This has absolutely less than zero to do with WHERE you are and WHEN the deer rut!! I don't care where you hunt, you've got 3-1/2 months to make it happen! Are you not catching my drift? 3-1/2 flippin' months!! If you can't find "mature" bucks in 3-1/2 months, you need another hobby!! YOU are the problem!! I would not spend 1 minute of time and 1 dollar of money to hunt on land where I'm hoping for a short few days window in which I "might" see a "mature" buck. Ain't NO way on the planet.

It's not like those bucks swam the ocean, only to return for the first 10 days of February. And if you ARE saying those bucks aren't on your property for 3-1/2 months until the rut starts in February, then why do you pay money to hunt that land???????????? Most of the guys in the area of Alabama I live in (central AL, along the I-20 corridor) began driving 2/3/4 hours south to get in clubs in the late 80's because the hunting was/is so much better there. Come north if that's how you really believe about.

The reason I would gripe about this has ZERO to do with jealousy, I could drive to S. AL if I wanted to. And YES it does affect us, because they start your bow season 10 days later. And if this moaning keeps up, they're gonna change this crap in N. AL and we'll lose the best 10 days of the whole season here too! 9/10 years I would give a left nut if we could open up 10 days EARLIER!!!! THAT is why it matters! October deer aren't pressured whatsoever, they are EASILY patternable on food sources, and they move in the daylight every day!!

Maybe in your world, but in some areas bucks are 100% nocturnal till the rut. YOU may not be jealous, but you are close minded. HUNting zones is the answer. WITh states that have large distances north and south this seems to make sense, unlike Tn where the greatest distance is east and west and temps don't vary that much from north to south.You clearly only care about your hunting and not what is fair for all hunters.

X2!

Let's just go back to running deer dogs

But Perch, are we really talking about "fairness" here? We all already had over 1/4 of the entire year to hunt. So what are we missing? Deer in general are nocturnal (crepuscular) anyway, always have been and will be, they would be whether we bugged them or not. What I'm saying is I have to tolerate nocturnal, pressured deer here too. I am hunting PUBLIC land, and everybody around here swears up and down, would bet their house, will get fighting mad arguing that our deer don't rut till February here in Calhoun Co. It ain't just south AL! Everybody from here to Tennessee swears they miss their rut!

So what do we do?...move the season chasing this mystical and impossible to determine period called "the rut"??? Even if we're 99.99% certain that's when our deer rut, so what? Good Heavens we kill 10,000 dump trucks full of huge mature deer every year, they are there!!!! We pound these mofos for over 1/4 of the year, but the answer is "I just need 10 more days during the right time"? So what happens is we affect THE 100% sure thing (October) trying to chase a "what if" in February?

Northwest Florida season has been open for years until way into February. They have been feeding corn for years way into February. They have poachers. They have un-ethical hunters that shoot what they want when they want. They have hunters that don't worry about leaving a good buck for other hunters. They have people that don't care how many they shoot. Then they have the hunter sportsmen that is the opposite.
Alabama or Florida doesn't matter which are you on aldeer? What are you planning to do to help fellow sportsmen instead of yourself? Just a few thoughts.

It's not 10 more days it's 10 different days, there's a big difference.

m
Let's see the buck you killed in October this year

I think that anybody can kill a dang deer with a modern compound bow, much less a muzzle loader in late Summer, early Fall after a whole Summer of no pressure. Primitive weapons? Ha!!!!

They should start the same time as everybody else and Season be the same for them. I mean, it is the SAME people on the SAME property.....why different rules???

...

Second the motion. Post up the pics Codie

I didn't kill a deer in October, but I'm not even sure how many I saw. I saw 13 RACKED bucks in one afternoon (no spikes). Some were small, young deer, but some were studs. I had 6 of them together within 75 yards for 30 mins, 2 of which were sho nuff grown ones, but I'm bowhunting. Another hunt I saw 6 again, different deer, different place, again 1 of those deer was a toad. I had 2 big racks feeding right at me one morning, but they smelled me. Shall I keep going?

Opening morning of gun season I killed a 16" eight pt, he was with 4 other bucks. The next day I saw 7 bucks, two of which I guarantee you were 130"+ bucks (I shot at one of them @ 180yds with a muzzleloader). The one I killed was either a 3.5 or 4.5 yr old with almost 5" bases, but I know y'all laugh at puny little babies like that. Want me to keep going? I know all you Alabama trophy hunters only kill 5/6/7 year old mega giants. Maybe that's why you aren't killing deer?....

This really ain't a debate of opinions.

Bingo

Really I think it boils down to being "fair" to everyone. I live in central Lauderdale County (just south of the Tennessee border), and the chasing part of the rut is about December 7-15 every year. I could set my clock by it. Hot or cold, it's the same time every year. I hardly see any "mature" bucks until the rut, and then I start to see them more often again towards the end of January when they get back in groups with other bucks.

I couldn't imagine not being able to hunt the rut here. And yes, it is "magical." There's nothing like seeing 2+ bucks trying to get the same doe. I only think its fair for hunters in South Alabama to have the same experience. IT'S FUN, and that's what hunting is all about. As long as they don't change the bag limits, I would be all for extending the season as long as needed. That's only fair. Why should I get to hunt the rut and someone else not? That doesn't make any sense.

I can sit here and type anything I want to say doesn't prove anything. Kinda like your October obsession where you didn't kill a buck.. I have two 130'' deer on the wall one was public land called in during the rut with a bow (i cheated and went to Kentucky) then other I shot with a 22-250. Shall I go on? I also have a Canadian Grey wolf full body mount in the house.. This isn't a contest I was merely trying to prove a point. That is you didn't kill shucks in October. I have killed one buck this year. He wasn't big but thats not the point. I haven't seen as many deer this year but i have let a bunch of little ones walk. I enjoy hunting the seeking phase for a number of reasons but mostly because it cooler weather and the deer are more active. I hunt Blount, Lowndes, and Autauga County and off hand I can remember seeing 8 racked bucks all year. It has been a down year for me. But at the end of the day your argument is that you like to hunt October and that is great for you. But there are also people that care more about hunting when they feel they will have the most success which happens to be late January into early February.

here is my wolf... still waiting for yours.. PS that pic in the mount is a 7.5 year old buck

Carry on good chaps, hope y'all all see and kill your 3 B&C's in those 10 days.

But I'll challenge you to put your trust where your belief is...
Next year, DO NOT go hunting one single time until Feb 1st. Oh, I'm just being crazy now? I don't know why you'd think that... You clearly don't enjoy hunting whatsoever unless the deer are rutting, AND you absolutely are not going to see a shooter buck until then anyway.

are you drunk?

have you ever hunted an entire season in south Alabama?

Well I already did not hunt any in Alabama in October or November and only once in December so I am already almost to where you say I should be I hunted Jan. and February hard because historically with over twenty years of harvest data those are the best times to kill bucks on my lease......Btw as of this morning we have now killed seven eight points with five of those being February. You hunt when you want and I will hunt when I want within the law of course.......Have a good day

Btw this is the one from this morning.....
Happy members is what pay the lease

It's amazing the difference between hunters..

I am being fully sincere when I tell you I couldn't care less if I ever saw the rut. I don't anticipate it, not even interested in it. And the truth is, most years I don't observe any kind of rutting activity, nor do I attribute any kill to the rut. I'm trying to emphasize to you that we don't have a rut here in central AL either, or what we do have is just weak...might see a spike harass does in a field or something. But we don't have that week where every huge racked buck is out prowling like Michael Jackson at Toy's R Us. It's not any different here than it is where you are in extreme south AL.

Many of you act as if the whole 3.5 month season is a total bust if you don't have that tiny window of days when that happens. I don't hunt there (except for occasional trips), so I'll just defer that you're right, but I can't wrap my mind around it. I can't comprehend the mindset that there is zero reason to go hunting unless this mystical, magical rut is occurring. I have spent years in Lee & Russell counties (not too far south), and it hunts exactly like here in central AL. You don't really see a nilly-willy chase phase there either, yet with some regularity all season long you could see and kill bucks at least as big as that one pictured above. Again, I'll just assume you are right, but I can't even begin to understand the difference.