First off best of luck to everybody this opening weekend.

Any news regarding when is the rut and deer being taken in San Saba and northern hill country? Have deer on camera (mostly at night) and buddy took a big bodied 8 during archery. This will be my first year on the property, mostly open and scattered brush.

Thanks for all your input on what to expect, your experiences and how to be successful.

I'm just up the road in Mills county. Lately the rut has been stringing out more but typically the peak will be around the 11th-13th of Nov. Depending on the number of deer and ratio, you'll see chasing from very late October through Thanksgiving (so about two weeks prior, and two weeks post-peak). This year I have bucks on camera checking out does starting on 10/14, and new bucks showing up that I haven't seen before.

Quit, you drive a long ways to deer hunt and you drive through a lot of good deer country to do it. You must have a connection there. Sorry if off topic and/or none of my business.

Drive through Coleman, Taylor county, and other great spots - 270 miles each way! We own a small ranch there, so I am blessed to hunt for free (except for fence-building, stock-work, general carpentry, and other such chores!).