I hunt the border of Talladega and Clay counties. 5 miles south of Waldo. Lumber company decided to clear cut 100+ of our 800 acres around Thanksgiving. We didn't know until they showed up. We have a ton of pictures of good deer but only at night. Very, very little daytime activity. Is it the clear cutting or has the rut not yet started in our area?

It ain’t bc they cut. I’m not sure about the rut down that way. Could be a feeding issue

The clear cutting is not the problem. I like hunting where they park their equipment on their off days.

Rut should be wide open in that area, good deer around there and can definitely be tough hunting as well

One of my favorite places to hunt is a clear cut during the rut. Climb a good tree with lots of visibility and stay up as long as you can stand. Bring a good set of binoculars and be patient.

Biggest buck I have ever killed came off a clear cut during the rut, he was cruising the edge of it and came into 4 yds when I hit my doe bleat......big 11pt.............

I am not far from you and we aren't seeing much rutting activity. I looked back thru pics and it seems like it should be better in a week or two.

If you get to a point where things change please let me know. I hunted all day yesterday and saw absolutely nothing. Very frustrating

Change where you hunt if you’re not seeing deer. They respond to being hunted, having weekend pressure, avoiding feed locations etc

That’s a true statement.

Matt, in your opinion do the deer move far from the pressure? I've experienced pressure at clubs and the deer don't move that far away from the pressure.

I'm not Matt. But no, they do not go far if they even leave at all. They just stay in the thick stuff, and do not come out in the open until after dark.

Correct. I keep cameras out on feed most of the year. I can hunt over it with the hope of seeing a few deer or hunt 75-100 yards off of it and see many deer and kill some very nice bucks. Deer are moving in daylight somewhere. It’s up to you to figure out where.