Whitetail Rut in the Texas Hill Country

If you plan on deer hunting the rut in the Edward’s Plateau, better known as the Texas Hill Country, then you need to know that research has found conception dates for this region ranged from as early as October 9 to a late date of January 30, meaning hunters may see what is called the early and late rut. The Edwards Plateau, home to Texas’ highest deer production ecoregion, was divided into three areas for the breeding study – east, central, and west. There are good numbers of deer in the area, but good timing will increase the chances of bagging a beautiful buck!

Whitetail Rut in the Texas Hill Country

The eastern part had a peak breeding date of November 7, the central portion was November 24, and the western area had a peak date of December 5. On average, 90 percent of the does were bred and the average number of fetuses found was 1.3 per doe. These breeding/rutting dates meant the majority (90%) of the fawns are born by June 14 in the eastern area, June 26 in the central area, and by July 13 in the western area.

7 thoughts on “Whitetail Rut in the Texas Hill Country”

  1. Mike, the rut for Mason usually kicks off in early November and runs through just before Thanksgiving. The peak of the rut is usually captured during that time, but bucks will continue to pursue unbred does until they are all bred. You should be up there right now!

  2. I have a question I hope you can help me out with. I’ve not seen the “typical” whitetail rut in years on our property. Rarely do I see a buck chasing a doe and I never see a doe come in with a buck following…yet we have good fawn crops each year…so they’re breeding…it’s just not the rut I’m familiar with. I hunt about 45 miles southwest of Kerrville. We usually shoot all of our older does early so we don’t risk shooting a bred doe later in the season. Other than that is there any reason we’re not seeing the “usual” rut?

  3. This chart looks about right to me. The bucks really start looking around in early November and by Thanksgiving the deer are starting to slow down. Llano County.

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