I just moved here to Georgia in July. And was very excited to be hunting the coming season on my own land. Deer season started and I learned my first GA hunting rule: your gun/bow is not the most important piece of equipment you need to have with you when entering the woods, a thermacell is. If you forget your rifle fine but if you forget the thermacell just forget about it go home and try again tmr. I had never owned one but after the first evening hunt on the creek I was run out of the stand about an hour before it started getting dark. So I went from the stand to Walmart. Anyway got a little off subject.
I spent the first part of the season watching trail cams and talking to people and trying to figure out when the rut would be here. And seemed like the deer around here on trail cam started chasing maybe end of October. But the real activity really picked up right before thanksgiving. Man it got crazy around here. Then suddenly poof nothing. No scrapes. Rubs. No deer out at all during daylight. Not even a picture on any of my trail cams right at sunrise or sunset. That went on for a long while with only an occasional daylight deer on a really cool day here and there. I Knew it was weather and hunting pressure causing the nocturnal deer. But I've never see the chasing, and sign just disappear seemingly over night. But figured it's just like that here oh well it's over.
So I went hunting yesterday morning and noticed a lot of deer movement and was excited with the week of cold coming. Around lunch time a friend came over so I took him and showed him around and showed him where a couple stands were so he would know if he wanted to come hunt later. While walking around I was kinda looking around and to my surprise it looked like everything came back to life over night. Fresh scrapes, and rubs pulled a couple cards and had several buck chasing doe. It seems to be more activity just in the past two days then at the highest point of what I thought was peak chasing back in nov. this morning I had a buck walk past my stand on the other side of this tree line and the only reason I knew he was there is because he was grunting every other step.
What is this all about? Is this like a "second rut"? Or is this the actual rut and back in November was some kind of crazy pre rut? Is this how deer season is normally here in regards to the rut? Is this just post rut here? I really need help understanding this. Thanks for all of your advice and help. And happy holidays and good luck to the hunters out there.
I spent the first part of the season watching trail cams and talking to people and trying to figure out when the rut would be here. And seemed like the deer around here on trail cam started chasing maybe end of October. But the real activity really picked up right before thanksgiving. Man it got crazy around here. Then suddenly poof nothing. No scrapes. Rubs. No deer out at all during daylight. Not even a picture on any of my trail cams right at sunrise or sunset. That went on for a long while with only an occasional daylight deer on a really cool day here and there. I Knew it was weather and hunting pressure causing the nocturnal deer. But I've never see the chasing, and sign just disappear seemingly over night. But figured it's just like that here oh well it's over.
So I went hunting yesterday morning and noticed a lot of deer movement and was excited with the week of cold coming. Around lunch time a friend came over so I took him and showed him around and showed him where a couple stands were so he would know if he wanted to come hunt later. While walking around I was kinda looking around and to my surprise it looked like everything came back to life over night. Fresh scrapes, and rubs pulled a couple cards and had several buck chasing doe. It seems to be more activity just in the past two days then at the highest point of what I thought was peak chasing back in nov. this morning I had a buck walk past my stand on the other side of this tree line and the only reason I knew he was there is because he was grunting every other step.
What is this all about? Is this like a "second rut"? Or is this the actual rut and back in November was some kind of crazy pre rut? Is this how deer season is normally here in regards to the rut? Is this just post rut here? I really need help understanding this. Thanks for all of your advice and help. And happy holidays and good luck to the hunters out there.
