Rut update 23’

[tntrkkllr]

SW Tennessee the mature bucks have found them a mature doe and are now sticking with them until in estrus. ALSO scrapes finally opening and lots of rubs showing up. Glad to finally see it start heating up down here despite the warm weather!! What are you seeing??

 

[backyardtndeer]

About 30 minutes north of Jackson. Scrape activity here had been hot for a while but has dropped off significantly the last few days. Let my wife go last weekend, she saw very good chasing activity, including two bucks that were probably 3.5 year olds. I think bucks were probably locked down on does here Monday and Tuesday.

 

[DeerCamp]

Seeing bucks chasing in person and on camera regularly. Lots of rut activity.

Wife killed a 3.5+ last week chasing that weighed 211, and took my brother in law for his first buck this weekend. It was also chasing.

Edit: Henderson and Madison County.

 

[mayberryrick]

Seeing bucks chasing in person and on camera regularly. Lots of rut activity.

Wife killed a 3.5+ last week chasing that weighed 211, and took my brother in law for his first buck this weekend. It was also chasing.

What county?

 

[DeerCamp]

What county?

Henderson and Madison Cty

 

[mayberryrick]

Cool

 

[redblood]

Seeing the first twinges of chasing in southern middle, but like usual the week after Thanksgiving when the cold rolls in will be prime time. Right now is just a few labor pains

 

[30-06 type of guy]

Lawrence county last friday for me was . Chasing from daylight up until I pulled the trigger at 1130 on a 3.5 yr old chasing. Saturday morning Maury county I had 4 lone bucks strolling. killed one of them at 730.

 

[Carlos]

I haven't even seen any casing, much less chasing- in the last several hunts. Cumberland county.

 

[UTGrad]

Seeing the first twinges of chasing in southern middle, but like usual the week after Thanksgiving when the cold rolls in will be prime time. Right now is just a few labor pains

I hunt Marshall not far from you and I agree with you on the rut timing for that area. Last few days in November through first couple weeks in December.

 

[megalomaniac]

Full estrus in middle TN. Watched 5 older bucks tending does past few days.

Another thing that is really strange this year... the 1.5y/o's are just running themselves ragged. Can't tell how many I've seen wandering around panting with mouth agape and tongue hanging out. Normally, our 1.5yo's run the heck out of the does in October, then settle down and don't participate in the rut activities, just feed and watch the older bucks having all the fun... This year, they are burning themselves out, which they may never recover from.

The only thing that is different on my places is we have a 90% fawn recruitment rate, whereas for the past decade we only had a 10-20% fawn recruitment rate. I don't know why that would change the behaviour of the 1.5 y/o's, but buck age structure hasn't changed.

 

[muddyboots]

Blows me away every year what a difference a few miles south makes. I got a pic yesterday with 4 bucks still grouped up. Very few rubs. Lots of scrapes. I have not witnessed any chasing nor had any pictures. Looks to be on track for here. After thanksgiving is usually our best time.

 

[bowhunterfanatic]

Blows me away every year what a difference a few miles south makes. I got a pic yesterday with 4 bucks still grouped up. Very few rubs. Lots of scrapes. I have not witnessed any chasing nor had any pictures. Looks to be on track for here. After thanksgiving is usually our best time.

Same for us. I heard my first grunt of the year one morning this week but it was just an excited little guy. He didn't even chase the doe in the field around.

 

[Andy S.]

The only thing that is different on my places is we have a 90% fawn recruitment rate, whereas for the past decade we only had a 10-20% fawn recruitment rate.

This could make for some awesome late season rutting activity as the numerous doe fawns come in. Generally speaking, we see at least one of our biggest mature bucks during the late season rut when fawns come in. The rub is the mature buck could very well be broken up by then. Fawns throw caution to the wind and walk into the most open unsecure places, and the mature bucks follow without a care in the world, oftentimes exposing them for the first time of the season. For SW TN, this happens late December and early January.

 

[Boll Weevil]

We just started getting pics younger bucks (4.5 and younger) following does in the last day or 2. It's still early in our area.

 

[UTGrad]

So far November has been warmer than normal and a lot of activity has happened at night.

 

[killingtime 41]

N east TN no runs to speak of really and no scrapes. Well not in the usual places I see them year after year. No chasing seen yet. Gotta get better than this. Of course it can get hot quickly.

 

[ADR]

North Rutherford county-watched a 3.5 year old breed a doe this evening.

 

[philsanchez76]

im rutherford/davidson and seems to be peek breeding right now. I see no adult does out in the food sources in the evenings. All locked up with bucks.

 

[Bushape]

Blows me away every year what a difference a few miles south makes. I got a pic yesterday with 4 bucks still grouped up. Very few rubs. Lots of scrapes. I have not witnessed any chasing nor had any pictures. Looks to be on track for here. After thanksgiving is usually our best time.

Yep. Every year I read tales of deer going crazy 60-80 miles north of me right now, but in 3 weeks it'll be go time in southern Wayne.