Agree with Matt, after a warm spell, a cold front coming through will get them moving. Same with the front end of a snow event.

Elkhuntr, do you have access to Redstone Arsenal? They have deer hunting there.

Some of the biggest public land deer in the state killed recently have come from Bankhead NF. If I were you, I'd go do some scouting now and look for oak trees that are loaded with acorns. Deer have a sweet tooth for white oaks in this state. Find ya a white oak or a good food source that will be hot come October. Also look for trees that have been climbed by other hunters. If you can find a loaded oak that nobody seems to know about and it is close to a bedding area, you've hit gold. Find it now and don't return till the conditions are right and you are ready to hunt it. Most oaks will be dropping opening day. Red oaks drop later and can be a good place to set up on when other trees are done. During the rut, hunt funnels. Deer are lazy. Like us, they don't prefer to walk over the tops of hills. They will use saddles in between mountains. Which I'm sure elk out West do too. Good luck! Don't forget to post the pics of your deer!

Welcome to Huntsville and Alabama, Elk.

Welcome to the forum, and our beautiful state. Over time you will learn to differentiate which members give solid advice and which ones are pulling your leg. Let me shorten your learning curve. Listen to Mbrock. He speaks the truth and is a valued resource.

The only hunting I've ever done out west was turkey hunting, but I agree with the premise that if you can kill them here, you can kill them anywhere. The same holds true for deer. In Dr. Sheppard's book he said he once told a Texas outfitter that if all his deer lived in Alabama they'd be dead by Thanksgiving. Our deer are more cautious and careful. If you kill a 125lb doe with your bow, you've done well.

Pick up the book "Whitetails A Research Driven Model" by Bob Sheppard. That may not be the exact name of the book but Google will pull it easily. Will cost you around 15 dollars and will give you everything you need to know to begin hunting deer. You can thank me later 😀😀

Not a soul has said it but there's an Elkhunter and now you, Elkhuntr. This is going to get confusing.

Best way I've got them in range and killed one out there is hunting escape routes. Get in early for evenin hunts sometimes I'll show up at 1130 or 1200 just to bet everyone showin up after work at 3 or 330. I've had ppl bump deer to me several times on public land.

If you're making a motion, then I second it. I thought the same thing.

He said if deer responded to calling here like in texas they would all be dead by thanksgiving. Which all this is true in Illinois ( pre rut/ rut ) they cruise so much u can see more racked bucks in an evening than here all season long.

Get that book seriously and thats for any Alabama deer hunter. Good life lessons too. This guy has probably killed more mature bucks in Alabama than anyone.

Welcome...

Here are a couple pieces of friendly opiniated advice, but I'd like to think it is based on some pretty keen observations I've made along the way

1. Here in AL, when we're referring to the odocoileus virgianinus, we just say "deer." Nothing more specific is needed. In our state, we are not faced with the debacle of having to differentiate between other species of the ungulate variety, as your native habitat does indeed boast a richer variety of the great American game species.

2. You might be baffled by the liberal bag limits and season lengths concerning our big game species. Up until last year, each hunter was entitled to 2 does a day from October 15th-January 31st.

3. If you are bow hunting, you do so out of an elevated treestand. Get you a good climber if you're hunting public land.

4. Your necessity for higher optical power will be reduced dramatically. Lots of vegetation in the eastern U.S., so you can't see near as far.

4. Hard mast is a huge part of a deer's diet during the fall. This means finding oak trees to hunt around that are dropping acorns will put you in a good position while hunting early and late in the day. Acorns generally start dropping during the month of October until they are all gone.

5. If you have done a lot of hunting in CO, you will be surprised at the general skittishness and wariness of an Alabama deer. Most deer are pressured considering they are hunted a lot and the season is long. You will find them to be quite smart...

6. Apply #5 to turkeys should you be a turkey hunter and multiply it times 10x....

I used to hunt Wheeler exclusively and I've killed quite a few deer there. I haven't hunted there in about 8 years, so this may be outdated a little bit. I have seen some very large bucks at Wheeler, so they are there. Some areas, I never could find much buck sign. There are a few areas that have lots of buck sign and seem to be that way each year. Hunting is much better after gun season starts because there are not nearly as many people.

The fields that are planted will influence where the deer are, at least in the early season. Sometimes, fields or parts of fields are left un-harvested. I'm not sure when they close the gates, but now should be a good time to drive and see what is planted where.

As a general rule, be prepared to walk and/or cross water. My biggest piece of advise is try and find a place where nobody else is hunting (duh). That can be a real challenge. Some people use bicycles to get far passed the gates.

Google maps/earth is your friend. Try and find some areas that are not easily accessed. Early bow season and January are when I saw most of the good bucks. I liked hunting the edge of swamps. My best spot, I had to walk about a mile and usually cross some water, depending on levels. I only saw a few other people out there in all the years I hunted it. There are some large areas of land that don't get hunted at all because there is no easy way to get there. I always packed my climber in and out. Since I was usually a ways in, I would pack snacks and drinks and stay all day. I would try not to climb the same tree every time in an area but would move around. Hunt the wind and stay as scent free as you can. Always wear rubber boots. Be careful in how you mark your areas. You don't want to lead someone right to your hotspot. - Good luck.

Oh, and as far as the rutting activity on Wheeler, what I have witnessed is it happens in January. I have seen bucks chasing does on the last day of the season (Jan 31 back then). The last 2 weeks of January were when I saw the most activity. I even saw a nice 8 pt with five young does in March of one year when doing some post season scouting.

I have hunted wheeler many times with a bow, and killed 4-5 does total out of the blackwell swamp area. My advice would be to find a white oak that is dropping whether it is off the roads very far or not. be patient, and hunt only during the week days. weekends can get crowded. i have only killed deer out there during the week days when i had the place to myself. my dad killed a nice 8 point out there two years ago on a tuesday morning. There are plenty of deer, but also a lot of jokers get out there and dont know what they are doing, which can make it difficult on weekends. You DONT have to go very deep in wheeler to kill deer,
you just have to take the right approach to hunt those pressured deer, dont be intimidated by what people say about wheeler. There is plenty of opporunity to kill deer. Another peice of advice, always carry. I have never had any issues, but have ran across some sketchy individuals. When i hunted there, i stayed away from the mooresville area and hunted behind the airport. I have seen some good deer out there in daylight hours, but never killed any bucks off of it. PM me and I will give you some areas where i have had success.

That is true, but the areas where I consistently encountered bucks were off the beaten path.

CORN all you need to know, dont let these guys fool you with all this scouting mumbo jumbo.

I sent you a pm

I haven't received one yet.

Wheeler deer are like late season gobblers.They have seen it all and encountered a lot.I use to fish the backwaters around cave springs between Priceville and Somerville and most of the good bucks that I encountered were very close to the nearby homes in that area.Maybe because most folks werent chasing them there.