That different strain of deer within Bankhead will be all but gone in another 25-35 years.


Is there Jan rutting action occurring within Bankhead currently???

My buddy hunts several miles from there and his rut is around early December.

Which direction??

Just south

South of 278?? .......Didnt our boy Timber hunt near Double Springs??

I believe it’s north it’s on the Walker Winston line and his property is cut out of the early season by a mile or two

Of course there are no deer around there, but the rut on the south end of Smith Lake seems to start mid-dec and roll into early jan.

I disagree CNC. Sorry. Those deer are still to this day, different than all other deer in the state. They held a stronghold for decades due to absolutely zero deer that could ingress into that population. It wasn’t until the introduction of south AL deer in the 90s that the rut started having a trickle affect. I collected does out there several years and we saw no evidence of later breeding except on the outside fringes of the area. Everything within the Bankhead boundary, and even areas further out, we’re all bred from early November to early December, with a couple of outliers in mid December.

Agree

Exactly…..it sounds like that is changing though…….

Buckhunter2 mentioned hunting a few miles from there for the last 25 years and no longer seeing any Nov rutting……only Jan…..He also mentioned that he’s gone from seeing just a few deer to seeing 20+……If the low density doe herd within Bankhead is held well below capacity by public land hunters…..and the private land owners surrounding Bankhead are allowing populations in better habitat to flourish and expand……Then you’re likely gonna keep getting encroachment of the Jan doe herd from the edges moving inward

I have 5 leases in Winston County and never seen a January rut. I’ve been hunting Winston County for over 15 years and never seen a January rut. November yes (last year even), December every year, by January the deer are ghosts.

It sounds like there was some native deer still existing in that area during restocking……Is that true?.......They would have been mid-December rutters I believe.

Which side of Bankhead is seeing the most population growth on the perimeter……I’m assuming the west on the Franklin/Marion side???? When does the rut occur in the area between Phil Campbell and Bankhead

Maybe the bankhead population can get the deer in the rest of the state to evolve to a November rut

Places in north Walker county and Marion/Franklin co now have high deer populations. The native deer rut around there is early to mid January. The Bankhead deer were introduced in 1925/26 and have maintained breeding dates and phenotypic appearance of northern deer for 100 years. I doubt a major change occurs in the next 25 or so years. A melting pot of breeding dates is probable, but those deer aren’t going anywhere. They still have larger bone structures and much longer/lighter fur than the native deer, even after breeding with them for the last several decades.

I own some property between Phil Campbell and the Bankhead and have leased another property a little closer to the Bankhead. I have killed deer exhibiting rutting behavior from December 2 to December 29, but have seen a little activity in early January as well. Most of the activity I have seen is between December 2 and Christmas day. I also hunt some property south of Phil Campbell, and the rut there heats up in early January and runs the rest of the month. This property is less than 20 miles from my property with the December rut.

I don’t have any predictions but I’ll share some factual info-

The property I’ve hunted for 23 years is located between Haleyville and the Bankhead. 2.2 miles from the Bankhead boundary to be exact.

20 years ago most of the bucks had shed by mid February. Nowadays none of them have shed by mid February. Also there was a defined rut the week of thanksgiving. That early rut is non existent now and bucks aren’t even cruising until mid-late Dec.

Since pics are worth a 1K words, see photo below.

The date is correct. Do the math, both does bred mid Jan at the earliest. As of 8/11/23, I’ve gotten zero fawn pics this year.

20 years ago this property was heavily influenced by the Bankhead population but unfortunately that’s all over now.

I agree with MBrock

So it’s impossible for those deer to morph with the local heard and change the dates, but everywhere else in the state it’s already happened?

Nowhere else in AL had the large scale reintroduction of deer like Bankhead. Also, you had farming to the west, north and mining to the south, in areas totally void of deer, giving the Bankhead transplants decades to establish and work outward.
Nobody said impossible. I actually said dates are probably going to change, but not on the time frame CNC stated.

I’d say the time frame completely depends on the doe management that takes place in the area……Also, something that really probably needs to be taken into consideration is the number of private properties outside of Bankhead where Nov does exist. Those folks along with the highways are likely the main buffer against the encroachment. This is NOT a static situation where just because its been a certain way in the past means it will stay that way………It’s fluid and it changes by how we manage and the amount of growth or lack of that each population is exhibiting.