Bow Hunting The Early Season

Bowhunting The Early Season

By Paul E. Moore

Bowhunters dream away the summer weeks picturing themselves taking a monster buck on opening morning of the season. In reality, for most of us, that scenario rarely takes place. In fact, many times opening day passes without even seeing a deer, much less getting a shot. Most opening days start full of excitement and anticipation and end with the thought “maybe tomorrow.” The early season can be one of the best times to take a deer, but it’s not always as easy as it seems.

Deer can often be seen throughout the late summer weeks feeding in open fields. These deer frequent the same places at the same time of day over a course of many days or even weeks. They give the appearance of being a “sure thing.” However, just prior to opening day, they seem to disappear leaving the hunter to wonder what happened.

A lot of changes take place throughout late summer which can affect deer movement patterns. Other hunting seasons open such as squirrel and dove, farmers begin to harvest crops, and deer hunters begin traipsing through the woods on scouting trips. All of this human intrusion affects the deer. Additionally, once the bucks shed their velvet, they begin to change patterns as well.

Food sources also affect deer travel patterns. When acorns begin dropping, deer will abandon most other food supplies and key-in on acorns which are an excellent source of nutrition and a tremendous boost prior to breeding seasons. Farmers will often harvest grain crops and then till the ground which can deplete a food source and force a move by the deer.

Aside from the negatives already mentioned, the early season can still be an optimum time to take a deer with archery gear. The first part of the hunting season is when the deer are the least molested by humans and can be most easily patterned on a food source. The key is to stay on top of the situation at all times and anticipate changes in movement before they actually take place.

Bowhunters need to understand that change is imminent and be prepared for it. By constant monitoring of the deer and their surroundings, the hunter can track deer movement and travel patterns right up until opening day. This monitoring and observation must be done from a distance and in a non-intrusive manner so as to not invoke undue pressure on the deer.

Some hunters prefer hunting travel paths which lead to and from food sources while other hunters like to hunt directly on the food source. This is especially true of hunters utilizing a food plot. Although hunting directly on the food source can be extremely effective, it also must be done cautiously and with much advance planning.

Careful thought must go into planning an entry route and exit route from the hunting stand. The entry must not go through or near the deer’s bedding area. Also, unless just absolutely unavoidable, the hunter should choose a path which will not be crossed by the deer as they enter the food source.

The exit can even be more difficult to plan. If deer enter a food source late in the evening and offer the hunter no shot, he or she may be forced to exit the stand with deer present. This could permanently jeopardize the location for future hunting. If this appears to be a possibility while deciding stand locations, the best move may be to back off the food source and hunt a travel path leading into the food source. This will allow the hunter an opportunity to exit the stand without alerting deer to his or her presence.

Some hunters will choose to directly hunt a food source. They rely on multiple deer using the area and are not concerned with spooking one or more deer on occasion. This is not a luxury everyone can afford.

Other hunters will have friends drive or walk into the area after dark and spook the deer away so as not to reveal the location of the stand. Although this accomplishes the objective of not revealing the stand location, it does, however, put pressure on the deer in that area and is something of which I personally am not fond.

Hunters will also need to make a decision regarding which deer they will choose to hunt. Although, both bucks and does may be seen feeding together throughout the late summer, this trend will cease and deer will begin breaking up into smaller groups. Bucks, especially mature ones, will usually not use the same paths as does and lesser bucks. The hunter may have to choose between hunting areas with lots of deer or possibly focusing on taking a nice buck exclusively.

Hunting food sources is one of the best methods for the early season. Apart from the breeding season, deer require only food, water, and shelter. By locating food sources and related bedding (shelter) areas, the hunter can use this pattern of movement to set up ambush spots and take full advantage of the early days of the season.