Hunters across the Southeast are seeing subtle but encouraging changes in buck behavior as the first signs of fall start to show. Summer bachelor groups are breaking up in Tennessee, scraping activity is ramping up in Kentucky, and cooler weather is prompting more daylight movement across the region. With acorns beginning to fall in some areas, hunters who locate fresh sign and critical food sources could be in position to capitalize as the pre-rut gets underway.

Tennessee bucks seem to be broken up from their summer bachelor groups, for the most part, according to land manager Michael Arnold. “A few young bucks are still with a buddy,” he said. “Scraping activity is intense in areas with a good number of mature bucks. I’ve even witnessed a few young bucks pushing some does around some, but the older-class bucks pretty much have one thing on their minds — eating.”

Arnold said the bucks are putting on the pounds and getting ready for the upcoming rut, and laying lots of sign down in between bedding areas and food sources.

“Hunters who are willing to get out and find this fresh sign will find success early,” he said. “The mast crop is looking good, but nothing like the bumper crop of last year. It’s looking like it’s gonna be a great season.”

Cody Kelly with Small Town Hunting said his group just wrapped up a hunt at their place along the Mississippi River in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, where they took three nice bucks.

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“Early season feeding patterns are in full effect,” he said. “We did see a lot of scrapes popping up near feed trees with them starting to get territorial. There was a lot of nighttime movement on cameras, but we found the best daylight activity was [by] feed trees such as acorns and persimmons real close to bedding.”

Meanwhile in Kentucky, bucks are starting to show themselves more during daylight. Temperatures are dropping into the 40s at night, and scraping activity is high. Timber 2 Table Chef Michael Pendley said acorns are falling, and bucks and does are keying in on them right now.

“My son Nathaniel “Potroast” took a nice buck at our western Kentucky farm a few days ago, and then had to lock up his brakes to keep from running over a super-tall 8 yesterday evening,” he said. “We’ve had new bucks show at every spot over the past 10 or so days, and some of our early season targets have gone MIA.”

Montana Decoy President C.J. Davis said cooler-than-average days in South Carolina have younger bucks out on the prowl. The older ones appear to still be holding in the thickets during daylight.

“There’s been some surprising midday movement, but I’d say afternoons are our best bet lately,” he said. “A less-than-great-acorn crop can help or hurt you depending on what mast trees/food sources you find to hunt. Hopefully we get some rain soon and it should only get better for the deer movement.”

Burt Moore said this weather shift will likely trigger the early stages of the pre-rut phase throughout Alabama. “Does and fawns are regular at the feeders, and random bucks are coming through several nights a week,” he said. “I’ve identified no pattern on any particular bucks yet. With it being so dry, my cameras based along the creeks and duck ponds are getting the most activity — 90% nocturnal. Most of the white oaks, red oaks and water oaks are full of acorns, but most are not dropping yet. The few persimmon trees I have are also loaded and should start dropping after the hurricane moves through this weekend. As always, once the daytime temps start cooling down, there will be more consistent daytime buck activity.”

North Carolina District 3 wildlife biologist Greg Batts kept it pretty simple: “There’s no rut activity to report at the moment, but the acorns are falling now, so that’s where you’ll find the deer.”

The reports coming in are pretty typical for the start of the season. Acorns are starting to fall and daylight activity is ramping up. As the weather shifts and temperatures drop, deer will become even more active. So far, conditions look good for a productive early season across the region.