Southwest Rut Report, Week 10: Rut Activity Continues to Taper Off
Posted 2024-12-10 by
As the rut across most of the region is winding down, the deep southwest is kicking into gear.
The rut is winding down in most of the country and my lease in northcentral Texas is no different. I was able to make it back down on December 3 to start hunting again. I knew that the rut would be trailing off, but it can also be a difficult time as bucks may be traveling, searching for any remaining does in estrus.
I’ve had the most success on this lease the first week of December, partly because that’s when I can get here but also because the bucks start hitting feeders again. When I checked the cameras, I wasn’t surprised to see bucks on cameras that they hadn’t been on before. They were indeed searching for what’s left.
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My target buck had been on the camera on December 1 but then was on two other cameras on the 2nd and 3rd. History has told me to sit at his home stand and he’ll eventually step out. I hunted a couple days without seeing him and then, 30 minutes after daylight, he stepped out by himself. It was a frigid morning, and he was the only deer I saw. I wasted no time and put the 7-year-old buck down In the few days I have been in Texas it has went from a little bit of rut activity to nothing. It’s very apparent that its ending and its time to start hunting with late season tactics. This is the case for most of the region.
The deep south of the region is just getting started though. South Texas is seeing considerable activity. I have been getting lots of video sent to me with lovestruck bucks chasing does and some pretty awesome fighting. I’m still getting mixed reports on what stage the rut is in but now is a great time to catch a buck that you didn’t know was around. The bucks are traveling and in some areas already breeding. It won’t be long, and you will see bucks getting locked down with does and disappearing from cameras if they aren’t already.
Southern Arizona and southern New Mexico are finally seeing some activity as well. The mule deer are traveling and starting to show up to the rut areas. A few more weeks and you will really see the mule deer start to turn on. The Coues are similarly starting to feel it. We are seeing rubs and scrapes but I expect the real activity to fire up around the new year.
