looks like early November.... Not January

[HuntingDicksonDTC]

Decided to come out and sit awhile this afternoon . Fresh rubs everywhere. Can see 7 from here in stand. Several clean active scrapes. See it some every year around this time but not to this degree. Can't tell it from pic but that tree has some pretty deep gouges in it.

 

[Roost 1]

Good luck!!! Hope you see him.

 

[X-Tennessean]

I noticed the same yesterday evening and this morning. Found a great rub line that I waypointed this morning, think I will put a camera on it. Trees the size of your thighs and counted 5.

Nephew hunted last Wednesday after school, he got a set of the black rack rattling horns and a new grunter for Christmas! Climbed in and ran a sequence and not 2-3 minutes later had a spike and a 140" 8pt come running in!!! He said the big deer's hair was all standing on in......only problem was he decided to carry his bow and he stayed just out of his comfort range!! He has been upset every since and with his first job he is seeing what "life" is all about!! We hunted yesterday and this morning and will go in the morning before he has to go to work. I quote " I will never carry my bow again during rifle".....lol
Told him we should fully commit to archery only.....I got the evil eye from him!

 

[HuntingDicksonDTC]

x-Tennessean,

We all have had those moments
haven't we...decisions decisions. lol. Glad he had some success with rattling antlers. My biggest bucks have all been within bow range and always say dang should have brought the bow!

 

[landman]

Bucks are being killed everywhere chasing does, I know of a 22 pt Montgomery Co Beast that was shot in the last week that the hunter shot him right as he got done breeding a doe

 

[double browtine]

Post up a picture landman!!!

 

[landman]

Post up a picture landman!!!

 

[TheLBLman]

Similar to early November, relatively few females are in estrous now,
but there is one noteworthy difference (at least in the areas I'm observing):

Most of these females coming into estrous now are very healthy fawns, their first estrous.

The bucks are already back into bachelor groups,
but tend to "stumble" upon these estrous fawns, perhaps mainly in mutual feeding areas,
although who knows how far a buck can smell an estrous doe under ideal downwind conditions.

This is a sign of good overall herd health.

Did you notice there seemed to be quite a few small spikes this year in your hunting area?
Many of these were late-born males, the product of fawns getting pregnant, and most these little spikes are NOT genetically inferior. Should they survive to 4 1/2 or older, they should "grow out" of their late start.

Notice some small fawns during this past archery season?
Result of what happened about a year ago, with healthy fawns being bred in January, even February and later.

Unlike early November, most of us are experiencing much lower odds hunting now,
as most the bucks are not traveling much linear distance most days,
and are mostly preoccupied with feeding and security, not actively "searching" for hot does.

 

[double browtine]

Post up a picture landman!!!

Wow! That's a good one!

 

[landman]

This Cold Weather has got a ton of big bucks killed in the last week.........they got to eat I've seen many that have just been shot in crop fields feeding

 

[Mike Belt]

That's one heck of a buck! Man I love those brows!

 

[plinker22]

I saw several fresh rubs and 1 fresh scrape in the last week of the season. Sadly, no buck showed up to accept my lead gift.

 

[Winchester]

Bucks are being killed everywhere chasing does, I know of a 22 pt Montgomery Co Beast that was shot in the last week that the hunter shot him right as he got done breeding a doe

Same thing going on here too, some late does and fawns coming in to heat many times with multiple bucks after them! Not too many out there but if u find one shes a gold mine right now. Lots of fresh buck sign all over our property in Stewart co last wknd.

 

[cowhunter71]

Rut ain't over until the last doe is bred Had a good solid mature buck with horns pushing a doe like it was Thanksgiving weekend, the first week of turkey season last spring. April 11th i think it was. Dogging her back and forth 40 yrds in front of me for almost 10 minutes. This was high up in South Cherokee. Headed South to Alabama and then on to the Florida Panhandle to continue hunting rutting bucks next week.

 

[Mike Belt]

I see some of that every year and half the time I find some of the biggest rubs then. I guess since estrus does are hard to find it frustrates the bucks more???

 

[plinker22]

Headed South to Alabama and then on to the Florida Panhandle to continue hunting rutting bucks next week.

Have a great set of hunts cowhunter71. Hope to see a Bloody Monster or three.

 

[Rollo]

Same here on the rubs. I'm seeing fresh rubs for the past 6 days on my place. They really started back up around Christmas chasing around here. And yes, LOTS of younger spikes and scrubs along with fawns that are still showing signs of spots. If my neighbors continue buck management liked they "seemed" to have done this year, our upcoming seasons should be very promising. Lots of rubs but not many scrapes. Not even freshening up the old ones, just killing trees...

 

[Mike Belt]

Curious Rollo... Are you on the same program as your neighbors buckwise?

 

[cowhunter71]

Headed South to Alabama and then on to the Florida Panhandle to continue hunting rutting bucks next week.

Have a great set of hunts cowhunter71. Hope to see a Bloody Monster or three.

Thank you Sir. I'll be hunting National Forest ground in both states and would be happy to kill any legal buck. There are some good deer down there though, especially in the Panhandle. Most would be surprised of the quality bucks running around down there

 

[Rollo]

Curious Rollo... Are you on the same program as your neighbors buckwise?

A few of us are the same page. I seem to get most of the pics and then share with a couple of neighbors to devise a plan on who walks and who doesn't. Same with does. We stuck to the plan and our 3 biggest bucks that I've seen made it. Next year they should be monsters. But there are a couple of neighbors I haven't been able to communicate with. One in particular shot an 8 point that i passed on twice this year. Not sure what he would think of our "plan". Now our "neighborhood " is made up of 15 to 30 acre tracs with distant (mile or so) larger 100-300 tracs. I know it's probably far fetched to have such a plan but we're gonna try.