Early season whitetail strategy
Whitetail Deer
Whats your early season strategy? I've found a fair amount of scrapes on the edge of woods, with good activity being picked up by the cameras. Also have nice food plots, bean field edges, and deep woods to hunt. This morning was my first set of the year, was set up in a transition area between bedding and the food plot. Had a young buck move thru in the middle of the creek, thats all I saw today.
This evening I'm thinking I'll hut the food plot, and tomorrow morning where the active scrapes are on the edge of woods/alfalfa, and theres a tree dropping acorns.
What do you prefer at this stage? The food plots seem like theyre holding a ton of deer in the evenings so thats why I'm headed there tonight. Really just looking for a big doe, but a big buck would be great too!
So you’re looking for a big doe or a big buck? Me too:)
Good luck.
Acorns in the AM, fooodplots in the PM.
Here's a surefire strategy. Find the only white oak in the woods that's dropping acorns. Sit on the ground and when the deer shows, shoot it ! At least that's how it worked last Saturday morning for my buddy. It wasn't ethical though, because I found the tree that they were feeding under......:-)
Sitting on the food plot this evening, no action yet
Sitting on the food plot this evening, no action yet
Where are the bucks going to be during the daytime?
Hunt as close to there as possible...
I have heard that most scrape activity is at night. The folks doing these studies are not doing them where I hunt. I hunt scrapes almost exclusively during October. I look for large scrapes which are normally community scrapes used by multiple bucks as well as does. Deer, including mature bucks, hit them all times of the day. I suggest hunting scrapes early season.
My trail camera is showing a spike buck and three does coming through the scrape and rub area and feeding right after dark. Multiple times. Think this is a good spot to hang a stand?
Eve/Afternoon sits early on till the temps drop or when Rut begins, then it's any time you can get out, do it!
hunt the sign, of if you don't look for sign and just use cameras hunt the areas where the deer are on the cameras
I've been using my early and mid October hunts the last few years to try new spots. Spots I've walked through before or just found on Google maps. Nothing like having the sun come up while your sitting in a tree in a spot you've never seen before.
You live in Illinois for crying out loud, don't over think it! LOL Hunt pinch points and travel corridors doe's are either moving to/from food or to/from bedding no matter, and where there are does....
Know the bedding, know the food and have more stands set up than you think you will need based on wind and morning/late afternoon sun.
1-Morning-woodland food source...travel trail. 2- Midday woodland food source in good cover. 3- Approach rail to agricultural food source. Very basic strategies and of course, depending on where you hunt, it can vary.
There are only four factors that impact everything a whitetail does. Food, cover, terrain and structure. Water is a consideration only in arid regions or very dry years. Learn to plug them in.
My early season strategy is to get my bow tuned spot on, gear ready, and wait for November.
