Texas’ General Deer Hunting Season opened over the past weekend to warm weather. As expected, hunters that took to the field reported seeing fewer white-tailed deer than expected and very little rutting activity. For hunters with more than a few seasons under are belts, a warm opener with limited deer movement is not unusual.
I reported that deer were interested in rutting in the Hill Country early last week, and they still are, but the increase in temperature has really slowed the deer down. Like us, deer can not be as active (for very long) when the mercury is trending upward.
Bucks will readily respond to cooler weather and even yesterday morning, with temperatures 10 degrees cooler than over the weekend, I spotted a buck chasing a doe — and the patient hunter above did, too.
The peak of the Hill Country rut usually occurs just before mid-November, so expect the next good cold front to really set the deer on fire. But, if you have yet to see many deer in your area you are not alone. Many deer processors reported lower numbers of deer being dropped off for processing over opening weekend.
To make matters worse, in those areas that received lower than average rainfall this year, hunters are reported bucks average to below average antler conditions with respect to age. Cooler weather may not increase antler quality or the total number of deer in your area, but it will help you see them.
The 8-point buck below was harvested on November 3 at 8:00 am in the eastern portion of the Hill Country and the hunter reported that the buck was chasing a doe. The 4 1/2 year old whitetail buck had an 18-inch inside spread, gross scored 130 Boone and Crockett points, and had a live weight of 169 pounds.
When it comes to timing your deer hunting activity, every deer hunter knows that hunting during the rut is a great time to be in the woods. Sure, this can a great way to harvest a white-tailed buck because during the rut bucks can be downright stupid.
In addition to bucks having only one thing on their mind, they may stray up to several miles from their summer range in search of does or chasing does to breed. And as exciting as this may be, there is another way to bag your buck that can take some of the guess work out of the equation.
Pre-Rut Success: Pattern Bucks
The secret is patterning the movement those early season bucks way before the breeding season kicks off. Early season bucks are motivated by safety and food. Bucks feel rather safe during the early fall because for 9 months no one has bothered them — no hunters in the woods, no funny scents, no 4-wheelers running around both before and after dark, and nothing strange at all. It has been quiet.
It’s during this time of year that whitetail bucks find food sources and eat in preparation of the breeding season and winter. They may be hitting a feeder, a food plot, or an ag field, but they are all the same as far as you are concerned. If you can figure out a buck’s pre-rut pattern you drastically improve your chances of bagging that big boy.
Pre-Season: First Shot is the Best Shot
Now as I mentioned earlier the rut can cause bucks to travel long distances, so once the rut begins the buck you may have had your heart set on may no longer be in the area, so why wait? You don’t want him throwing caution to the wind somewhere else now do you?
But as easy as it is to say get out there early, early season hunting brings its own set of challenges. In addition to facing warm, maybe even hot weather, you will be heading out into the woods battling mosquitoes, chiggers, and lots of leaves that have yet to fall. Hey, I never said it would be easy even though hunting pre-rut bucks can be highly effective.
In addition to potentially tough environmental conditions, many hunters have another huge obstacle when it comes to patterning and hunting bucks early in the season. This is the fact that the rut actually occurs prior to hunting season.
This can happen in many cases. In Texas, there are many parts of the state where the general deer hunting season opens after the rut has already begun! Many hunters across the country know this fact — and in many cases it’s probably one of the important reasons they picked up a bow. In areas where the rut takes place prior to the gun (general) season, bow-hunters have the best shot at both pre-rut and early-rut bucks.
Pre-Rut Turns to Post-Rut Hunting
The rut kicking off prior the gun season opener is not unique to Texas so it’s important to know when the rut takes place in the area where you hunt, because timing can be everything. It is very difficult to pattern a pre-rut buck that’s locked into a feeding pattern when you show up a few weeks late, after the pattern has been broken.
But not all is lost, assuming that buck you are chasing is still alive. Once the whitetail breeding season is complete bucks will return to their pre-rut patterns, hitting food sources hard to replenish fat reserves before the worst of winter sets in.
However, increased hunter activity, hunting pressure, and colder weather may cause the buck to shift to a more nocturnal pattern. All of these factors contribute to a buck that is much more difficult to hunt, so take advantage of the hunting pre-rut bucks early and you will not have to hunt late.
When is the white-tailed deer rut in South Texas? If this question has crossed your mind then chances are you’re headed south into the Texas Brush Country some time soon. South Texas offers a unique hunting experience for white-tailed deer because of it’s semi-arid habitat and the big bucks found living there.
Hunting in South Texas
South Texas is so different that the bulk of the whitetail’s range. Most of the habitat is scrub-brush with the dominant hardwood species being Mesquite, which will not accommodate a climbing stand, but possibly a ladder stand in a few cases. Most of the deer hunting is done from elevated blinds (to see over the brush) with rifles, while bow hunting is from ground blinds. Hunting ranches will use spin-feeders, sometimes food plots and most will corn the roads, or as they are referred to down there, senderos.
Hunting the rut is a sure-fire way to up your chances of deer hunting success, especially in South Texas. It’s thick, unforgiving country so it takes something really special to draw those big, mature bucks out of the thorny cover, which consists of mesquite, huisache, black brush, and of course prickly pear cactus. But all that brush is good food when it rains, so expect mature bucks to sport a large body as well as large antlers.
South Texas Deer Rut
Breeding in white-tailed deer varies with latitude and photoperiod. South Texas has the latest rut in Texas, which is not surprising considering it’s at the lowest latitude and it takes until late in the fall to get the mercury dropping down there. Breeding (conception) dates for white-tailed deer ranged from November 9 to February 1 during the 3 years of a whitetail breeding/rutting study.
In the eastern part of South Texas the peak breeding date, i.e. THE RUT, was December 16, while in the west it was a little later, December 24. The pregnancy rate of does was 95 percent and there was an average of 1.5 fetuses for each sampled doe. The majority (90%) of the fawns are born by July 19 in the eastern area and by July 25 in the western area.
Best Time to Hunt
To wrap up, the South Texas deer rut peaks around mid- to late-December. Hunters can expect to see the most breeding, chasing activity by bucks at this time of year on an annual basis. The peak of the breeding season is the time to be deer hunting anywhere, but especially in South Texas. The region is filled with properties that have implemented deer management practices and good bucks are harvested there year after year.
If you plan on deer hunting the rut in the Edward’s Plateau, better known as the Texas Hill Country, then you need to know that research has found conception dates for this region ranged from as early as October 9 to a late date of January 30, meaning hunters may see what is called the early and late rut. The Edwards Plateau, home to Texas’ highest deer production ecoregion, was divided into three areas for the breeding study – east, central, and west. There are good numbers of deer in the area, but good timing will increase the chances of bagging a beautiful buck!
The eastern part had a peak breeding date of November 7, the central portion was November 24, and the western area had a peak date of December 5. On average, 90 percent of the does were bred and the average number of fetuses found was 1.3 per doe. These breeding/rutting dates meant the majority (90%) of the fawns are born by June 14 in the eastern area, June 26 in the central area, and by July 13 in the western area.
If your white-tailed deer hunting grounds lay in North-Central Texas and want to hunt the rut this fall, research on white-tailed deer in this ecoregion has shown conception dates in the Crosstimbers and Prairies were as early as October 13 and extended to at late as December 17.
There are many factors that determine the intensity as well as the length of the rut in an area. Photoperiod (day length) is responsible for the timing, but the buck to doe ratio often determines what hunters see in the field.
Deer Rutting Season: Things to Consider
Areas, properties with a many more does than bucks tend to observe a breeding period that is stretch out because bucks will miss some does when they initially come into estrus. Then 28 days later, here we go again. This also stretches out the fawning dates, which ultimately lowers fawn survival.
Areas with a lower ratio of does to bucks tend to see more intensive rutting action in whitetail because bucks scramble to cover “hot” does. The rut will be shorter in duration but more intense during that time. As a result, most doe deer will drop fawns earlier and at about the same time, which bodes well for the local deer population.
Rut in the Texas Crosstimbers
Overall, conception dates in the Crosstimbers and Prairies ranged from October 13 to December 17, but there was some variation. Based on timing, mid- to late season bowhunters get the first shot (literally) at rutting bucks in this part of Texas, but whitetails in the region continue breeding almost up until Christmas.
This is good news for deer hunters that enjoy archery hunt and as they can stretch out their hunting days from the early part of the rut in October through the peak of the rut that occurs during Texas’ General Deer Hunting Season.
In the northern portion of the region the average breeding date was November 15 and the average breeding date in the southern part was November 17. Biologists recorded an average of 1.7 fetuses per doe and 95 percent of the females had been successfully bred.
Hunting the Rut
Hunters in this region of Texas have the best odds of “hunting the rut” during the two period from about November 11 through November 25. Thinking of taking some time off this hunting season? Now you know when.
The majority (90%) of the fawns in the Crosstimbers are born by June 15 in the northern area and by June 20 in the southern area. In Texas, summer weather can be brutal on white-tailed deer, particularly nursing does and newborn fawns. From their standpoint, the fall whitetail rut can not occur soon enough.
