Top early season tactics?

[Dave0317]

I haven’t had much early season success in the past, but I want to change that.

What are y’all’s most successful early season tactics?

1. Fruit trees (we have persimmon the first week or so of October, depending on weather)
2. Acorns
3. Water sources
4. Funnels/trails
5. Get close to beds

What else do y’all do and what have you had most success with in early season?

 

[Farmer9770]

Hunt smart! If you educate them early in season your chances go down rapidly. It’s hard to do but some days you are better off staying home if wind or other conditions aren’t right. Focus on food regardless what it is, pay attention to ingress/egress from your stand. Good luck! Early season can be great!

 

[Boarmaster]

I hunt doe in the early season. Gets my freezer full. I hunt near food sources or crossings between beds and feed. Then as rut comes in I’m all settled down and ready to hunt bucks. Then I still hunt the does as the bucks will be following them around.

 

[Macintosh]

Not sure if its the same way elsewhere, Im almost as far north as the canadian border—but generally early season here is the 10/1 archery opener thru mid october, and by mid-september deer have transitioned away from summer patterns to early fall. Different food sources, generally we’ve had at least a couple frosts in many areas so ground cover is starting to die back, leaves are starting to fall, etc. I usually need to re-locate deer since we have no ag and very little open terrain, so you can only rarely see them from a distance. I rely a lot on past seasons experiences to locate deer this time of year. I definitely dont hunt any less aggressively either, as I have enough places to hunt that it makes little sense to “save” a spot. But its a good time of year to just follow your nose, hunt/scout for sign, be mobile, and it usually ends up working out ok. Most of the handful of bucks Ive shot archery hunting are in this 10/1-10/15 window, so its worked out for me reasonably well. I also just enjoy the scenery while picking up intel for later in october and for future seasons.

As far as food, often a lot of the apples are down by mid october. Apples can be an attractant so its a good tactic, although its a brief window and seems to be an “obvious” draw that only pans out for me if its on private, otherwise deer stay away until well after dark. We have very few white oaks and those are usually fully dropped before the season, and red oak acorns dont really become a big draw until later in the season. This time of year I like the edges of wet areas that seem to hang on to the green salad-type food a little later, and areas with plenty of little maple whips, blackberry, etc for browse. If theres an area like this a couple hundred yards from wherever theyve been hanging out during august and sept, that seems to be a good bet.

 

[*zap*]

before any rutting activity it is all about 2 things...first safety and then food. I like a morning hunt on the trails back to bedding. The closer to bedding the better and the earlier you get in the better....play the wind and thermal both on stand selection and in/out routes. Having good intel is also very important.

 

[Long Cut]

I don’t hunt bucks much before mid-October. I’ll wear out some does, though.

Typically our September winds are out of the East/SE down here in GA… meaning swirling light/variable winds. Try “hunting the wind” when it’s going 360 degrees around you without any rhyme or reason. At least the morning & evening thermals as consistent.

I’ll typically hunt food plots, creek crossings, feeders or some other terrain feature that funnels deer into bow range.
I’ve never killed a buck with a bow in September. It’s on my bucket list, but the swirling winds have burned me too many times to want to keep trying. Amongst the 95F heat, 70% humidity and the plethora of ticks/chiggers/mosquitoes/gnats and venomous snakes

 

[brancher147]

Agree with Zap. That’s how I hunt bucks anyway and have had success. Works for does too but I don’t usually hit my best bedding areas early season unless I know shooter bucks are around. Pay attention to cold fronts and moon OH/UF times and don’t get up too early on a morning hunt. When you think it’s time to get up sit another half hour.

 

[Honyock]

Assuming you are bow hunting, hunt the first week of bow hard and hunt evenings. They are fairly predictable on a feed and bed pattern when bow opens (October 1). If it's hot, hunt the water sources also. Don't hunt one stand more than once every 10-14 days and don't hunt over a feeder. Pay attention to the wind and only hunt with the wind in your favor. When the barometric pressure is 30 and rising be in your stand.

 

[coyotekilla]

I grew up on a farm so my scouting was from a tractor seat. Deer, buck included are quite predictable pre rut, I like to hunt food, and field corners, and peak times / days. 2 hrs when the conditions are right beats 3 days of the wrong conditions.

 

[ZAP035]

I tend to focus on food sources, but setup in the staging areas for the evening. They can be easy to pattern out in early season, but in my area the bucks rarely come into the plots before it cools down at dark. Cold fronts are the only time I’ll plan a morning sit until mid October