The whitetail rut is a magical time to be in the woods and most deer hunters want to be in a tree or blind when it’s going on. The woods and fields suddenly become alive with activity as bucks begin the cruising phase of the rut searching for the first hot does. This activity makes once non-existent bucks become very visible walking along field edges and places you wouldn’t ordinarily see them.
Of course, if you’re targeting a specific buck, the rut may not be your optimal time to kill him as he’s left his more pattern-able regimens and now could be a mile or more away from his core area. This is what makes the rut so fun! The unpredictable opportunities that could come from the chaos of bucks leaving their core areas to answer the call of the wild and spread their genetics across the herds. A buck you’ve never seen before could show up in front of your stand at any moment.
In my former years as an outdoor videographer, mid to late October would be when I would be scheduled to head out to video various hunters across the whitetail range for different hunting shows. The way things were scheduled, we would basically follow the rut around the country as it was peaking. Typically ending up in South Texas or Mexico when the rut peaks in January. It was a long and taxing season but as a hunter I never grew tired of being in the” thick of it”.
Now that I’ve relegated my pursuits for whitetails to North Carolina, I have found that our state, with all its landscape diversity, has a long and protracted rut season itself! Basically, starting in early October on the coast and peaking just before Christmas in the mountain counties! Take a look at this map, Do you agree with its findings? As for me, in my county, I have found it to be pretty dang accurate.
Maybe you’ll find this map interesting and maybe you’ll find a county to hunt that the woods might just now be firing up with rut activity!
Happy Hunting!
-Chris-
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