Mojotex

My experience echos Timbercruiser's. I came to Alabama from Louisianain the early 1970's. Started deer hunting deer seriously here in about 1974. I hunted essentially south of the mid-line across of the state, mostly in the area around Montgomery, Union Springs and Eufaula. I define "rut" time evidence like I suspect everyone else ... when bucks are seen bumping and/or chasing does and/or breeding, i.e. when the does are coming into or are in heat the first round. I know 35 years +/- is not a long time, but in all of these years, the pattern where I have hunted has been around mid-November +/- a week or so, the bucks begin marking with rubs and scrapes.This activity continues and seems to accelerate around Christmas or so.Then sort of peters out.

I have never once seen bucks running does before around January 5 th. or so. In some years, either I have missed tghe January rut or this activity began after Jan. 31, seasons end.

I hunt turkey in the spring. I have seen bucks running does hard during late February scouting. As well as active rubs and scraping going on into late March.

The only exception has been in the area I hunt near Eufaula. There is a definite, easily observed "rut" that fires up around Thanksgiving and peaks around mid-December.A couple of years ago, my cousin and I hunted from December 8 - 13. I have seldom seen such rut activity - does were being run and run hard all those days.We each took 2 great Alabama bucksand passed on who knows how many good but young 7-8-9-10 point bucks. Two weeks later I was down for 4 days, and eventhough it was freezing cold,bucks werepretty much not seen in daylight. We had as many as 16 hunters out and not one decent buck was seen. I have no clue why this cycleexists on this acreage, but it does.However,clearly the main activity , event there, is in the mid-January time frame.