In reference to bucks chasing & fighting Feb-Mar

Based on responses in my previous post:

All this info on late breeding and late fawns got me to thinking.....

What effect if any does the loss of antlers have on the propensity for bucks to breed?
Will they continue to pursue does, and fight for them, after they lose their antlers?
Will they still breed any does that come into heat?
Will does continue to come into heat until they are bred?

Bucks drop their antlers due to a decrease in testosterone post rut, and environmental factors. If you coincide the testosterone drop with the limited availability of does to breed it wouldn't make sense for them to continue to actively fight and chase does.

If a doe is available late in winter will it be bred more than likely, but you wouldn't see the concentrated rutting activity of many deer as you will earlier in the season.

Also does will come into estrus a couple of times, but it isn't a never ending cycle. If your sex ratio is anything near 2 or 3 does per buck they should be bred after 1-2 estrus cycles, and that should prevent really late fawn drop. Most late fawns occur due to doe fawns being bred late in January/February or a very unbalanced sex ratio. WTD gestation is about 200 days so roughly 7 months after conception they should be hitting the ground. This should give you a rough idea of when the bulk of breeding during the rut is occurring in your area.

Thanks for the good info Tinkerbell!

It's probably no different than sexual activity with humans. When testosterone levels are high, the boys go chasing after them. While they may stop looking once the level drops, it doesn't mean they've lost all interest when an opportunity presents itself.

This year has been very strange on my ranch. I saw bucks chasing and actually coupled up with doe as early as mid August. By December the mature nocturnal bucks that I was after stopped working scrapes and disappeared completely (neighbors didn't get them either.) The younger bucks that still remained in the area started shedding the first week of January and by mid to late January all bucks I got on camera had already shed. Also, one of the doe we harvested Thanksgiving weekend had a fetus that was approx. 4" long.