Southeastern Rut Report, Week 5: Rut Taking Off in Some States, Slow Start in Others

It’s a mixed bag of action across the Southeast. Hunters in some states report strong rutting behavior while others blame warm weather and drought for a slowdown in daytime deer activity.

The chase is on in eastern North Carolina with lots of rutting activity, according to Greg Batts, North Carolina District 3 wildlife biologist. “Activity should increase until our peak on November 8,” he says. “I’ve seen bucks at bait sites this week checking out the does for ones in estrous.”

If you want to target a buck, now is the time to be in the eastern North Carolina woods. The first week of November is the best week to hunt the rut in the region along the Atlantic coast. The rut activity will continue to spread west with the most western mountains not seeing a rut until December.

According to Timber to Table editor, Michael Pendley, things have slowed way down in Kentucky where he lives. Cameras on multiple farms have caught fewer mature buck sightings.

“My wife, Cheryl, and I have been out the past two evenings and have only seen does and young bucks,” he says. “Above-average temperatures and high winds have made daylight movement drop. Scrap-line cameras are still active at night, but with more young bucks than mature.”

Pendley is hoping a cold front gets the big guys up on their feet. “I did have a photo of two 3.5-year-old bucks chasing a doe last night on one of the western Kentucky cameras,” he says. “My son Potroast is breaking out the doe and buck decoys this evening, along with antlers and grunt calls. We’re hoping that getting a bit more aggressive with tactics gets some better daylight action.”

Outdoor writer Gil Lackey says not much has changed with Tennessee’s deer behavior over the last week. “The rut's not in full swing yet,” he says. “But there have been enough reports of chasing and following that you want to make sure you're in the woods. You never know what might happen in this transition time. The cooler weather might just trigger some daytime activity. The beautiful fall colors are already starting to give way to bare trees. You can see farther now, but so can the deer, so make sure you find some cover to hide your movements.”

Plenty of nice bucks were taken in Tennessee during the early Young Sportsman hunt held October 26 to 27. Muzzleloader season starts on November 9, so get sighted in now if you haven't already.

Realtree’s Tyler Jordan has been hunting in Louisiana where he says there’s a good amount of rutting activity. “Locals said it was some of the earliest rut activity they’ve seen with bucks sparring and scrapes everywhere,” he says. “Their rut comes in at the end of December, but I noticed some bucks already pushing does around a bit. The main food source has been persimmons and bait because of how dry it’s been down there. They did receive a lot of rain last night so that will cool the temps and humidity down some.”

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Outdoor photographer Glenn Wheeler hasn’t noticed much change in Arkansas deer behavior from the previous week. “Maybe the bucks are chasing and checking just a little bit more,” he says. “I'm seeing a little bit more daylight activity. Still not a lot, though.”

Things are still pretty slow in Georgia during daylight hours due to high temperatures and a lingering drought, according to Realtree’s Michael Pitts. “I’ve noticed bucks chasing does on camera, but it’s all being done under the cover of darkness. Scrapes are being cleaned out regularly, and fresh rubs are popping up daily. We just need a drastic weather change to be able to see it all in person.”

South Carolina is still dealing with the changes brought on by Hurricane Helene. CJ Davis says he’s sure the deer survived OK, but the travel corridors and food sources are different. “Probably, the biggest issue now is the warmer-than-it-should-be weather,” he says. “While the lack of rain is good for folks with home damage, the food plots and browse are suffering. However, right now still offers the best odds of the year to see bucks on their feet. Just yesterday I saw a young buck chasing a doe. Deer are going to do deer things this time of year. We just have to try a little hard to catch them doing it with these conditions.”

Hunter Sullivan, owner of Final Roost, says the rut is starting to kick off in central Florida. Younger bucks have been chasing does throughout the day while the older bucks seem to be nocturnal still but are hitting scrapes more frequently. Does have been holding tight to food sources and bedding.

“With the hurricanes we just had, there are tons of acorns on the ground and the deer are working through oaks that are producing regularly,” he says. “This coming weekend and the following week should bring more intense rut activity.”

In north-central Florida buck sightings have plummeted as a whole with mature bucks eluding camera and field observations, according to Capt. Nate Weber. “This behavior supports that the peak rut is winding down,” he says. “Bucks have become less responsive to calls and vocalizations as they shift into post-rut patterns in our region. The few mature buck sightings on camera have been outside legal shooting hours.”

He says with the onset of rifle season, focusing efforts back to trails, bedding and water sources will yield success.

“Our acorn crop has been dropping steadily the last few weeks and deer are leaning on that food source more. Another weaker rut should kick off near the end of November as unbred does come back into estrus. Scrape activity has also declined, with many scrapes lying fallow and unused. New scrapes and rub lines are far less frequent. We are still in the tail end of the best part of the season in our region, so don’t hesitate to get out there. The probability of a new or target buck coming into your sights is still good.”

Bob McNally says the Florida deer from Jacksonville to Orlando and south are in late rut and the deer way south of Orlando are done. “I hunt in the Florida Panhandle and they'll start cranking up in a month,” he says. “The rut happens much later there.”

He says the deer behavior is mixed across the state because of the deer that were stocked into the state when numbers were low in the 1940s through the 1960s. “Mass stocking of northern whitetails from Virginia, Wisconsin, and other states has resulted in a hodgepodge of times for swollen whitetail necks throughout Florida. Cross-breeding between stocked deer and native animals also has complicated the breeding season.”

Hopefully, the states that need the cooler, wetter weather will get just that in the coming weeks and with it, an increase in daylight big-buck activity.