BKE

I'm right onthe Ga./SC line and am curiouse what the usual time frame is for it.I know it should bepredictablebut does anyone think the way the weather has fluctuated back and forth the last few years is effecting it?

devil dog

Seems like the last two years Ive gone to Arkansas for nine days at Thanksgiving the deer have been in full rut here " Franklin and Hart counties", seems like the weather is going to be the same this year so it more than likely will be the same time, and yes I will be in Arkansas again and probably miss it again this year too. Where are you at?

mcraddock

I have this discussion every year with my processor. In the south, the "peak" is so gradual that it is hardly noticed. The chasing starts in September and some does won't "stand" until December. If you look at the yearlings each year, there is your evidence, If we had a real peak, then all the yearlings would be the same age the following year. But instead, we have button heads, spikes, and some with spots still the next September. All because they were bred and born at different times theprevious season. I shot an 8 pt last year in Sept. that had the strongest tarsal glandsI have ever smelled.And again in December I shot another 8 pt that had his tarsal glands all festered up. If had to guess at what week held the highest ratio of does in heat, I'd say the week before Thanksgiving. That has been my most successfull week every year since I started deer hunting. Seems the big bucks finally move during the daylight hours when November rolls around.

BKE

Thanks for the replies. Seems folks in other parts of the country have it pinpointed to within a few weeks but I don't really hear that from a lot of people down here. I've wondered if it's notonly an "internal clock" type thing but also is something the weather (temperatures)can effect.

devildog, not to far down the line from you, Columbia/Richmond Co.