Southeast Rut Report, Week 6: Weather a Mixed Bag as Rut Activity Increases

Rut activity is kicking up across the Southeast with a few regions already hitting the peak. The rain conditions have varied widely from state to state with some still experiencing drought while others are getting too much rain. Overall, the temperatures are still unseasonably warm for much of the region, which hinders daylight deer movement and can make late-morning and mid-day sits uncomfortable.

The rut is in high gear in the northeast Piedmont region of North Carolina. The peak happened around November 8 and will subside until a second peak approximately 28 days later when does that were missed the first time around will come back into estrous again.

“Hunters commonly say the bucks suddenly become absent after seeing lots of chasing,” Greg Batts, North Carolina District 3 wildlife biologist, says. “This tending phase means the bucks are staying with and breeding a doe in estrous for a 24- to 48-hour period. He won’t be running around everywhere looking because he has found what he was looking for. I always have to remind hunters that the rut varies sometimes county to county and it is a bell-shaped curve. It builds, builds, peaks, slacks off, slacks off and ends until a doe that was missed, or in some cases fawns from this year, comes into estrous. Everybody's rut experiences can be different. Now is the time to target the oldest bucks in the area as it’s the only real weakness they will show during the hunting season.”

In Kentucky and Tennessee where Realtree.com Editor Will Brantley hunts, warm temperatures, wind and rain have made it tough.

“The first week of November is usually my favorite for bowhunting, but the weather has been awful this year — 80 degrees and howling wind often as not,” Brantley says. “The last three days have been a washout. We really needed the rain so I'm not complaining there, but it'd be nice if a good cold front came with it.”

He says he’s hunted every day of the season so far and has almost 20 cameras scattered across multiple properties in Kentucky and Tennessee. According to his own field time and the camera footage, the deer are just not moving much during the day.

“The deer are out there — I'm getting all kinds of nighttime photos — and rubs and scrapes are still abundant. But the hunting has sucked. I don't know that I've ever seen a tougher start to the rut,” Brantley says.

Outdoor writer Gil Lackey is seeing a bit more action near Nashville, Tennessee.

“I'd say we're on the front end of the annual free-for-all,” Lackey says. “Bucks are responding well to calls, so don't be afraid to use them frequently. Young bucks and a few mature bucks are showing up in daylight. We're still in a warm pattern and hoping for cold fronts to help with daylight activity.

They're less worried about whether to feed on crops or acorns and are more focused on what the does are doing. All you need is to catch that one doe in estrus for the magic to happen. Spend as much time in the stand as possible.”

In Georgia, the bucks are starting to chase does a bit more as well. They are becoming less visible on trail cameras around feed sites and scrapes, which means they are out searching for does more and more by the day.

“Hunting in transition areas between bed to feed where does are present is a good idea,” Realtree’s Bryan Brown says. “Also sitting longer in the mornings and getting to the stand earlier in the evenings is a good tactic.”

Realtree’s Michael Pitts says the conditions are still pretty tough where he hunts in Georgia.

“The rut is definitely here, but we are still fighting the heat, which is keeping most movement nocturnal,” Pitts says. “We did get a little rain yesterday. Hopefully that will help the situation a little bit as we didn’t see any moisture during October. The cameras were a little more active this morning at daylight, so with moisture and the overall temperatures dropping a bit, we might be onto something.”

Weather has settled on a warm pattern in Florida’s Panhandle as well, making hunts a little more uncomfortable during the late morning and early afternoon. Capt. Nate Weber says deer sightings have been slightly lower than average this week, and that has paralleled predicted deer movement based on lunar phases.

“We are still in the tail end of the enigmatic Florida rut and the animals continue to exhibit this both afield and on cameras,” Weber says. “While we are a far cry from our mid-October activity, I have still been seeing bucks moving does around and actively looking for a receptive female.”

Weber says a few scrapes are being tended and new rubs are far less frequent. The mature buck sightings have noticeably decreased as a whole.

“I did have an encounter with a mature animal three sits in a row, however, it never presented an ethical shot,” he says. “He did not appear to be overly concerned with my grunting and continued on his designated travel path or stayed glued with the two does he was shadowing. The mature bucks are still slipping around during daylight hours, but as general gun season begins to steam forward, I suspect those animals will sense the extra pressure in their woods.”

Weber explains that does can be found bouncing between supplemental food sources and the ever-present acorn crop that has dropped. Through the remainder of the Florida deer season, expect small periods of rut activity as does come in and out of estrus. General gun season is a great time to take advantage of being able to effectively hunt large open areas, especially between bedding, food, and water.

Realtree’s Tyler Jordan is still hunting in Louisiana where there’s been a lot of rain the last few days.

“The food plots started to sprout up some a couple of days ago,” Jordan says. “I've noticed it has got these deer spread out a little bit more. We have seen a lot more scrapes, and I've seen young bucks continue to spar. Other than the rain, there’s not been a significant change from last week.”

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Outdoor photographer Tes Jolly says she’s still praying for rain where she lives on her farm in Tuskegee, Alabama.

“We haven’t been able to plant food plots because of the drought,” Jolly says. “There’s not much rain in the near future forecast either. This past week I’ve observed an uptick in bucks of all age groups working lick branches and rubbing trees to deposit scent.”

She says although the rut is a long way off, the shortening light period is triggering hormones and rut behaviors.

“The sparring continues,” she says. “One aggressive yearling spike fought a bare limb in a solid five-minute battle that had me laughing at his spunkiness. A young eight-point broke the record on the latest velvet shedding I’ve ever photographed on the farm on November 5. I was beginning to wonder if it would ever shed. His battle gear is finally ready.”

She says the deer are feeding heavily on water oak and red oak acorns, which make them good locations for bow hunting in early fall.

In Virginia, the pre-rut is going strong with young bucks actively pushing does. Most of the deer activity is occurring in the mornings with the new moon.

“Mature bucks are moving well between 9 and 10 a.m.,” outdoor writer Mike Hanback says. “The 75-degree heat in the afternoons is knocking back some movement, but stick it out until the last light. We shot a 150-class buck yesterday at last light. Also, the bucks are coming great to grunt calls right now.”

Weather in the Arkansas Ozarks has been feast or famine lately – going from one of the longest droughts the state has experienced in many years to heavy, excessive rainfall.

Outdoor photographer Glenn Wheeler says parts of his county received more than 20 inches of rain in 24 hours, which obviously caused quite a bit of flooding and disruption for the people and animals.

“Many deer, elk and other critters were seen in the open, on higher ground, seeking refuge,” Wheeler says. “But, prior to the rain, activity had picked up with bucks becoming more active with chasing and checking does and with bucks changing their patterns and becoming more visible during daylight hours. Luckily, in our hilly terrain, the water recedes fairly quickly and the deer should be able to get back to a more normal routine soon. The peak of the rut still seems to be a little way out, but is progressing steadily.”

Hopefully, the weather will level out throughout the Southeast with rainfall in the areas that desperately need it and a drying out in areas that have been recently soaked. Temperatures are forecasted to cool off in some parts of the region in the coming days, so daytime deer movement should pick up.