RipperIII
Senior Member
Yes! In fact, in 2 of the 3 counties where we compared DVCs against conception dates, the peak in DVCs occurred 1-week prior to the peak in conception dates. In a different study done in Michigan, the peak in DVCs also occurred approximately 1-week prior to peak conceptions, so our results were consistent with that study.
It also agrees with anecdotal observations I made in Pennsylvania when monitoring deer via radio telemetry...I noticed when deer were moving a lot, I saw a lot more road kills. The greatest level of deer movement was usually between the 1st and 2nd week of November (around Nov. 7th), but peak conceptions occurred around Nov. 15th. Also, my landlord in PA did auto-body work and his shop was right next to my apartment...when the rut was "on" there was no room to park in my driveway (which coincidentally were the same days I was seeing a lot of road killed deer and observing lots of movement).
This is actually how our rut map differs from others. Other rut maps focus on peak breeding dates based on conceptions, but that isn't necessarily when deer movement is at its greatest. The more deer move, the more they end up road kill, so peak DVCs should represent peak deer movement.
The bottom line...if I want to know when peak deer movement occurs in any part of the country, the first person I'm going to contact is a local auto body shop, because when the rut hits, they are swamped with work. Apparently I'm not the only one, as Craig Dougherty does the same (http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/big-buck-zone/2013/10/highway-road-kills-sure-sign-whitetail-rut).
Two weeks ago I saw a dead spike on the median of 75N just outside of McDonough, last week I came up on a gaggle of vultures feasting on roadkill on a backroad creek crossing known for heavy deer traffic. My buddy observed 7 bucks following 2 does, a nice fight between two mature but young bucks...don't know if that cool snap has kicked up early movement or not, but this seems a bit early. I watched two different 4+ year old bucks feeding lazily out in a fresh clear cut Saturday in broad daylight...go figure.