Rut Question For Bear, MikeC and/or Other Panhandle Hunters

[Heron]

If you hunted in the Panhandle this year, when did the rut occur in your area?

I hunted near Canadian on youth weekend with my daughter and saw no signs of rutting. I hunted there again right after Thanksgiving and saw does with does and lone bucks except for one buck & doe combo.

In the past, I've seen more activity the day after Thanksgiving than I did this year. Also, last year I shot (rifle - sorry if that offends) an old buck trailing a doe at the end of December.

Again, what did you guys see this year and what have you seen in the past?

H

[bear]

I saw some signs of it as early as November 12th. Most of the activity was by younger bucks but I did see some buck scrapes that appeared to be larger more mature deer. The bachelor groups were broke up pretty good by mid november but then everything seemed to slow signifigantly compared to last year. It could have been the temps or lack or rain but the most signifigant rut activity and bigger bucks were seen in mid to late December. A couple of friends from church shot bucks who were going crazy chasing does the second and third weeks of December. When I shot my buck on November 9th he was coming off the food plot heading back to his bedding area but not really giving chase to does.

[Heron]

Thanks Bear.

Seems to coincide with what the TPWD studies indicate from what I recall. BTW, I enjoyed reading your write-up earlier in the year. That's a beautiful deer.