Deer activity across the Southeast has been all over the map this week, shaped by sharp temperature drops, shifting food sources and highly localized rut timing. From slow action in western Alabama to the first signs of cruising bucks along the Mississippi River, hunters are seeing everything from late-season patterns to the first sparks of rut activity.

Outdoor photographer Tes Jolly said the rut is still a long way off in east-central Alabama, so hunting food sources is critical.

“We’ve experienced high winds and a bit of rain during the past week,” she said. “Deer have been feeding early, as temperatures have dipped below freezing. I took a young friend to hunt one of our food plots. Deer began arriving on the cold afternoon, and this buck arrived at 4:15. What a proud moment when Owen made a perfect shot on his first racked buck.”

John Hurt said the action has been slow where he hunts in western Alabama during the past couple of weeks.

“Bucks are breaking up, and small bucks seem to be harassing or bumping does,” he said. “We have a heavy acorn crop, but daytime movement has been tough. It’s really just been slow for us.”

Don’t Miss: Korean BBQ Deer Jerkey

Most of the rut activity has come to a halt in Georgia, according to Realtree's funny man Michael Pitts.

"I am seeing a lot of mature bucks by themselves that aren't interested in chasing. It's almost like the lockdown didn't happen on the farm I hunt this year. They went straight from chasing, to acting normal again. There was no disappearing act, which makes me scratch my head. It has been a weird year. Acorns are still the food of choice."

Cody Kelley with Small Town Hunting Properties in Mississippi said he’s just now starting to see some rutting action along the Mississippi River.

“There are a lot of scrapes starting to show up,” he said. “Food plots are becoming the main food source, and bucks are daylighting much more and coming into the plots checking does with the cooler temps. We are starting to see some light chasing.”

Kelley said trail cams set up on scrapes and food plots are showing that bucks are becoming much more territorial.

“The next two weeks are going to be really good in Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas,” he said.

Not much has changed in South Carolina since this past week, according to Charles Ruth, big-game program coordinator for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. He said South Carolina is still experiencing the backside of the rut, with the exception of the small sliver of mountains in the northwestern portion of the state. Deer movement, particularly during the day, is decreasing, which makes hunting tougher.

Realtree.com Editor Will Brantley said the primary rut is pretty much finished in western Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee, although there are still some mature deer on their feet checking groups of does.

“In fact, when we pulled into the house last night from a long trip, there was a nice buck standing with a doe in the front yard,” he said. “We’ve had some pretty good winter weather recently, and does and fawns seem to be gathering up into large groups, which is typical for the time of year. My camera action has really picked up over bait piles the past few days, too (in Kentucky, not Tennessee). The late season is never easy, but this can be a pretty good time to pattern a good buck over a food source. This is also my personal favorite time of year to shoot a few young does for the freezer. Tennessee’s rifle season is still in, and Kentucky muzzleloader opens soon, so there’s plenty of good hunting left.”

Tennessee land manager Michael Arnold said the rut in his state can be rather confusing because of the variety of peak dates throughout the state. This year, because of the warm weather and bumper acorn crop, deer activity across the state has been up and down even more.

“The bucks are just now cruising in the southwestern portion of the state, with a few young bucks chasing,” he said. “In the middle portion of the state, most of the does have been bred, and they’re grouped back up. But some areas of the state are still experiencing lockdown, and food plots are not being visited hardly at all. I spent 12 hours on Thanksgiving in the stand overlooking a 2-acre plot and only saw three does just before dark. Even with the cold weather, they’re just not moving in some areas. Yet 30 miles north, on the farm where my grandson and I harvested our bucks, the plots are full of does grouped back up.”

Arnold said the rut in the eastern part of the state usually doesn’t reach its peak until well into December, and the southeastern regions peak even later in the month.

“With another polar vortex on the horizon, hunters should start to focus on food sources in the evenings in areas where the rut seems to be slowing,” he said. “In parts of the state where it’s just getting going, sitting all day in your funnels, pinch points and saddles or benches on main ridges will be the most productive.”

Deer activity across the region is varying a lot. With colder weather on the way, food sources will be the biggest draw in areas where the rut is slowing down or still a few weeks out. In places just hitting peak rut, sticking to funnels and travel corridors can pay off.