January/February Rut in the South

[stickstringtrigger]

Watch for Snakes year round in South Central Alabama..I hunt Butler and Lowndes county and have seen snakes in every month of the year. With that said, it should not deter you, just be careful and if you do happen to sit down against a tree or step over a fallen log, just scan a bit more than normal!

 

[Cedarsavage]

On a side note, a few years back on the same day one buddy had a black bear try to get in the stand with him and another, just a 1000 or so yards away killed a rattlesnake in the tree next to him. About 15 foot up on a branch! Now this is Louisiana so Alabama may vary. LOL

Thumbs down on snakes in trees lol. is that typical?

 

[Boarmaster]

I hunt in Lowndes County AL. Its near Greenville. Rut there generally starts last 10 days of Jan thru first week of Feb. at least it is on our property. I hunt on private. We lease from a timber company. The deer are pretty skittish by then as they been getting pressured since November. So in that respect it differs from November rut hunting in other areas.

 

[Boarmaster]

Watch for Snakes year round in South Central Alabama..I hunt Butler and Lowndes county and have seen snakes in every month of the year. With that said, it should not deter you, just be careful and if you do happen to sit down against a tree or step over a fallen log, just scan a bit more than normal!

I hunt the same area (Lowndes County) (previously Butler) and I keep an eye out as well. I have never seen a timber rattler or cottonmouth after
Dec but it can get warm and I dont doubt they are around. Before I hunted AL I hunted for two decades in South Central and Southwest Florida so its just a habit for me to be looking for snakes.

 

[simplepeddler]

Thumbs down on snakes in trees lol. is that typical?

I would say no, but it did happen.

 

[kcruz]

I'm a little late to help for this season, but peak rut around central and west Alabama is anywhere from end of December to late February. My understanding is that when the deer were re-inhabited into the areas they still stayed on the same rut schedule that they would have been somewhere else. I've never checked into the legitimacy of that, but it would explain why we have such a long rut period.

I am limited in my western or northern hunting, but I would be surprised if you would find more active bucks during the rut up there. Or at least more excitement. We watch cameras all year on our property and almost every year the biggest deer we kill have never been on caught on camera before.

On the snake topic, I wouldn't rule out anything. We have such a drastic change in weather from one day to the next that it throws a lot of animals into weird habits. I see plenty of snakes all year round. Never seen a rattle snake in a tree though and hopefully never will.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

I've seen water moccasins while duck hunting on our place in East Alabama. Got face to face with two different ones while wading out for downed birds one very rainy Christmas Eve morning a few years ago. Warmer than normal and I suspect the real fast water level increase got them moving. They weren't too active when I saw them and was able to spend $5 in shells on them easily.

 

[simplepeddler]

My grandfather used to tell me "that snake is way more afraid of YOU than you are of him"

All I can says is, that was one scared A$$ snake.

 

[ChrisAU]

 

[Cedarsavage]

That's me I'm a total pansy around snakes. It's embarrassing I might as well laugh at it