Early Season Whitetail Tactics
If you're heading out for Whitetail this year, you owe it to yourself to read this article chocked full of Early Season Tactics. Who knows...You may even score yourself a Pope and Young quality spread.
Enjoy and remember early season concentrate on food sources...These bucks are still in the feeding stage...
-Michael
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Early Season Whitetail Tactics
by: JESSE BRADLEY
A conversation with Travis Peterson, a seasoned North Dakota and Minnesota bowhunter. Peterson, who lives in Bemidji, Minn., is always looking -- and occasionally shooting -- Pope and Young whitetail bucks.
Question: Do you approach early-season bow hunting differently than you do late in the season?
Answer: One of the joys of bowhunting is the extended season. Whereas firearms seasons are typically short, archery seasons are lengthy and overlap a number of behavior patterns. I approach early-season hunting totally different than late-season hunting.
From early September through mid-October, bucks don't move much during daylight hours. I try to key in on the hours just after sunrise and just before sunset. At this time of year, deer move for one reason only -- to eat.
I concentrate my efforts near the best available food sources in the area. I'm careful in my approach, however. I'll often set up a stand or sit in a ground blind and observe a food source from a distance to see exactly where bucks are entering a field. For evening hunts, rather than set up on the field edge, I'll follow the trail back into the timber to a point where it intersects with a number of other trails. Almost always, there will be a few trails within a hundred yards of the field edge that run parallel to it.
Bucks that are staging to enter the food plot use these trails. They'll often skirt around a field until twilight. By sitting right on the field edge, two things are likely to happen. First, does and fawns will congregate within the field well before daylight. With all those noses around, it's difficult to keep from getting busted. Secondly, it's impossible to get down from the tree without spooking the deer that are on the field.
Finally, bucks, and particularly mature bucks, are likely to show up after legal shooting hours. For these reasons, I set up in staging areas in the evening.
For morning hunts, I like to be set up near bedding areas. The trick is to be between the food source and the bedding area, but closer to the bedding area. This increases the odds of intercepting a buck in daylight hours. I always avoid crossing the food source in the morning as it will surely spook a number of deer.
Q: Early-season bow hunting in North Dakota falls into pre-rut. How should hunters approach the hunt differently during this time?
A: I guess I addressed this in the previous question, but to reiterate, pre-rut hunting is about food. Bucks will set out their calling cards in the form of scrapes and rubs in mid-October, but most of this activity takes place at night, on their way to and from feeding. As the end of October rolls around, the need to mate becomes more important to a buck than food and the game changes. Again, early-season hunting is all about food.
Q: During the start of the season, warmer weather often slows down deer movement. Does this change your approach?
A: No, I don't change my approach when the weather is warmer. When the weather is hot, deer have the same travel patterns. They simply move later in the evening and earlier in the morning, the coolest periods of the day.
Often, they will not move during the daylight on warm days. There isn't much bowhunters can do about this. Some will try to push the deer, but it's difficult to be successful driving deer with archery equipment. I'd rather not spook the deer in the area and wait for cooler weather.
Q: Do you have advice for hunters who want to do everything possible to avoid leaving their human scent trail?
A: Human scent, and other unnatural odors, are a bowhunter's worst enemy. Because we need to be so close to the animals we hunt, and because deer have an amazingly sensitive olfactory system, it's very important to do everything we can to reduce the foreign odors we take into the woods.
I wash my hunting clothes in unscented soap well before season and hang them outside to dry and air out. Then, they are stored in airtight containers until the hunt. They aren't hung in the garage during the off-season either, as the smell of a garage is unnatural. The smell of gasoline has probably saved many deer. Hunters should lean down and take a big whiff of the floor mats in their vehicles. Gas has been transferred there from boots or shoes each time they stop at the gas station. Worse yet, many hunters will wear the same boots hunting. I wear knee-high rubber boots that are also stored in an airtight container. I don't take them out until I reach my hunting location and have parked my vehicle.
When it comes to reducing foreign odors, it's basically common sense. Odors from house pets, shampoo, after-shave, beer and the local truck stop commonly follow bowhunters into the woods and tip off deer without the hunter even knowing it.
Finally, I try to avoid touching brush and tall grass when approaching my stand location.
Q: What are the best clothing options when it comes to masking your scent?
A: I highly recommend Scent-Lok clothing. I often wear a double layer of this stuff and it works. In addition, rubber boots are a must.
Q: Is it more difficult to find signs such as scrapes and antler rubs early in the season?
A: Yes. Rubs will show up first, then scrapes. I don't scout much during the season as it spooks the deer in my hunting area. Most signs that I've found during the season and set up on failed to produce much in the way of buck sightings. I feel that in most cases I've bumped them out of the area or caused them to restrict their movement to nighttime hours.
I do scout for rubs and scrapes once the season closes or I have filled my tag. I specifically look for the largest rubs I can find. This tells me that a large buck was living in that area during the hunting season, and if he survived he'll likely be living in the same area next season. If he did not survive the hunting season or dies of other causes prior to the next season, his home area will likely be occupied by another mature buck.
The other thing I look for is concentrations of scrapes. Rather than sitting on a "scrape line," I like to be set up downwind of a scrape area. Which might be two acres in size and have 20-30 scrapes in it. Again, these won't show up until mid- to late October, but the same areas will have concentrations of scrapes each season. The best time to find these areas is after the snow melts in the spring. The ground has basically been preserved all winter and everything looks the same as it did during the hunting season.
Q: When hunting agricultural crop, what should you keep in mind early in the season?
A: As I stated earlier, my advice is to stay off the edge of the field. It's tempting because the hunter will see more deer if he sits on the edge. However, most will be does and fawns. Bucks often arrive at the food source after sundown. Get back in the brush for a chance at an early-season buck.
Q: Are there secrets to avoiding the bugs during the early season?
A: Mosquitoes and flies will not penetrate my Scent-Lok clothing. On my head, I wear a Scent-Lok hood. The only skin exposed is right around my eyes. To keep the bugs away from that area, I wear a cap with a bill and then a mosquito net over that. The bill holds the netting out away from my face. I tuck the gloves inside the sleeves of my jacket and slip the glove off my shooting hand when necessary. Other than that, I pray for an early frost.
Answer: One of the joys of bowhunting is the extended season. Whereas firearms seasons are typically short, archery seasons are lengthy and overlap a number of behavior patterns. I approach early-season hunting totally different than late-season hunting.
From early September through mid-October, bucks don't move much during daylight hours. I try to key in on the hours just after sunrise and just before sunset. At this time of year, deer move for one reason only -- to eat.
I concentrate my efforts near the best available food sources in the area. I'm careful in my approach, however. I'll often set up a stand or sit in a ground blind and observe a food source from a distance to see exactly where bucks are entering a field. For evening hunts, rather than set up on the field edge, I'll follow the trail back into the timber to a point where it intersects with a number of other trails. Almost always, there will be a few trails within a hundred yards of the field edge that run parallel to it.
Bucks that are staging to enter the food plot use these trails. They'll often skirt around a field until twilight. By sitting right on the field edge, two things are likely to happen. First, does and fawns will congregate within the field well before daylight. With all those noses around, it's difficult to keep from getting busted. Secondly, it's impossible to get down from the tree without spooking the deer that are on the field.
Finally, bucks, and particularly mature bucks, are likely to show up after legal shooting hours. For these reasons, I set up in staging areas in the evening.
For morning hunts, I like to be set up near bedding areas. The trick is to be between the food source and the bedding area, but closer to the bedding area. This increases the odds of intercepting a buck in daylight hours. I always avoid crossing the food source in the morning as it will surely spook a number of deer.
Q: Early-season bow hunting in North Dakota falls into pre-rut. How should hunters approach the hunt differently during this time?
A: I guess I addressed this in the previous question, but to reiterate, pre-rut hunting is about food. Bucks will set out their calling cards in the form of scrapes and rubs in mid-October, but most of this activity takes place at night, on their way to and from feeding. As the end of October rolls around, the need to mate becomes more important to a buck than food and the game changes. Again, early-season hunting is all about food.
Q: During the start of the season, warmer weather often slows down deer movement. Does this change your approach?
A: No, I don't change my approach when the weather is warmer. When the weather is hot, deer have the same travel patterns. They simply move later in the evening and earlier in the morning, the coolest periods of the day.
Often, they will not move during the daylight on warm days. There isn't much bowhunters can do about this. Some will try to push the deer, but it's difficult to be successful driving deer with archery equipment. I'd rather not spook the deer in the area and wait for cooler weather.
Q: Do you have advice for hunters who want to do everything possible to avoid leaving their human scent trail?
A: Human scent, and other unnatural odors, are a bowhunter's worst enemy. Because we need to be so close to the animals we hunt, and because deer have an amazingly sensitive olfactory system, it's very important to do everything we can to reduce the foreign odors we take into the woods.
I wash my hunting clothes in unscented soap well before season and hang them outside to dry and air out. Then, they are stored in airtight containers until the hunt. They aren't hung in the garage during the off-season either, as the smell of a garage is unnatural. The smell of gasoline has probably saved many deer. Hunters should lean down and take a big whiff of the floor mats in their vehicles. Gas has been transferred there from boots or shoes each time they stop at the gas station. Worse yet, many hunters will wear the same boots hunting. I wear knee-high rubber boots that are also stored in an airtight container. I don't take them out until I reach my hunting location and have parked my vehicle.
When it comes to reducing foreign odors, it's basically common sense. Odors from house pets, shampoo, after-shave, beer and the local truck stop commonly follow bowhunters into the woods and tip off deer without the hunter even knowing it.
Finally, I try to avoid touching brush and tall grass when approaching my stand location.
Q: What are the best clothing options when it comes to masking your scent?
A: I highly recommend Scent-Lok clothing. I often wear a double layer of this stuff and it works. In addition, rubber boots are a must.
Q: Is it more difficult to find signs such as scrapes and antler rubs early in the season?
A: Yes. Rubs will show up first, then scrapes. I don't scout much during the season as it spooks the deer in my hunting area. Most signs that I've found during the season and set up on failed to produce much in the way of buck sightings. I feel that in most cases I've bumped them out of the area or caused them to restrict their movement to nighttime hours.
I do scout for rubs and scrapes once the season closes or I have filled my tag. I specifically look for the largest rubs I can find. This tells me that a large buck was living in that area during the hunting season, and if he survived he'll likely be living in the same area next season. If he did not survive the hunting season or dies of other causes prior to the next season, his home area will likely be occupied by another mature buck.
The other thing I look for is concentrations of scrapes. Rather than sitting on a "scrape line," I like to be set up downwind of a scrape area. Which might be two acres in size and have 20-30 scrapes in it. Again, these won't show up until mid- to late October, but the same areas will have concentrations of scrapes each season. The best time to find these areas is after the snow melts in the spring. The ground has basically been preserved all winter and everything looks the same as it did during the hunting season.
Q: When hunting agricultural crop, what should you keep in mind early in the season?
A: As I stated earlier, my advice is to stay off the edge of the field. It's tempting because the hunter will see more deer if he sits on the edge. However, most will be does and fawns. Bucks often arrive at the food source after sundown. Get back in the brush for a chance at an early-season buck.
Q: Are there secrets to avoiding the bugs during the early season?
A: Mosquitoes and flies will not penetrate my Scent-Lok clothing. On my head, I wear a Scent-Lok hood. The only skin exposed is right around my eyes. To keep the bugs away from that area, I wear a cap with a bill and then a mosquito net over that. The bill holds the netting out away from my face. I tuck the gloves inside the sleeves of my jacket and slip the glove off my shooting hand when necessary. Other than that, I pray for an early frost.
-Article Courtesy of the "Outdoor Journal" a publication of the Bismarck Tribune.
technorati tags:hunting, bowhunting, whitetail+deer, deer+hunting, tactics, outdoors, bowhunter, Travis+Peterson
posted by The "Duke" @ 2:12 PM
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