The Rut Is On

November 1 is the magic number here in KY. I went to get groceries today (11/2/22) and spotted 4 deer dead on the interstate in the 4 mile trip.

Rutting bucks chase the does out of cover and often across the roads. Since I-75 is a bumper to bumper two wide flow moving at 75mph from Detroit to Miami the deer have a low chance of surviving as pedestrians. That north/south artery also cuts through some of the best deer country in the world.

Over on I-71 it is often more death ridden. I once pulled off the road and counted more than 60 deer grazing in the median about 30 miles east of Louisville. The fence that borders the interstate along that highway will show a dead deer against the wire at least once a mile during the rut and that highway is 90 miles long.

I know it starts at different times as one moves north or south, but here it usually starts in early November due to length of daylight, temps and food supply.

When I lived in TN the start was late November.

I have heard that in south GA and FL the rut does not start until January?

The dang things start in October here. It's a stop and start thing. The biggie is usually between Thanksgiving and Christmas. After New Year the wind starts blowing and the deer go into hiding. Doe and Spike season runs through Jan 30, 2023 this season. I think general season opens this weekend. Youth only was last weekend and archery was in October. Been seeing lots of dead ones out on the highway as well.

Alan

Our season runs from the first week of September through the first week in January in some form or another.

Bow season lasts the entire time. There is only a 10 day regular gun season, but there are muzzle loader seasons, crossbow season, youth hunts and all manner of hunting in between.

We have a real big and healthy heard here and the antlerless take is basically unlimited. You have to take a doe before you take a buck.

All of our check-ins are by phone so no one has to go to a reporting center or check in station. Your license has a number on it and when you call in your kill they give you another number for your next kill over the phone. It is impossible to "use up" your tags.

On top of that I get the "Senior sportsman" license which includes small game, large game (deer, bear, boar, turkey) and fishing all for the cost of $20 a year.

I can also get in on an elk draw, which is getting more advantageous each year. The elk tags used to be scarce but the heard is growing due to the limited permits and exclusion for 3 years after you take an elk. If you are drawn the permit is in the $275 range. Elk is a big money maker for the farmers since elk pretty much go where they please and there is no way to keep them on state or federal land, and farmers can post their private land and offer guided hunts.

Florida residents that are over 65 only need a Florida driver's license to fish both fresh water or salt water and hunt.

Seems here in North Alabama deer on the side of the road is a year round thing. Although the number increases during the rut, there seems to be a correlation between the deer rut and the number of dead skunks seen on the roadways. Do skunks also go into rut? Usually seen in mid to late December.

They're probably trying to get away from the deer.

Actually,
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/lo...240227976.html
That would be North Carolina, but it looks like skunks rut in the early spring.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crashdive123

Florida residents that are over 65 only need a Florida driver's license to fish both fresh water or salt water and hunt.

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Good Lord, they must not generate any revenues from license fees at all!

I'm hunting deer too, here at Brazil. But only the bootleg deer, called "axis deer". We can't hunt any other kind of deer - yet. I will stick to my 200 lbs crossbow for long range and my 9mm pistol for dispatch at close range, if needed.
I'm leaving my .22LR and my airguns for small game only.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crashdive123

Florida residents that are over 65 only need a Florida driver's license to fish both fresh water or salt water and hunt.

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Georgia charges $7 for a senior (65+) license. I'd bet the cost of printing and administration overhead costs more than $7. IMO, Florida has a good idea.

A game warden told me that hunting on my own land doesn't require a license.