn't come back until December.  My buddy that owned the place tried everything, and finally sold the place.  We found out two things: 
a)  There was a group of guys that were coming in and poaching the place just before season. 
b)  The neighbors were reporting influxes of lots of deer right after season started.

My point is that these lulls may be very localized, very situational, and somewhat fickle.  They can't be universal, because the deer HAVE to go somewhere. When my kids were little, I used to tell them that the deer took off and went to the beach, but in reality I surmised they'd probably left the ridge tops where we are, and went down into the river bottom a couple of miles away to eat crops.  Somebody down there was wondering where all the deer were coming from.

[Everyday Hunter]

While not scientific, my view on the "lull" is that the deer are programmed to rest up before the rut.

This might seem to run counter to the fact that bucks are ready and able to breed once antlers harden, but as always, it's the does that regulate this. Having not found the does ready yet, the bucks have settled down. The does need to be in good shape even more than the bucks, because they're not expendable to the species. So, the does are resting. Once they start releasing estrus pheromones, and the bucks get a whiff of that, things will explode. All that energy conservation will be invested into the perpetuation of the species.

That's why whitetails are on their bellies now. But not for long.

Steve

[shaman]

A bit of an update:

I was over on KYHunting.net, and there was a fellow nearby me complaining about the lull he was experiencing.  A couple guys mentioned that all their trailcams are now only showing after-hours contact.  Since the moon has been gettin on towards full, the deer have all gone nocturnal.

BTW: I was out last evening, and had ZERO contact.  It could have been the wind, it could have been the 77F temps, but . . .

I was going out this morning, but it's coming down in buckets and the winds are 13WSW gusting to 25-- not a good day for the treestand.