By Eric Bruce

David Hall hunts in Fulton County, Georgia, in western suburban Atlanta. While this county is mostly developed, it also has some wooded pockets with some excellent deer hunting—and, with an archery season that lasts until the end of January, can provide a bowhunter with some exciting late rut or second rut action. Last week, Hall had the kind of encounter lucky hunters typically experience during the absolute peak of the rut. Here’s how he describes it:

“I had to hunt super hard this morning (Jan. 9) as it felt “on,” so I kept my eyes and ears super focused. At 7:45 a.m., I hear something busting through the creek bottom. A small doe came from the ridge across the way and headed up and away from from me. Then she turns back and runs to the creek bottom fast! Behind her is ‘The Man.’ [ Read Full Post ]

By Eric Bruce

Trent Boudreaux of Louisiana has been hunting since he was 16 years old. Now 30, he’s learned a few things about the sport. And he taught himself a great lesson about deer hunting recently. [ Read Full Post ]

By Brandon Ray

Three years is a long time. That’s how long Kurt Stallings has been hunting a wide-racked muley buck in eastern New Mexico. He saw the big buck late each season, but the problem was always the same: Despite the December/January rut that made the buck vulnerable and more visible in daylight, it was always in open terrain and surrounded by a mob of other deer--sometimes as many as 50. Stalking within archery range was impossible.

Kurt estimates he spent 20 days hunting that buck over those three seasons. He never got close enough for a shot, until 2013.

This year was different. The old buck’s rack was going downhill in score, likely due to drought and old age, but he still had a huge frame. Kurt decided to try whitetail tactics. So he set a tree stand in a tall cottonwood near trails used by the muleys near a creek bottom, which he’d found by scouting and glassing.

[ Read Full Post ]

By Eric Bruce

Deer hunters everywhere want to know when the rut occurs in their hunting area, because it’s one of the best times to see and kill a mature buck.
 
Biologists determine the peak rut by examining hunter-harvested deer. Determining the age of unborn fawns in the wombs of the female deer will indicate when conception occurred, and thus when the doe was in estrus. [ Read Full Post ]

By Eric Bruce

Overall Activity Status: Deer activity these days is dependent on weather and location. Hunting is winding down in Georgia, South Carolina, and Arkansas and heating up in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and eastern Louisiana. Scott Perrodin hunts in Louisiana and hunted the western part of the state and is now focusing on the eastern zone. “I had a good season so far, killed two bucks and one doe, but nothing big. The deer in my area have gone underground. It's just that time of year. I will be hunting in the eastern zone next week with primitive weapon. The rut action is on, seeing a lot of scrapes in the woods there.” Louisiana has two rut periods, and, as Perrodin mentioned, it’s winding down in the west but the rut is intensifying in the eastern portion near the Mississippi River.

[ Read Full Post ]

By Brandon Ray

I shot the fine Texas 8-point buck in the accompanying photo using a rifle chambered in .25-06 Remington. The rig was a loaner Nosler Professional topped with a Swarovski 3-10x42 Z3 series scope with a plex reticle. I used Hornady 117-grain Superformance SST ammo. The shot was 90 yards from an elevated tower blind with a good rest.

The buck would not have been any deader had I shot him with a bazooka. [ Read Full Post ]