EARLY SEASON TACTICS

Don’t you just love those videos on TV where the unsuspecting victim
approaches the seemingly normal birthday cake only to be totally surprised
when the trap is sprung and it smashes into their face? The birthday person
had seen lots of birthday cakes before where nothing out of the ordinary
occurred and this cake was approached in a relaxed manner with no thought
to a set up.

IT’S A PARTY

In the early archery season, deer are locked into their late summer / early
fall feeding patterns. They haven’t been harassed at all for many months
and for the past several weeks, they have been leaving their nearby bedding
area and travelling to the bountiful and easily accessible food source in
the back corner of the roadside field.

SURPRISE!!!

But if you’ve done your preseason scouting, on the opening day of archery
season you will be in a stand on the field’s edge. If you’ve used scent
control and are playing the wind correctly, our unsuspecting victim should
be coming down the trail to the seemingly normal food source. And if you
are patient and have been practicing, you should be able to spring your
trap.

IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS

Some things to remember though…
First, have an exit strategy. If a bunch of deer are feeding in the field
you are hunting but the deer you want does not show up on the first night,
you need a plan to get out of your stand and out of the area without
disturbing the whole herd. You do NOT want to walk through the field and
blow them all out of there.
Second, if the wind isn’t right, don’t hunt that location.
Third, it won’t take Mr. Big long to realize he’s being hunted. If you
don’t get him on the first or second night, give the location a rest for a
while.
Fourth, if the animal you want is not coming to the field until after legal
shooting hours have expired, look for a staging area about 50-150 yards
from the field. Sometimes bucks will find an elevated location to check out
the field during daylight hours before committing to it after dark.

CONCLUSION

I’m not sure which is better to hunt…the first week of archery season when
deer are relaxed and in predictable patterns or the pre-rut when calls,
scents, and rattling can bring on an extra element of excitement. I will
admit that early archery season is something I look forward to each year.
The weather is agreeable, I’m excited to be archery hunting again, and the
deer are somewhat foreseeable in their movements.
Missing the early archery season is a mistake and could cost you the buck
of a lifetime.


Check out my blog, videos, and lots of other stuff at www.thinkarchery.com.
If you would like to discuss this or any other archery topic with me
directly, please feel free to email me at todd@thinkarchery.com