Realtree's Deer Hunting Forecast | December 12-19

Hunters in all but a few areas of the country are now into the final weeks of deer season. The recent winter weather reaffirms what we already know from looking at the calendar: the late season is definitely here. Last week’s full moon, the final one of 2025, preceded another stout winter cold front, and the meanest one of the season is forecast to hit the center of the country this weekend.

Still, deer movement has been pretty good, according to the updates given by many of our regional Rut Reporters. Many hunters are seeing spurts of late-rut activity, me included. I’ve been hunting at least a couple hours most days this week, trying to punch my last two doe tags here in Kentucky. I’ve been entertained during several sits by some really good rut activity. A few days ago, on December 9, I had a nice 3-year-old 8-pointer chase a doe all around my stand on a hardwood ridge in the middle of the afternoon. That same afternoon, my buddy and Southwest Rut Reporter Miles Fedinec, who was hunting a farm 20 minutes away, shot a stud of a December 8-pointer. That buck, too, ambled into crossbow range behind a small herd of does.

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The midday movement has been good in these parts, probably due in part to the frigid weather. We’ve been hunting over bait, and the deer are hitting it hard, although it’s not stopping them from browsing on food plots (several of which are still green) and remaining acorns, red oaks especially.

MOON AND WEATHER FORECAST

The moon is waning, and we’ll have a New Moon on Dec. 19. The winter weather doesn’t show any signs of relenting for most of the next week, although there is a warming trend in the long-range forecast. Consider sleeping in just a bit on those especially frigid mornings, but bundle up and be in the stand by midday, and plan to sit until dark. Scout hard to find the best food sources in your area. Deer sign is very visible this time of year, so keep looking until you locate the mother lode. Time is running thin outside of a few areas in the South, so do what you can to get out there.

Realtree’s Fish & Game Forecaster predicts fair to good movement over the next week, with midday peaks Monday-Wednesday between 10 a.m. and noon. This will be our final deer hunting forecast of 2025, and we give it 2.5 out of 5 stars. Now, on to the regional activity updates.

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Midwest regional reporter Darron McDougal says bucks are showing little interest in does but plenty of interest in quality food up in his Wisconsin neck of the woods. Daylight movement has been solid, McDougal says, with the best action found around oaks, remaining food plots, and standing corn and beans. McDougal’s contacts shared updates this week from Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota.

Check out the full Midwest Rut Report here.

Northeast regional reporter Timothy Kent says that even though the late season is setting in, bucks are still brawling and nudging does on occasion. Still, activity has waned in the Northeast as deer are settling into regular bed-to-feed routines. Leftover crops, and especially remaining standing crops, are attractive, as are acorn flats.

Check out the full Northeast Rut Report here.

Southeast regional reporter Stephanie Mallory says that while some areas of her region are entering the late-season doldrums, others are just getting started. From central Alabama through the Mississippi Delta, hunters are now seeing bucks cruising for the season’s first receptive does, and the action has been particularly good during the recent bouts of cold weather. Hunters in states including North Carolina, Kentucky, and Georgia are seeing some secondary rut activity, but slower late-season movement is the dominant trend.

Check out the full Southeast Rut Report here.

Most deer season are over or about to be in the Northwest. Regional reporter Jackie Holbrook says a few Alaska hunters are still after Kodiak blacktails, but it’s been tough. In the lower 48, the post-rut has definitely set in. Holbrook says the mature deer that were so visible just a couple weeks ago in states like Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming seem to have disappeared. Large doe groups are forming as winter sets in.

Read the full Northwest Rut Report here.

Although the rut’s kicking in a few areas of Texas, and there’s good action ahead in Arizona, the rut at large is coming to an end across the Southwest, according to regional reporter Miles Fedinec. Deer seasons are ending in much of the region, and even where they remain open, it’s difficult to lay eyes on a mature buck that’s not broken up from a full fall of fighting.

Read the full Southwest Rut Report here.