Pre rut, rut or post rut I always see deer following an extended rain event regardless of temps. Key being in the stand right as it is quitting.

We all are wrong our fair share woody 😀

When does come in heat, but will be after them regardless of the weather. My wife has only been hunting with me for 6-7 years and she’s already said “I’m just gonna wait till Christmas break to hunt”. You can’t compare hunting today to December 25th-Jan 1.

Shot my best SC buck on Nov 12th this year on public. It was 61 degrees when I parked the truck at 5:30am and it had been raining for the previous 12hrs. Shot the buck at 8am slipping along a mixed hardwood/pine ridge. It was the peak of the rut and he was out cruising looking for does. Weather doesn’t affect them during the rut like a lot of folks think it does. If you have wet conditions then that is the absolute most perfect time to slip through the woods too. If you know where the does bed, I’d play the wind and slip around those bedding areas. The bucks will be there if it is the rut.

When it’s time it’s time regardless of the weather.

This week I'll be reluctant to go in the woods
Its too hot for me...maybe not for deer

This is Alabama. This cold weather rut you speak of doesn’t exist. We truly have 2 seasons. Pre summer and summer. You better go hunting when the ruts on.

I’ll agree with this to a certain point, but I was in the stand on October 18th or 19th this year and summer was the furthest from my mind as I froze. Trail cams are definitely showing bucks on cold days/warm nights. The pics don’t lie but I won’t argue if there’s a hot doe in the area he’s gonna be there. Possibly the does don’t move in front of the cams when it’s hot. Definitely confusing because I know they gotta eat. That being said… mosquitos do move when it’s warm and they basically suck to stay alive. Got eat up by them today!

Several. It’s actually winding down in Zones D and E. It should be picking up heavy in certain parts of A and C right now too.

80 tomorrow, I'm going fishing.

I been hearing we may hav early rut this year

Usually the 19th on pretty hot in January and another surge in early feb

My biggest buck during January was also killed in 70 degree weather. If a rutting buck is on a hot doe he will chase her across 65 on an 80 degree day.

I agree with this 100%

I hope you’re wrong MBrock but our cams are saying you could be right here in zone D.

No such thing. Kill data for the past decade on my largest lease proves it’s the same time every year. 90% of bucks killed were between 1/7-1/12. I’ve personally killed 4 on 1/7-1/8.

Does your data normalize for man days in the woods?

I used to be in a club that would mention similar statistics but the way they prepared their data was awful. Most of the members hunted in that same 2 week time frame over the 10 years so naturally the kill data showed that’s when the most bucks were killed. A whitetail rut is determined by photoperiod so just that fact would vary the peak of the rut 4-5 days year to year. For instance, last year the sun set at its earliest point on December 9th last year. This year it hit its earliest set on Nov 30th. If your deer herd sticks to that photo period then they’ll be going almost 10 days earlier this year but in reality it’s right on time.

I hunt in central Perry County. Watched 2 mature bucks chase a doe all over a clear-cut last Sunday morning. BIL killed a 8 point on the same morning about a mile from me. The buck's neck was swollen, tarsals were black and he stunk like hades. We've been hunting this property for 8 years and this rutting activity is about 2 weeks earlier than what we typically see.

From the first week of January on, ill be hunting. It dont really matter what the temp is

This ^^^^ same days every year no matter what. If you don't see it it still happened just fyi

When he smells her he don't care if it's 100 degrees with the heater on!!! Go for it and dress light!