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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 29,383
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 29,383 |
Depends on what specific area, often down to the county. The rut and movement based on it can be up to nearly 3-months different, from one county to the next. Then you have the weather that can run from 80s to single digits, any day of the season to the next. LOL. ^^^^^^ this have seen very little difference between Early December and late January. MOst noticeable difference was early February.
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,005
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,005 |
I hunted academy hunts for 3 yrs. , lot's of fun, great folks, and good food.Shot deer 2 out of 3 yrs. Crenshaw Academy in Luverne ,AL.
CO School of Trades, Gunsmithing, '76 Clemson University '74 Go Tigers
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 9,428 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 9,428 Likes: 1 |
There is a lot of varied terrain in Alabama. LA (Lower Alabama) looks like north Florida ie pine plantations, swamps, wiregrass etc. North central and North east Alabama is the foothills of the Appalachians with deep canyons and steep hills, lot of hardwood forest. There are a couple of decent sized National Forests with WMAs, Bankhead and Talladega. Bankhead especially has some really nice bucks, but you have to do your homework and be willing to walk a long ways away from the roads.
Always remember that you are unique, just like everyone else.
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Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 2,355
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 2,355 |
Nothing but tiny deer down here in SE AL...
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,047
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,047 |
Molan Labe
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 12,166
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 12,166 |
First I see there are many WMAs. Are these areas one must draw to hunt? If so, are non-residents able to participate in those lotteries?
Is there quite a lot of public hunting aside from those WMAs? Is it heavily hunted? Anybody here hunt the month of January or February at all on public land?
I hunt Mississippi but it's a lot like Alabama in most ways, the hunting and laws are similar. I personally wouldn't bother hunting public land in Mississippi or Alabama. I've done it before and killed a couple of deer that way, but the reward for the effort didn't stack up. It's overhunted and mostly poorly managed for deer. Private land is definitely the way to go down here. I'm sure there are some exceptions and someone will pipe in with a great buck killed on public land in AL or MS, but for the most part they're few and far between. I hadn't heard of the academy hunts but those sound like a great option. There are a lot of lodges in the black belt region that offer good hunting with good accommodations for reasonable prices and those would probably be my first choice if I didn't already know someone with access to good hunting property. Don't let anyone tell you that MS & AL don't have good deer, every year my taxidermist will take in deer that make the Boone & Crockett book.
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,959
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,959 |
Nothing but tiny deer down here in SE AL... Good buck, Chris! Looks like he's been into y'all's peanut crops for awhile. War Eagle!
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 3,667 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 3,667 Likes: 2 |
Keep in mind that the rut in MS, TN, GA, LA, FL, or just about ANY other state, are at much earlier times (in general), and much more predictable and unmixed than 90% of Alabama. That factor alone makes hunting deer in Alabama different than hunting deer most anyplace else...Regardless of terrain/reg similarities. I have grown up with deer rutting at 2-3 totally different times, just within one county....Often with little predictability. It really is crazy to figure sometimes.
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Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 131
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 131 |
I hunt in NE Mississippi, and used to hunt in NW Alabama. Our rut is almost always full swing in January, but I have seen Bucks chasing does during early march turkey season. I wish Season in MS would open up a little later and go about two weeks into February.
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