When I got home yesterday there were two does standing near the road. And the spike buck that I mentioned in Nick and Todd's thread was sparing with a forkhorn in the side yard. So after I parked, I walked over and started talking to them, asking who is winning, and they stood there looking at me all WTF. Then a third doe came up the hill, while the spike buck crossed the road as I was getting the mail, and jumped the low spot in the neighbor's fence that is near my mailbox. The first two does followed shortly, and by the time I walked back to the house I could see that the forkhorn and third doe were headed that way as well. I'll know that forkhorn if I see him again. He has only his left antler; the right one has been knocked off, or maybe didn't grow this year.

I think I first noticed a buck hanging around the does that live here around the first of November, if not slightly earlier. How long does this rut season last for blacktail deer?