I have a new lease and I'm not sure when to arrange some vacation time. I know that the rut maps show a late January rut, but I also know that the maps are not always 100% accurate. Anyone here hunt near Camp Hill that would be willing to share some insight as into when the chasing phase is usually going strong?

I lived in that area for several years and I still couldn't tell you. All I can say for sure is that I used to see more bucks crossing the roads at night starting about the end of the first week of January.

I live in alex city , the rut will start 60 days after the first day of bow season and run through april , laugh if u want i ve hunt here since 1969 ,

I live in alex city , the rut will start 60 days after the first day of bow season and run through april , laugh if u want i ve hunt here since 1969 ,

Dec. through February. Look at the state gestation charts.

He ain't kiddin! We hunted in Waverly (should be the same basic deer herd) and I'd say "the rut" was PRIMARILY Jan 15-31, but no crap, it wouldn't shock me to see chasing/grunting on the opening day of bow season, opening day of Spring turkey season, etc. That whole area down there (say Roanaoke on 431 to Dadeville on 280) hunts about the same. Our woods would explode with scrapes the week of Christmas. Then we'd see scattered (but never hot n heavy) rut activity the whole month of January. What few times we did see larger deer chasing/following does was usually Jan 15-31. Honestly, in that part of the world, about all you're ever gonna see of the rut is a spike hound-dogging every doe on a food plot! LOL

Jan 18,,+/- 3-5 days should be peak conception. so the others are correct.

Thanks for the responses. I hated to desert the thread, but I just haven't had much chance to check in since I started it.

I have primarily hunted Camp Hill for the past 8 yrs. The last week of season has been good to me most years. I'm out hwy 50 just east of the city limits

I've hunted Chambers, Lee, Tallapoosa, Russell, and Macon in the last 25 years, and the area from Camp Hill to Dadeville is strange. There is a noticeably lower deer density than the other counties, but there is nothing close to a defined rut. In Chambers, I could bet a dime on seeing a buck chasing a doe between Jan 12 and 16th every year, and a week earlier in Macon. North of Camp Hill, you might see chasing from October until the first week of May?? I've got 3 to 5 week old fawns on camera in Dadeville from the 2nd week of April through the first week of gun season?? Kinda knocks down the QDMA myth of lower deer density ''intensifying'' the rut doesn't it.

We can't be very far away from each other. I just a little bit north of that near Doss Mtn.

What you are saying about varying fawn ages seems to be true. In the last few weeks I have seen a fawn that still had very pronounced spots and a very small body, and also seen a couple of them that looked like they would go 80lbs on the hoof. Big bodied but still had the short baby face.

I hunt in the Camp Hill area, Chambers and Tallapoosa line. Deer numbers on our property are really low and always see the most deer from Jan 15th to end of season (Rut).

I hunted a 5k acre track east of Dadeville a few years ago and on that property there were three dif ruts. The east end of the property would have almost a thanksgiving phase, the west end was around Christmas the rest (majority) of the property was mid to late Jan.

That's a pretty big difference for a single tract.