Mature Whitetail Buck Vulnerability Forecast, WBVF for 2026

[Rubberhead*]

I feel like I say this every year but the moon phases are not aligning well with the best photo-period periods. The model is trying to be optimistic around the half-moon period in mid-October but it weights the moon phase more heavily than the photoperiod. Anyway, here's what I've got for 2026. It's picking the same early November period as the best for Game Zone 1 and Game Zones 2, 3 and 4. That's the first time it's done that.

[Silentweapon338]

This is awesome
I always enjoy your take on this.

[quack head 11]

I know for my area In Game Zone 2, I would tend to agree with the first 2 weeks of Nov being peak breeding. But with the amount of does we have, peak breeding means very little deer movement. Scrapes and trails leaf over and deer movement in general tends to tank.

I reckon the bucks have doe after doe hemmed up in Hotel Briar patch and just lay the wood and smoke cigarettes afterwards all day long

[Duckman#1]

RH you need to come to my office and look at years of data I have from fetus samples pulled and aged and sexed. 95% of people will be surprised at the mean conception date

[cajunwannabe]

I hunt the moon first, wind and weather second. RH table seems accurate with the exception of weather variables and a few outliers.

Fella at our youth turkey hunt showed me a fawn pulled from a doe harvested Sept 15th. 200 day gestation period puts that doe being bred almost the 1st of March. I saw open scrapes 2 weeks ago putting up duck boxes at a friends property, ripped open clean with fresh pee in them. Are deer adjusting fawn season based on weather conditions or coyote denning? Interesting thought.

[scquackaddict]

I know for my area In Game Zone 2, I would tend to agree with the first 2 weeks of Nov being peak breeding. But with the amount of does we have, peak breeding means very little deer movement. Scrapes and trails leaf over and deer movement in general tends to tank.

I reckon the bucks have doe after doe hemmed up in Hotel Briar patch and just lay the wood and smoke cigarettes afterwards all day long

Seen the same at our place in game zone 2. First 2 weeks in November are typically very low deer sightings. My birthday is 11/9 and always tend to spend a weekend at the farm around then, and it usually always sucks compared to mid-late October or early December.

[Buck70]

Thank you, Sir!

[Rubberhead*]

RH you need to come to my office and look at years of data I have from fetus samples pulled and aged and sexed. 95% of people will be surprised at the mean conception date

I'd love to. A lack of reliable data is the biggest impediment to a good forecast.

[flockbuster]

Thank you I appreciate you doing this every year