The whole Alabama rut and restocking fascinates the hell out of me.
In looking at, say, Calhoun County (denoted 6 on the map), it shows mid-November as peak, then an area only two counties west at the same latitude shows late January.
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/YlZFhtT.jpg)
It's BS for the most part. Too many Does coming in heat at various times extends the rut. Ones that were not breed-because there are too many and they have a second heat-young of the year that mature early because of great habitat and weather, extends the rut. It's been 50 years since the big transplant. Whatever rut time those Deer brought with them has been assimilated into Alabama conditions. You are correct: Two counties away and the rut is two months different? I guess all of the Deer that were transplanted into one county never had any offspring that moved over to one of the others. Color me skeptical....
Addition: Have seen Bucks here around home in February and March still carrying their horns. Friend had some on his trial cam just last week with racks. One of them a better than nice 10. Weather has been warm, right now it is 44F. Blood flows better to the extremities with heat vs cold. Perhaps higher temps are a factor. According to the map, the further South you go, the later the rut.
