Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum There is a segment of Alabama deer hunters

I very rarely see a mature buck outside of the rut most times of the year. In most places in the country they are more nocturnal then anything.

They HALF STEP during the rut. All the other times they are TOUGH to kill, no doubt.

Dont get me wrong, I've shot them during archery, muzzle loader , early and late season where they have them, and early rifle on feed patterns, but NO WHERE near what I shoot in the rut.

I dont even like to hunt mature bucks much UNTIL the rut. I dont pressure deer, especially mature bucks. They are slick.

You go in early archery for a few days to a week to catch them still on feed patterns, early muzzle loader a few days, gun opener a few days then back out until the rut and let them load up on ya, feel safe, get on hot does and go get one is what I have found WORKS.

And Im talking in all my leases I've ever had anywhere in the country. And anywhere Ive ever hunted.

The reason I shot that one this year at 257s place is he does not pressure his dang deer. Heck, they started coming out within 30 minutes of my butt hitting the seat in his shooting house. It was 2 hours until dark. That buck rolled in with 45 minutes of shooting light left. It was the second rut in our area. Deer were about done , but that joker smelt tail from a doe in season and came right on in.

You want to KILL a big buck wait for the rut. I like to try them first and second rut, and have killed just as many in both.

You want to hunt a guided or ANY trip Out of State and KILL a big one instead of LOOKING at one? Hunt the rut.

They charge more during the rut for a reason. That is when clients kill deer. I know..I outfitted for 15 years.

More big bucks are shot during the rut then any other time..period. They are following there Dicks not their senses. Running around in daylight when they are mostly nocturnal. Pretty simple.

Just my opinion but its worked pretty well for me throughout my long years of hunting them.

Again just my opinion.

[quote=Clem]
Seriously curious: why do y'all need the peak rut "excitement" to enjoy hunting deer?

Clem, say that statement out loud. It's like telling turkey hunters "you want to hear peak gobbling to enjoy hunting turkey?". In Baldwin County the best chasing is in February. For many years in the entire month of January these deer had not rutted and it was boring as heck to hunt a nocturnal mature buck. With those additional 10 days in February we have really enjoyed ourselves!

Folks need to stop and think about the rest
of the state before wanting a "one size fits all."
I keep reading some of the stupidest crap
about this. Hell, go hunt a short season state
if you are so gungho about some of these
comments.
Yeah, you can shorten the season, but it
screws over part of the license holders'
best times to hunt.

I may have missed it but I don't recall anyone here wanting a one size fits all approach. Most everyone has said a split season and different dates for different parts of the state. Extreme south AL could benefit from a full February season, we get it, however North AL would not. IMO there should be 3 maybe 4 zones with split seasons with those zones being divided across the state east to west. I think the North AL deer herd in general would benefit heavily from a split season of Bow ONLY Oct 15 - Nov 31, closed all of Dec and Gun season Jan 1 - Jan 31. Thats just my opinion, nothing more. The exception to that would be part of NW AL where they have alot of northern influence deer and a Dec rut.

I killed my first February buck last year. It was killed on Feb. 2. The peak part of the rut for our place is typically around Jan 18-25. The biggest buck killed on our place was killed on February 3 this season. It just walk out to a feeder. Skin was loose on the neck, torsel glands weren’t dark anymore and didn’t smell. He was rubbed down bad and was hungry. We have only killed a few bucks in February and none have been all rutted up. But on the flip side I have seen bucks running does in turkey season. We have a good friend that has a place on the river in Jackson in Clark county and the rut there is just getting going when ours is done.

There is probably enough data that's been collected over the years, even pre-game check, to split this state up 7 or 8 different ways. I feel for the north bama guys that have an early rut and highly segmented properties that lead to overharvest of deer. But there are also spots in "north bama", usually away from population centers, where the population of deer is just fine and the rut isn't early. So trying to split the state in half via north and south won't work. Going to multiple zones like Arkansas seems like the best approach, but then you'll get plenty of complaining from folks on the other side that didn't see anything wrong with the dates in the first place.

Hard to be one size fits all in this situation.maybe if we get the buck to doe ratio better, people may see a a "true rut". Instead you got does making it to second estrous, messing data up for certain areas. Prolly will never work out in our state. Especially if chuckie stays in charge

I'm in favor of split zones, several of them. That'll run up the lease price and club dues tremendously. Probably cause thousands of people to just give up hunting. Yes sir, I'm in favor of that!
I'll support anything that gets more people to stay home or go golfing.

Where are you guys going to draw the lines?

Season opens oct 1 - feb 29
Your license is good for 60 days broken down in to your choice of 2 30 day increments.

Well maybe not that cut and dry

I mentioned something like that a few
years back.

It's not. I think North Bama is as pressured as South nowday's. I also think this is the major contributor to buck sightings... pressure. Cameras tell the truth. On my place 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. it's a buck party... daylight , not so much.

Y’all could end up like it is here in Louisiana. 10 different zones spanning from September- February. You have to keep the reg pamphlet with you to see if the season is open in the area you want to hunt. You have archery season a few days, then you have primitive a few days, then firearms a few days. Then it’s goes back to archery a few days, then primitive a few days, then firearms season a few days. Then it finishes up back in archery season. You got to be on your toes here to make sure you aren’t hunting illegally.

I've only hunted during the rut the last three seasons. Like Joe ( EHH ) said down here it's the best chance to see a good, smart and older buck during legal shooting hours. The last Saturday of the season was one of the best days that I've had in the woods in a long time. It was like someone turned a switch on and bucks were everywhere.

MLK day use to be the magic date. It seems like that is beginning to change a little. Weather is a bitch too which I’d imagine is a factor.

Alabama has an almost entirely man made deer herd situation. Deer were completely wiped out in all but a few counties in the SW part of the state less than a hundred years ago. I mean not one single deer in almost the entire state. A re-stocking effort brought in deer from all over the country, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, just to name a few. Those deer bred with deer re-located from SW Bama and now we have a genetic melting pot where the rut is jacked up in most areas of the state. I hunt Barbour County and there are 5 different ruts in that county alone. How in the heck you going to split a season for that? FWIW, on my place, they rutted the first week of January but it was mild. They rutted again the last weekend of the season and it was crazy the way they acted. I was unable to go but on Feb 8th, a neighboring landowner saw the two biggest bucks I commonly get pictures of. Both of them were with does and just standing on the side of the highway mid morning and didn't even run off. The biggest one stayed in a cotton field for over 2 hours. I just shook my head when I saw the pictures. I hope they both survived that unbelievable behavior. This guy was standing on the side of the highway and just posed for a picture like he was a pet. Some of you will recognize this buck from my posts in the pictures forum.

I didn't mind the way they spilt the season the first time. Actually I would have liked the season starting for southern zone October 25th and go to February 17. A shorter gun season would be nice but that's not going to happen.

I may have missed it but I don't recall anyone here wanting a one size fits all approach. Most everyone has said a split season and different dates for different parts of the state. Extreme south AL could benefit from a full February season, we get it, however North AL would not. IMO there should be 3 maybe 4 zones with split seasons with those zones being divided across the state east to west. I think the North AL deer herd in general would benefit heavily from a split season of Bow ONLY Oct 15 - Nov 31, closed all of Dec and Gun season Jan 1 - Jan 31. Thats just my opinion, nothing more. The exception to that would be part of NW AL where they have alot of northern influence deer and a Dec rut.[/q
Shortning the season, without any distinctions from one area

I think the WISE thing to do is like I do. I hunt the parts of the season I feel is best, then I DONT hunt the rest of it. Jeez, just because the season is 4 months long doesnt mean you HAVE to hunt 4 months.

You guys need the dang state to tell you when to go? really?

I dont want or need anymore laws, confusing regulations and seasons. If your deer dont rut until Late Jan then I wouldnt hunt until late Jan or very rarely until then to not pressure them.

Id instead go to a spot in the state they are rutting.

I just got more land in Marion county. Why? because our rut dies around xmas and it is pretty dead up here. But in Marion County its just getting going. So now Ill be able to hunt a different rut in a different area. Pretty simple and no new laws needed.

A general statement on here is just shorten the
season. No reference as to area or terrain.
"Why does it take so long to kill a deer?"
"Why can't you kill a deer when the rut isn't in?"
Well, come down and hunt pine thickets.
Briars that chew you up.
Come down and see how many mature deer
come out of these thickets in daylight until
the rut.
We aren't hunting hardwood hills and hollows.
Look at conception studies
Why does it take so long to kill a deer?- Well, it
wouldn't take so long to kill a spike, doe, basket 8.
Most of us are looking to put one on the wall.
In most cases, does are killed when it's convenient.
The biggest problem, that I see, is that one group
wants to hunt the rut, but doesn't
want another
to do it. The first group isn't flexible enough
to even consider the other group.
Draw a line? That's BS. Some sizable areas will
be left out.
I brought up a tag system years ago. People went
ballistic. I brought up personalized hunting licenses and
it was immediately shot down. (which I agreed on.)
SO THERE!! I could write a book but don't think
it would matter.
Rant to be continued by others.

LOL I ain't saying nuthing else.

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