Do you sit out early season?

I

iccyman001

New member
Apr 30, 2014
5,489
Last year I hunted from Oct 1- January 15th out in Oklahoma. No, not everyday, but I was out there every month and hunting my tail off.
One thing that was not fun was early season.....

It would be anywhere from 80-100 degrees, the deer weren\'t moving, and it was just nasty.

I am really wondering how I want to play it this year. Part of me already knows that I will still be out there early season, but lets pretend I have a little self control..

How many of you guys will skip the opening day rush, or even early season, and really just start hunting pre rut routines?
 
Aaron and I were discussing this today.
I plan on hunting mid to late Oct this year, is that considered early?
 
\"cnelk\" said:
Aaron and I were discussing this today.
I plan on hunting mid to late Oct this year, is that considered early?
Click to expand...

Not really no, I know a lot of states that have some prime hunting mid to late Oct.
I think Oct 31 is one of the most popular WT hunting days.

If you\'re hunting where I think you are hunting, the temperatures will be much cooler and deer will probably be getting fired up earlier than where I am.

If I didn\'t have my mule deer hunt Oct 31-Nov 4th I would be in NE at that bow only area I found on the east side.


Good luck :upthumb:
 
To answer the question, No I do not.

I was telling Brad today that I think hunting sign such as rub lines are better for early season. If there is a good acorn or other mast crop, thats what I focus on. Bed to feed.....

I grew up in Oklahoma and echo what your saying regarding hunting during hot weather, not my favorite thing to do. In addition to being miserable on stand, I\'ll also add that a lot of people do more harm than good in the early season stinking up spots and making mature deer aware of your presence. I generally hunted fringe stands that I don\'t typically hunt during the rut during the first three weeks of October. I like to hunt edges a lot and not pressure deer throughout the season. I will hunt a bedding area but it\'s rare situation. I think hunting travel corridors, funnels and pinch points are more favorable during the rut.

My favorite times to hunt are the 2nd and 3rd weeks of November. Specifically around Veteran\'s day. That said, I still think there is great post rut activity in late November after Thanksgiving and first week of December.
 
I hunt the edge early season. I move into my better areas the last week of October thru November.By thanksgiving it is all winding down. Yes some nice deer are taken later but most of the bucks are heading back to their hideouts by the end of November. Iowa gun season starts the first Saturday in December. After that food in the evening is all I hunt after gun season closes and bow reopens around December 20th.
 
There was some research in WI that showed a decent % of the mature bucks bowhunters took were opening week( like 25-30%). Very Patternable. Our season opens around the 15th of Sept.
 
Very easy to pattern the 1st of bow season...we\'ve killed some of our best deer the 1st couple days
 
Great points made. If I had places to hunt where bucks were easy to pattern in the early season I would be more apt to hunt in September. I do hunt some but it is hit and miss and I see very few mature bucks that time of year. I prefer mid-October to early November. That seems to be the time when mature bucks are on their feet in daylight. I\'m sitting all day if I can that time of year!
 
Lots of good points made here.
Like I said, I know myself and I doubt I\'ll be able to stay away from them once it\'s opening season, but like many of you I have different spots that I am hitting.

I\'m hitting them over the food sources (at that time) and too and from bedding areas.
I\'m also staying FAR away from my prime rut spots.

One of my goals this year is to shoot a doe, but it\'ll be interesting because I don\'t want to touch my doe areas until things start heating up.


Barry, what are your average temps around Sept 15th?
 
Since I\'m basically sitting out the early part and I\'m 4 hours away from the area,
How should I go about hunting it come mid to late Oct?
 
I\'m doing the same thing Brad. I do know the weather will play a big part. As you know snow will move deer much faster then elk. We need to find what altitude they\'re at first.
 
Pete mentioned weather and that is kind of a big indicator on my first hard hunts. Early season I am always looking for that first cold front to roll in. Then the next few days can be magic.
 
\"cnelk\" said:
Since I\'m basically sitting out the early part and I\'m 4 hours away from the area,
How should I go about hunting it come mid to late Oct?
Click to expand...
Do you know the area that you are hunting fairly well?
Do you have any idea of what they are eating and when?

I\'ve spoken with many of biologists and they are a huge help when it comes to hunting new areas. I\'m able to get at least a good starting point.

I\'m still hunting the routes I mentioned before too and from bedding areas and having it tied in with their food. Just so you know the NE rut kicks off early Nov so don\'t be surprised if you catch some cruising during the day.
 
I just can\'t get excited about early season. Think it may be more me than the deer but sweating and swatting isn\'t real conducive to seeing big bucks. I will sit some fringe stands starting the second week of Oct. but don\'t hit the good stands until the last week and then all of Nov. Our rifle season is the first week of Dec. and when that starts it gets real tough! The last thing I want to do is educate the deer by being in a stand when it isn\'t the optimum time for that specific area.
 
\"iccyman001\" said:
Lots of good points made here.
Like I said, I know myself and I doubt I\'ll be able to stay away from them once it\'s opening season, but like many of you I have different spots that I am hitting.

I\'m hitting them over the food sources (at that time) and too and from bedding areas.
I\'m also staying FAR away from my prime rut spots.

One of my goals this year is to shoot a doe, but it\'ll be interesting because I don\'t want to touch my doe areas until things start heating up.


Barry, what are your average temps around Sept 15th?
Click to expand...

I would say the highs are in the 60\'s or 70\'s. Lows would be in the 40\'s. First frost is early to mid Oct.
 
Early season is a different hunt. Food sources in the evening. I usually don\'t hunt mornings because the deer don\'t travel far to bed so getting in to cut them off does more harm than good. Maybe in the more open western areas there is potential for morning stands. I usually hunt most evenings until the first week in Oct. then take about 2-3 weeks off. We call this the Oct Lull. Deer don\'t move well because they\'ve been pressured, food sources are changing, and bucks are scattering. The first pre-rut activity and when rattling starts to be effective is around Oct. 22 and by the 27th I am in the stand as much as possible. I still have never sat all day in stand.
 
That is impressive Barry. No full day hunts in a stand ever.

I have spent many of days in a stand all day. Not so much because I need to, partly because I enjoy it.
During the rut though, there is no contesting it, I am in the stand all day.

Otherwise if it\'s early or late season, then I am just doing a few hours here and there.
 
I would rather hunt a few hours in the morning, head into work, and be back in the stand by 3 every day than to burn vacation time or weekend days sitting all day. My wife knows around Halloween on she will only see me before or after dark. It\'s partly being spoiled and lazy. If I had only a week to hunt I would be in the stand every day, all day. By the time our rifle season rolls around, I\'ve spent so much time in the stand and have seen most if not all bucks in the area (counting cameras) that most opening mornings I\'m back home or at the shack drinking coffee by 9 am.

I can see my back door from my rifle stand anyway. I can almost smell the coffee when its done.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 38 (members: 0, guests: 38)

Latest posts

Share this page

Back
Top