That is a good question.... The rut here in GA kicks off about the 3rd weekend of Nov. (this is somewhat dictatded by how cold, cold mornings can start it up sooner) In AL I have always heard that the rut doesnt kick off till about Jan or even Feb. What I have heard before is that years ago (60-70's) the deer population in GA and other parts of the south got way low, so they imported deer from the northeastern states, thgis strand of deer ruted early in the season, and the deer in AL or more native to the south. Now I dont know how much of this is actually true, but I have been hearing that for a long time.