I found this scrape this morning (2/20/17) while doing some scouting. I also talked to a local GW, who told me he felt like there was at least a week's worth of rut left to go... Hard to argue that, given the pic.

I found one today while deer hunting.

Last week in Blount county I was moving some cameras and a buck chased a doe past me in the woods.

Stragglers around our place in Chambers.

A few years ago I had a doe come running by me in turkey season with a racked buck on her hills.

Testosterone still up , you are subject to see a fresh scrape now. Bucks are ready from the time they shed velvet till they cast antlers. If there is a doe that for whatever reason didn't get bred , he'll be happy to service her.

They'll have deer season extended another 10 days next year now.

Prolly , even though primary and secondary breeding periods have come and gone in many areas of NA. Chuck and Co. listen to $ not his biologists.

Saw two buck chaseing a doe on the way to the salt mines this morning

Damn topcat you been on fire this year....

Saw a couple fresh ones Feb 18. in Marion County.

Wow, the rut continues till all does are bred. How can this be? All we hear is all the does have been killed! DUH! Oh and little sister, just because the season was extended does mean you have to hunt. feel free to cut ours off at Christmas if it bothers you so much!

They are still on lowndes wma, freshened scrapes as of Saturday

my cameras were still showing chasing last week. ive seen bucks chase does across our farm in early march.

I always see a flurry of new buck sign in TN around the end of January and first of February. Right about the time they start shedding antlers.

They seem to get a rush of testosterone when they get close to shedding

From the time a buck sheds velvet till he casts his antlers the "rut is on" for him.

Yerp.

Captured this sequence of pics a couple days after the season ended. Still chasing in Montgomery county.

Got a buck on camera in Elmore county, swolt, neck nose to the ground and a fresh scrape.

Absolutely not trying to be a butthole, but I've found scrapes like the ones posted here 8 months out of the year in AL. So....does it really tell you anything? I don't think so. It tells you a buck pawed the ground, nothing more.

I was wondering about that

X2

I don't necessarily equate scrapes to rut. & does make scrapes too.

.....but the game warden said the rut was gonna last another week!

I see fresh scrapes as early as mid November in Jackson Co. but does are not bred then. I would say scrapes are not that un common a month prior to rut thru a month after.

Found a scrape about 5x that size one year and seen the big 120-130 inch that was checking it out in late February in middle Alabama. Lot of factors on rut timing not figured in for hunting dates in some areas.