Rut Reporter Eric Bruce has been writing about hunting and fishing for newspapers and magazines for 25 years and hunts deer all over the South, including near his Georgia home. States covered: AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, SC, FL.

Things are heating up in some areas of theSouth, others are slow, while others are hoping for just a little action before the season is over.

Typically the rut should be getting cranked in Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi in January. The problem with predictions is that deer herds can vary so much from one county and region to another. Some portions of a state may be experiencing rutting frenzy while others have already had their rut come and go.

In Florida, particularly the panhandle, the deer are in pre-rut while it’s over in some parts of the state. Trevor Fitzgerald operates Southern Arrowhead Outfitters in the Florida panhandle and says that “our deer are in pre rut. They are rubbing and scraping a lot. It won't be long before it kicks off. Here is a picture of one that was killed last week just after he made a rub.”

By Eric Bruce

Rut Reporter Eric Bruce has been writing about hunting and fishing for newspapers and magazines for 25 years and hunts deer all over the South, including near his Georgia home. States covered: AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, SC, FL.

Overall Activity Status: Things are really starting to crank up in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida as reports of buck activity and hot hunting action are coming in. Gun seasons are now open in these states and hunters are out in force. Though the weather has been fluctuating between rain, cold and unseasonably warm, the deer still seem to be moving and hunters are seeing and bagging some good bucks.

The state of Mississippi has been giving up some monster bucks over the last few weeks. On the Morgan Blake National Wildlife Refuge in Holmes county, Andy Lloyd harvested an 18-inch giant on December 7. Scott Champagne bagged a 220-inch buck in Jefferson county on December 8 and two days later his 14-year old son, Hunter, took a 140-class 10-pointer. Dewayne Wiggins was hunting in Carroll county, and moved from the fields to the acorn-heavy woods where he shot a 14-pointer that scored 184.

By Eric Bruce

Rut Reporter Eric Bruce has been writing about hunting and fishing for newspapers and magazines for 25 years and hunts deer all over the South, including near his Georgia home. States covered: AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, SC, FL.

By now the woods across the south are colder and most all the leaves have dropped. The green forests of September have given way to the bland gray of December. While the deer are still out there, the change in seasons calls for a somewhat different change in a hunter's strategy.

One of the most striking changes are the lack of foliage in the treetops. Tree stand hunters are noticeably more visible in the trees, and this is not unnoticed by whitetails. Back in October, hunters could set up in a tree and let the numerous leaves hide his silhouette. Not now, a hunter trying to hide in the bare branches sticks out like pumpkin in a pea patch.

By Eric Bruce

Rut Reporter Eric Bruce has been writing about hunting and fishing for newspapers and magazines for 25 years and hunts deer all over the South, including near his Georgia home. States covered: AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, SC, FL.

Overall Activity Status: Activity continues to be good overall, with many areas having a higher than normal acorn crop and several cold fronts having moved through. We are at the tail end of the rut in Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina and Georgia, but good action is still being seen. My son Zach killed this handsome eight-pointer cruising for does on Sunday in Gwinnett County, Georgia, while another bowhunter in suburban Atlanta bagged a nine-pointer following a doe the same day. Some hunters feel that bucks are holed up in thickets with does in heat, and are no longer out looking for or chasing does. That is likely in some cases, but does not include all deer.