The switch has flipped

[megalomaniac]

Amazing how fast it happens... 8 cell cameras running. Yesterday none went off until after dark. Bucks back on scrapes at night, does bunched up post rut in extended family groups. Same thing this evening. 3d ago all the cameras were going off nonstop 2h before dark. They in survival mode now. Time to hang it up till 2nd rut on my farms and give them a break.

Dreading deer season 2024... with the late Thanksgiving, rut will almost be done by opening of gun.

 

[deerhunter10]

Noticed similar things at a couple of my farms as well. Been a good rut wayyyy better then last year.

 

[Dumbluck]

Mega what area of TN is your farm? I'm hunting dickson and Williamson counties and the 27th through the 5th of December will be hot again at my locations, based on historical data and also what I'm seeing on trail cameras right now is aligning with the historical data as well.

 

[TNlandowner]

3 year old 8 point walked up beside our house during the Auburn - Alabama game yesterday. Maybe 16" inside spread with very long brow tines and G2s.

We yelled out to him that "Auburn is winning." He put up his tail and angrily walked off into the woods.

Well, maybe it happened that way, but I can't remember for sure. No matter, one of us was sure enough upset!

LOL

 

[Outdoor Enthusiast]

Amazing how fast it happens... 8 cell cameras running. Yesterday none went off until after dark. Bucks back on scrapes at night, does bunched up post rut in extended family groups. Same thing this evening. 3d ago all the cameras were going off nonstop 2h before dark. They in survival mode now. Time to hang it up till 2nd rut on my farms and give them a break.

Dreading deer season 2024... with the late Thanksgiving, rut will almost be done by opening of gun.

Yep. Same here in northern middle TN.

 

[Outdoor Enthusiast]

I moved some cameras yesterday. I had one mature buck that range shifted in October. He was the best buck I had on camera. I never did get another photo of him in November. He may be dead, but i think I would have heard from the locals due to his size.

I am curious to see if he shifts back in December.

 

[Bgoodman30]

Amazing how fast it happens... 8 cell cameras running. Yesterday none went off until after dark. Bucks back on scrapes at night, does bunched up post rut in extended family groups. Same thing this evening. 3d ago all the cameras were going off nonstop 2h before dark. They in survival mode now. Time to hang it up till 2nd rut on my farms and give them a break.

Dreading deer season 2024... with the late Thanksgiving, rut will almost be done by opening of gun.

It's good to know someone else's deer are on the exact same pattern as mine. I need to do the same thing I'm grinding myself into more and more frustration….Oh and these "scientist" that say the moon doesn't affect deer movement can kiss my @$$.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Been a weird rut here this year, seems to be trickling. Young bucks were chasing does as early as September, can't recall hot and heavy chasing that early here before. Pretty sure the primary rut and "lockdown" phase here were right on track with normal about the end of the first week and into the second week of November.

Watched a mature buck following a doe yesterday. There was a young buck hanging near them, but he was giving the big six and doe some space. Pretty sure that doe was receptive yesterday. Also have been seeing a doe with clean white tarsals that still had her fawn hanging with her as recently as Friday afternoon, think by the size of her fawn that she was probably bred late last year. First to second week of December here should be pretty decent for catching bucks looking frantically for those second chance does and a few doe fawns that may get their first cycle.

 

[Bgoodman30]

Been a weird rut here this year, seems to be trickling. Young bucks were chasing does as early as September, can't recall hot and heavy chasing that early here before. Pretty sure the primary rut and "lockdown" phase here were right on track with normal about the end of the first week and into the second week of November.

Watched a mature buck following a doe yesterday. There was a young buck hanging near them, but he was giving the big six and doe some space. Pretty sure that doe was receptive yesterday. Also have been seeing a doe with clean white tarsals that still had her fawn hanging with her as recently as Friday afternoon, think by the size of her fawn that she was probably bred late last year. First to second week of December here should be pretty decent for catching bucks looking frantically for those second chance does and a few doe fawns that may get their first cycle.

Explain the clean tarsals on does? I was glassing 6 does together yesterday trying to determine if any were buttons and noticed some had stained and others clean.

 

[megalomaniac]

Mega what area of TN is your farm? I'm hunting dickson and Williamson counties and the 27th through the 5th of December will be hot again at my locations, based on historical data and also what I'm seeing on trail cameras right now is aligning with the historical data as well.

A little southeast of Nashville.

Peak breeding is normally Nov 20 thru 22. First does Nov 10, last does around Nov 28. For some reason, peak breeding this year was Nov 17 thru 19. There are still a couple does out there yet to breed, so it's not impossible to kill a good buck on my farms (we killed a 133in 4.5yo yesterday checking a doe that wasn't in heat), but you can really tell the bucks and does are behaving totally differently than 2 weeks ago.

Our peak 2nd rut isn't until Dec 18 thru 20 normally, so I suspect it will be a couple days early this year. Normally, our worst hunting of the year is first 2 weeks of December.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Explain the clean tarsals on does? I was glassing 6 does together yesterday trying to determine if any were buttons and noticed some had stained and others clean.

I have heard and read that does will rub urinate the closer they get to being in estrous. I have paid attention to the staining of does tarsals, and believe the correlation to the rut is true, the darker stained that the tarsals are on does the closer they are to being in estrous. Once they have been successfully bred they quit that behavior and they will actually lick their tarsals clean. A doe with clean white tarsals therefore has either not gotten close enough to her cycle yet, or has already been bred and has had enough time to clean them.

 

[BamaProud]

Deer are all over the place on Shelby farms in west TN right now. I counted 35 in about 10 mins yesterday on my drive home.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Just now gettin going here.

 

[Bgoodman30]

Deer are all over the place on Shelby farms in west TN right now. I counted 35 in about 10 mins yesterday on my drive home.

When

 

[megalomaniac]

Deer are all over the place on Shelby farms in west TN right now. I counted 35 in about 10 mins yesterday on my drive home.

I would imagine they are really starting to seek in SW TN right now.

 

[BamaProud]

When

Friday morning just after sunrise.

 

[Outdoor Enthusiast]

Do you all see another surge of scraping by older age class bucks before the second rut in December? (For middle TN hunters)

 

[deerhunter10]

Do you all see another surge of scraping by older age class bucks before the second rut in December? (For middle TN hunters)

Yes and no. Bsk can answer better then me. But for us yes, but it's a smaller portion of the Scrapes being used. Community Scrapes are what we see being worked all the way through, where the main rut several Scrapes are getting worked it's not as many. And it's a small window. For us December 12-15 seem to be our magical days historically of course communities Scrapes get used pretty much year round just the ground is not getting pawed. It will be interesting this year our rut was as intense as its been in probably 10 years or better. Nice to see as for us the last 2 or 3 were the worst we ever experienced especially last year.

 

[UTGrad]

I'd keep hunting till the law tells you that you can't no more.

 

[megalomaniac]

Do you all see another surge of scraping by older age class bucks before the second rut in December? (For middle TN hunters)

Not nearly as intense as prior to the first rut, but yes, there is another surge of bucks and does using scrapes before 2nd rut.