Hunt the calm after the storm?
Connecticut
Contributors to this thread:
Im thinking of taking off early Thursday to get in the woods after the storm pass'. Do you guys think they will be moving more after the storm?
I'm hoping they move prior ;)... at least if I can make it out tonight that's my theory...
Will
No need to move much this time of the year, plenty of food around, but would agree your chances are better afterward.
I was figuring on thursday myself..
I would just wait until the first week of November. You can't go wrong then. Why even bother with the heat, lack of movement and lack of visibility now.....
Because it's a great excuse to get out of the house and in the woods...
Exactly what he NickDlow said. It was beautiful this morning. Cool and breezy. Perfect.
Bloodtrail you wont kill 100% of what you don't try. Maybe just maybe Ill get a shot at a monster.... At least the chance of me getting a shot goes up if I'm in the woods.
I've been archery hunting in CT for over 30 years. I kept banging my head against the wall for most of those 30 years hunting in Sept. and Oct. but I didn't know I was banging my head because I just knew it was bow season and I could hunt.
Sure, it was fun being out there and I shot a deer here and there during that time frame. But the vast majority of the hunts ended with no sightings or a few does and small bucks here and there.
Now I'm getting smart and focusing my time when the bucks are cruising and guess what.....I see more deer, bigger deer and have way more opportunities to kill deer every time I go out when I get up in a tree from Halloween till mid November. And looking back.....most of the deer I have killed were during that time frame. With that data, I'm going to try to kill one nice deer during the time that bucks can't help but be on their feet looking for does. If you've never hit a day where bucks are moving all day and you see 3, 4, 5 or more bucks in a morning.....you won't understand till you experience it in November.
I commend all the guys out there now in the heat, bugs and low sightings. Shoot straight and I hope everyone kills one nice deer this and every year.
That's true blood trail but it's a well know fact if you have a big buck patterned early season chances are better.....your target buck may end up 3 miles away in november
I attempt to kill a bear every year in MA and I have yet to see one but I am running an 80% deer sighting percentage while out here in September. Come deer season I see very few. If we had a September season here my odds of bagging one would go up big time.
Deerslayer, I don't pattern bucks let alone one specific buck. I actually do just as you said....wait till November when ALL the bucks are out and about and just wait for a nice one to cruise by. It's magic time come November. You can't argue that it's far better hunting to kill a nice buck every day you go afield come November. Everyone stay safe in this weather.
Hunt the storm. I had deer in front of my camera during snow storm, rain storm, and windy days. Hunt hard, hunt focused.
Wow pat can't believe it's been 10 years, I remember when you shot that buck.
Bloodtrail and I hunt about the same. I will go out in early Oct to still hunt, but I'm really looking for sign and checking out old stand locations for activity. But my real hunting takes place starting mid Oct to the end of the year, with Nov being the hot period.
On state land I don't think that patterning a buck really works. In Nov when they're chasing I'll see bucks that were never in the area before, so I know they travel much farther looking for does. That's the time to be in the woods. And find the doe, and just wait for the bucks to show.
I blew it on a nice 8pt Monday night in Pat's neck of the woods. 20yds, and he ducked the arrow. (was on alert after picking me off at 10yds after coming in an unusual direction). Saw 3 deer in total.
My issue, is that I grew up hunting only in Nov/Dec. Then a bit of late Oct and Nov and Dec... Hunting Sept, early Oct feels really different. I took a few years off CT, now back, and I can feel the differences again. Deer pretty clearly being on food, and that food having just started shifting from succulents to mast as well. It's feels different and it takes some serious acclimation. I have a long ways to go towards figuring out early hunts! (unless I get lucky like I did the other night)
Will, I don't think you were lucky I think you are a skilled hunter. Like the old saying goes that everybody hates "you can't kill them from the couch". YOU put in YOUR time and effort and YOU were in the right place at the right time. I call that dedication not luck..
Will - here are the differences. Wear shorts and tee shirts, leave your insulated anything at home. The leaves aren't frozen and cornflake noisy. Worry about sweat not frost bite. Pack ice coffee instead of hot in the thermos. Bring sunscreen and bug repellent. Bring your saw and pruning shears so you can cut lanes to see through leaves. And if you shoot one, move quickly to get the meat out of there and into a cooler.