Deer Rut Calendar by State

Pick your state for the peak breeding window and what the weeks around it look like.

General guidance from breeding-date studies and state agency data. Timing shifts by region within a state and a few days year to year — local sign beats any calendar.

Peak rut at a glance

StatePeak window
AlabamaLate Dec – early Feb (varies by zone)
ArkansasLate Oct – mid Nov
ColoradoEarly – mid Nov
ConnecticutEarly – mid Nov
DelawareEarly – mid Nov
FloridaHighly variable: Jul – Feb
GeorgiaLate Oct – late Nov
IdahoMid – late Nov
IllinoisEarly – mid Nov
IndianaEarly – mid Nov
IowaEarly – mid Nov
KansasEarly – mid Nov
KentuckyEarly – mid Nov
LouisianaOct – Feb by area
MaineMid – late Nov
MarylandEarly – mid Nov
MassachusettsEarly – mid Nov
MichiganEarly – mid Nov
MinnesotaEarly – mid Nov
MississippiMid Dec – mid Jan
MissouriEarly – mid Nov
MontanaMid – late Nov
NebraskaEarly – mid Nov
New HampshireMid – late Nov
New JerseyEarly – mid Nov
New YorkEarly – mid Nov
North CarolinaLate Oct – late Nov
North DakotaEarly – mid Nov
OhioEarly – mid Nov
OklahomaMid – late Nov
OregonMid – late Nov
PennsylvaniaEarly – mid Nov
South CarolinaMid Oct – mid Nov
South DakotaEarly – mid Nov
TennesseeMid – late Nov
TexasLate Oct – mid Dec by region
VermontMid – late Nov
VirginiaEarly – mid Nov
WashingtonMid – late Nov
West VirginiaEarly – mid Nov
WisconsinLate Oct – mid Nov
WyomingEarly – mid Nov

Reading the phases

Seeking (roughly 10–14 days before peak): bucks on their feet in daylight, cruising doe bedding downwind. Chasing (the week before peak): the classic all-day action. Lockdown (peak breeding): mature bucks holed up with does — movement looks dead, then breaks loose again as they search for the next doe.

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