What are the phases of the rut?

Updated October 20, 2026

StagSense splits the whitetail rut into seven phases, timed from each area's peak breeding date: Pre-Rut, Scraping, Seeking, Chasing, Peak Rut, Post Rut and Secondary Rut.

The rut, day by day

1. Pre-Rut: 28 to 22 days before peak
2. Scraping: 21 to 15 days before
3. Seeking: 14 to 8 days before
4. Chasing: 7 to 5 days before
5. Peak Rut: 4 days before to 4 days after
6. Post Rut: 5 to 21 days after
7. Secondary Rut: 22 to 28 days after

These are the windows StagSense uses around your area's peak. Where a source shows a wider or tighter breeding window, the phases stretch or shrink to fit.

Pre-Rut

Bucks have left their summer bachelor groups, a change a National Deer Association conservation director, quoted by Realtree, ties to shorter days and rising testosterone. Bucks rub trees and spar, both tied to rank. More on Pre-Rut.

Scraping

Scrapes go in. A University of Georgia deer researcher puts peak scraping at about two weeks before peak breeding, and in one camera study most buck visits to scrapes came after dark. More on Scraping.

Seeking

Bucks range wider. In a Maryland GPS study, most adult bucks made at least one trip outside their home range, mostly just before or during breeding. More on Seeking.

Chasing

Breeding is close, and does are on the move too. In a South Carolina GPS study, does were most likely to be outside their usual range the day before they conceived. More on Chasing.

Peak Rut

Breeding is underway. Texas researchers write that a buck stays with a doe in heat for a day or two, then goes looking for the next one. More on Peak Rut.

Post Rut

Breeding tails off and bucks are worn down: Texas researchers write that bucks eat little during the rut and can lose a large share of their body weight. Mature bucks are still chasing and checking does. More on Post Rut.

Secondary Rut

A late round of breeding that includes this year's doe fawns. In Missouri, fawns bred later than older does and over a much longer span. More on Secondary Rut.

Outside the rut

Outside these windows, StagSense shows Normal Feeding. In a Michigan study, deer activity peaked around sunset and just after sunrise, and was lowest in mid-winter and midsummer.

Your dates

Each location's peak date comes from state wildlife agency data and published deer research where it exists. See where StagSense's rut dates come from.