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Middle TN Rut

Hunted yesterday morning and evening and this evening. Saw a lot of deer. Saw 4 3.5 year olds 5 2.5 year olds and a couple 1.5 year olds. All were pestering does for a little while but then went and ate and ate and ate some more. A ton of deer hitting food right now. Scrapes are getting hit pretty good. Does aren't ready. Our does seem to come in around the 15thish. Surprised at the number of deer seen and the amount of deer seen through the morning last deer at 9:37. And also movement in the evening started at 3 both days.
 
What's weird is I haven't seen a single buck big or small that I would call cruising or scent checking yet? Just seem to be on feed pattern. Usually young ones are cruising hard covering some serious ground. I would suspect does are on same cycle and should be coming in right now like they always do here. Idk
 
Peak breeding is usually earliest in northcentral Middle TN (Springfield and surrounding area) starting around Nov. 8. It hits in central Davidson County around the 10th. It then works west, east and south from there. Get out west to the TN River (KY Lake) and you're looking at somewhere around the 15th to 20th.

However, this year has been different for those who experienced severe drought this late summer and fall and/or an acorn crop failure. Everything seems delayed, and that's not unprecedented for drought/acorn-failure years. In the last two big ones in my area, peak breeding was delayed about 10 days from normal. In addition, in those drought/acorn-failure years sign-making - scrapes and rubs (especially rubs) - were extremely muted. Although I'm not seeing that as bad this year as the last two drought/acorn-failure years, rubbing is much less than normal and scraping down maybe 50% from normal.

On camera, I saw the peak of scraping around the 5th to 8th (which is late - it usually occurs the last days of October and first few days of November). In the 5th to 8th timeframe, big traditional scrapes were getting hit by bucks (almost exclusively at night) 10 to 15 times per day. The mature buck I ended up killing Saturday hit the same traditional scrape 7 times the night of the 6th into the 7th. Probably the most interesting camera observation was how older bucks were hanging out in food plots all night - feeding - until a doe would slip in to feed. Then the bucks were after her. But once the doe proved unresponsive, the bucks would go back to feeding. Lots and lots of pester chasing in the food plots all night, but no true estrus chasing. In addition, one of the best indicators of actual breeding is seeing "abandoned" fawns without their mothers, wandering around looking lost. I have seen none of that on camera or in person (although I haven't checked cameras since the 12th).

Now it is definitely "on" in Nashville proper. Seeing dead deer on the roads, wife has seen several full-blown chases through traffic on her daily drive from Bellevue to Brentwood, and I saw two chases at Percy Warner Park this morning. That's a little late (maybe 5-7 days), but not terribly late.
 
Full blown chase currently going on in Maury County. This buck has been trying to keep this doe in a block of woods all day.
20241115_145044.webp
 
Tuesday I dropped my side by side off for service. I took the back road shortcut to get to the highway and on the way out that afternoon I saw a small buck in broad daylight on a pond Bank looking around. Well I combined trips to pick it up on Thursday so coming from Chattanooga back. I took the same backroad shortcut after turning off the highway and that same stupid buck ran across the road right in front of my truck. I had to slam the brakes on hard and yes I was Towing a trailer with a Polaris Ranger on it. Stupid IDJIT! Seemed he wasn't even paying attention to me.
 
BSK said:
Peak breeding is usually earliest in northcentral Middle TN (Springfield and surrounding area) starting around Nov. 8. It hits in central Davidson County around the 10th. It then works west, east and south from there. Get out west to the TN River (KY Lake) and you're looking at somewhere around the 15th to 20th.

However, this year has been different for those who experienced severe drought this late summer and fall and/or an acorn crop failure. Everything seems delayed, and that's not unprecedented for drought/acorn-failure years. In the last two big ones in my area, peak breeding was delayed about 10 days from normal. In addition, in those drought/acorn-failure years sign-making - scrapes and rubs (especially rubs) - were extremely muted. Although I'm not seeing that as bad this year as the last two drought/acorn-failure years, rubbing is much less than normal and scraping down maybe 50% from normal.

On camera, I saw the peak of scraping around the 5th to 8th (which is late - it usually occurs the last days of October and first few days of November). In the 5th to 8th timeframe, big traditional scrapes were getting hit by bucks (almost exclusively at night) 10 to 15 times per day. The mature buck I ended up killing Saturday hit the same traditional scrape 7 times the night of the 6th into the 7th. Probably the most interesting camera observation was how older bucks were hanging out in food plots all night - feeding - until a doe would slip in to feed. Then the bucks were after her. But once the doe proved unresponsive, the bucks would go back to feeding. Lots and lots of pester chasing in the food plots all night, but no true estrus chasing. In addition, one of the best indicators of actual breeding is seeing "abandoned" fawns without their mothers, wandering around looking lost. I have seen none of that on camera or in person (although I haven't checked cameras since the 12th).

Now it is definitely "on" in Nashville proper. Seeing dead deer on the roads, wife has seen several full-blown chases through traffic on her daily drive from Bellevue to Brentwood, and I saw two chases at Percy Warner Park this morning. That's a little late (maybe 5-7 days), but not terribly late.
Click to expand...
In northeast middle TN I have observed a normal rut timing in my area. Almost like clockwork for scraping, pestering, cruising, and does coming into estrous.

Now my observed movement of older bucks was lower for me this year which i suspect is due to the warm weather opening morning of MZ. I saw very few middle aged bucks up until the 11th. Then the switch flipped.

Like you I was getting bucks in my micro food plots nightly checking does. I actually killed a mature buck in one of the food plots right at last light as he came out to check two does feeding.
 
So it's been a weird year. I posted earlier that on the opening day of muzzleloader there were bucks chasing does on my property in Rutherford county. I saw a ton of deer over the next few days, but all the does bunched back up in the bucks were all by themselves, just cruising. I've had three bucks and a doe get hit on the highway that my property runs along in the last three weeks. This morning also in Rutherford County, but on another property, I had an eight point chase a doe in and there were two other bucks that were trying to get on her and he was fending them off. There were two other does with her and they just kind of eased off by themselves and left those two alone.

I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure I saw those three does yesterday by themselves just walking through the woods. So that one doe must've just went into estrous. Unfortunately my week of hunting is over and I have to go back to work this week so I won't be able to get back out there until next Saturday. Just my luck.😂
 
Still not seeing what I would consider the peak of breeding at my place. Lots of pester chasing in food plots, but only started seeing a few fawns by themselves on camera over the last day or two. Rut will probably peak midweek this week at my place, which is late but not major late (maybe 7 days late).
 
MrHyde said:
Let the chaos begin.

Is anyone seeing true rut activity yet?

I have seen scrapes explode about 1.5 weeks ago. I had 2.5 year old, basket 7 harassing a group of younger does two days ago. But have yet, to see the true shift.View attachment 251522View attachment 251523View attachment 251524
Click to expand...
Agreed. Lots of scrape activity a week and a half ago. With this full moon the daylight movement has been poor in Jackson County... At least that's the story for our property.
 
BSK said:
Peak breeding is usually earliest in northcentral Middle TN (Springfield and surrounding area) starting around Nov. 8. It hits in central Davidson County around the 10th. It then works west, east and south from there. Get out west to the TN River (KY Lake) and you're looking at somewhere around the 15th to 20th.

However, this year has been different for those who experienced severe drought this late summer and fall and/or an acorn crop failure. Everything seems delayed, and that's not unprecedented for drought/acorn-failure years. In the last two big ones in my area, peak breeding was delayed about 10 days from normal. In addition, in those drought/acorn-failure years sign-making - scrapes and rubs (especially rubs) - were extremely muted. Although I'm not seeing that as bad this year as the last two drought/acorn-failure years, rubbing is much less than normal and scraping down maybe 50% from normal.

On camera, I saw the peak of scraping around the 5th to 8th (which is late - it usually occurs the last days of October and first few days of November). In the 5th to 8th timeframe, big traditional scrapes were getting hit by bucks (almost exclusively at night) 10 to 15 times per day. The mature buck I ended up killing Saturday hit the same traditional scrape 7 times the night of the 6th into the 7th. Probably the most interesting camera observation was how older bucks were hanging out in food plots all night - feeding - until a doe would slip in to feed. Then the bucks were after her. But once the doe proved unresponsive, the bucks would go back to feeding. Lots and lots of pester chasing in the food plots all night, but no true estrus chasing. In addition, one of the best indicators of actual breeding is seeing "abandoned" fawns without their mothers, wandering around looking lost. I have seen none of that on camera or in person (although I haven't checked cameras since the 12th).

Now it is definitely "on" in Nashville proper. Seeing dead deer on the roads, wife has seen several full-blown chases through traffic on her daily drive from Bellevue to Brentwood, and I saw two chases at Percy Warner Park this morning. That's a little late (maybe 5-7 days), but not terribly late.
Click to expand...
Thanks Brian! You always give the best rut updates!
 
I've not seen any rut activity either. Hunted my best spot 2 times in the last week and not seen a single deer. But, have found a few fresh scrapes and runs, in the last week. One scrape is being hit that I made with my own "recipe".
 

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