Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

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johndeere506
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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby johndeere506 » Fri Sep 04, 2015 2:44 pm

dan wrote:
Stanley wrote:[glow=red]Our season starts a little later than most states. So my start date in October could very well be a different situation than say a Sept 1st start date[/glow]. I'm looking for some bucks that are good bucks and bucks that I can kill. I don't have one located just yet. If I don't locate a buck that I think I can kill, I'll hunt some known buck areas that have produced in the past.

I will use intel from years past to help me out. I also will check my trail cameras in about 3 weeks. That should give me an idea of the caliber of bucks that are in certain areas. The thing about big buck hunting; stay patient. It could happen opening day or it could happen last day of the season. You just gotta do the best you can do.

The thing about hunting certain beds you need lots of them. If you have 5 beds located . That for all practical purposes gives you 5 hunts. If the bed is empty, and some will be, you could hunt the bed again. Also keep in mind because one guy makes it look easy doesn't mean it is easily duplicated.

This is very true! there is a huge difference between mid/early September and October


Stanley and Dan-what are the differences between Sept and Oct openers? I thought they would be similar as people mention trying to catch a buck early october still on a summer pattern.


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johndeere506
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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby johndeere506 » Fri Sep 04, 2015 2:51 pm

backstraps wrote:I am by far an experienced bed hunter, or Beast style hunter. That being said the more I absorb from the veteran buck killers the more attractive early season is for me.

I honestly think opening day on a well scouted buck is the very best chance at killing him you have.

Using tactics from this site, in the last 2 seasons, I have had 6 encounters early season....within first 10 days of season. One buck I look back and know I should've shot him.

My hunting areas sound very much like yours. I rely and have built confidence in my post season scouting. I cant take advantage of glassing and observation sits in the hill country I hunt.

Couple post above from Dan, stating you have to give it your best shot.....I remember Dan telling me the same thing in a PM a couple years ago. The thing I remember very well from Dan saying that, is you also have to learn from what happens. Learn from what went wrong and what happened right, make sure to remember the lessons and keep moving forward.
I noted a bunch of notes from what went wrong, and a very few that year from what went right...hahahah

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Its mixed AG and scattered decent size woodlots, and lots of scattered houses in these main areas Ill be trying early season. Staying close to home mostly. I think just reading here until my eyes hurt the past couple years has really helped get a better understanding of what I "should" be doing. Im looking forward to early season bigtime this year.

Im very confident Ill have some encounters with good bucks, its up to me if they are good or bad ones. I guess its never bad, just another learning experience. Like PK mentioned above too, keep asking why, Im real good at that, almost too good....

My biggest obstacle here will be high deer density I think, and bumping Doe on the way in.
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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby dan » Fri Sep 04, 2015 8:42 pm

Stanley and Dan-what are the differences between Sept and Oct openers? I thought they would be similar as people mention trying to catch a buck early october still on a summer pattern.

Bucks move earlier and farther in early to mid-September. If you get up tight to a bedded buck that don't know your there it shouldn't matter. But if he has to travel a distance of 200 yards or more the difference can be "night and day" if you get my drift...
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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby JoeRE » Fri Sep 04, 2015 11:31 pm

dan wrote:
Stanley and Dan-what are the differences between Sept and Oct openers? I thought they would be similar as people mention trying to catch a buck early october still on a summer pattern.

Bucks move earlier and farther in early to mid-September. If you get up tight to a bedded buck that don't know your there it shouldn't matter. But if he has to travel a distance of 200 yards or more the difference can be "night and day" if you get my drift...


X2. Also food sources are changing even faster come October than mid-september. Hunting in Iowa with our Oct. 1 opener I don't know how many bucks I have had on steady patterns mid-september but they were a lot less consistent come early October. September is pie in comparison. Also more disturbance most years with farmers starting harvests in october. As leaves drop and foilage thins, that also has a big impact on deer bedding and travel routes.

I am not complaining though...in my opinion our October 1 opener helps more bucks make it to next year, between that and our gun season outside of the rut that is a big part of why Iowa has the reputation it does.
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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby johndeere506 » Sat Sep 05, 2015 1:23 am

Thanks for explaining guys, I didn't know that they were that different. I prefer the Oct 1 opener weather wise too.

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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby Bucky » Sat Sep 05, 2015 1:41 am

Early Sept whitetails are super predictable.... I almost sealed the deal opening weekend 3 yrs in a row. Acorns are making this year a little more difficult. Fresh cut alfalfa or secluded soybeans are usually $$$. By Oct 1st things are changing rapidly. Ideal world I would like Sept 1st opener

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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Sat Sep 05, 2015 2:23 am

JoeRE wrote:in my opinion our October 1 opener helps more bucks make it to next year, between that and our gun season outside of the rut that is a big part of why Iowa has the reputation it does.


Agreed.

Things get a lot tougher the last week in September. Every extra week earlier helps success IMHO. WI is trending toward an earlier opener. Things are easier with the current opener vs. third weekend in September like years past. I only see things getting easier if moved to September 1.
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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby JoeRE » Sat Sep 05, 2015 3:08 am

BassBoysLLP wrote:
JoeRE wrote:in my opinion our October 1 opener helps more bucks make it to next year, between that and our gun season outside of the rut that is a big part of why Iowa has the reputation it does.


Agreed.

Things get a lot tougher the last week in September. Every extra week earlier helps success IMHO. WI is trending toward an earlier opener. Things are easier with the current opener vs. third weekend in September like years past. I only see things getting easier if moved to September 1.


Yea, and I don't want it any easier over here in Iowa. Easy hunting and a good population of mature bucks do not mix. I think most of the states with Sept 1 openers have really low numbers of bowhunters, unlike Wisconsin.


If we had a Sept 1 opener I would likely have killed the 160+ 10 pointer that has been hanging around in my food plot 200 yards behind my house on the 2nd. I put the odds of him showing himself in the first week of October like that about 1 in 100.
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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby dan » Sat Sep 05, 2015 4:11 am

JoeRE wrote:
BassBoysLLP wrote:
JoeRE wrote:in my opinion our October 1 opener helps more bucks make it to next year, between that and our gun season outside of the rut that is a big part of why Iowa has the reputation it does.


Agreed.

Things get a lot tougher the last week in September. Every extra week earlier helps success IMHO. WI is trending toward an earlier opener. Things are easier with the current opener vs. third weekend in September like years past. I only see things getting easier if moved to September 1.


Yea, and I don't want it any easier over here in Iowa. Easy hunting and a good population of mature bucks do not mix. I think most of the states with Sept 1 openers have really low numbers of bowhunters, unlike Wisconsin.


If we had a Sept 1 opener I would likely have killed the 160+ 10 pointer that has been hanging around in my food plot 200 yards behind my house on the 2nd. I put the odds of him showing himself in the first week of October like that about 1 in 100.

In most of the areas that have a September opener no one really hunts anyway except a few of us BEASTs... All the rut guys just say stuff like "its to hot out" or "I don't like bugs" I think you would be surprised at how few would actually hunt.
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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby JoeRE » Sat Sep 05, 2015 4:18 am

Good points Dan.
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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Sat Sep 05, 2015 4:19 am

dan wrote:
JoeRE wrote:
BassBoysLLP wrote:
JoeRE wrote:in my opinion our October 1 opener helps more bucks make it to next year, between that and our gun season outside of the rut that is a big part of why Iowa has the reputation it does.


Agreed.

Things get a lot tougher the last week in September. Every extra week earlier helps success IMHO. WI is trending toward an earlier opener. Things are easier with the current opener vs. third weekend in September like years past. I only see things getting easier if moved to September 1.


Yea, and I don't want it any easier over here in Iowa. Easy hunting and a good population of mature bucks do not mix. I think most of the states with Sept 1 openers have really low numbers of bowhunters, unlike Wisconsin.


If we had a Sept 1 opener I would likely have killed the 160+ 10 pointer that has been hanging around in my food plot 200 yards behind my house on the 2nd. I put the odds of him showing himself in the first week of October like that about 1 in 100.

In most of the areas that have a September opener no one really hunts anyway except a few of us BEASTs... All the rut guys just say stuff like "its to hot out" or "I don't like bugs" I think you would be surprised at how few would actually hunt.


Maybe...

Only a small percentage of hunters have the stones to kill mature animals any time of the year. I'd argue that it's less than 5% of the hunting population killing 90% of these animals. I know several guys in this 5% that flourish in September but struggle in early/mid October. I'm one of them.

I'm still with JoeRE on this one.

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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby Bigburner » Sat Sep 05, 2015 4:42 am

We open Sept. 1st and you really have to want it to have the urge to be in the 90+ degree heat w/ the heat indexes in the 100's and RH% in the 75+ range but in years where there is one or more limiting factors its stupid not to give it a shot if you have knowledge of a shooter in the area. We've had a month plus without rain and I hit a nice isolated water hole on 9/2. I didn't see want I wanted to see but I sure saw some deer and coons and skunks and everything else that was thirsty. So In situations like that I'm on it everytime. I almost always hit the water the first few weeks and have had some steller encounters over the years. Killed a mess of does as well. I hadn't seen much glassing the week up to the season and I think the full moon had an influence over this. Plus the early beans are yellowing out and a mess of corn has been cut the last two weeks. This usually isn't happening until Oct. and no acorns to speak of this year. So, things have been turned on end a little and Its easy to loose track. But overall the lack of hunters is really consistent. I've only ever killed one velvet buck but even then its a good time to get on some does especially if you are trying to help out a farmer who lets you hunt. You can slay them and it doesn't have a whole lot of effect on when pre-rut and rut start to heat up. b/c you can stay far away from the bedding and still have movement @ 4pm. Don't get me wrong having your clothes completely saturated in sweat and knowing that you're completely stinking up the place is no fun plus by the time you get your stand set you're just happy you didn't pass out form heat prostration. The ticks suck and gutting and getting the deer back out of the woods sucks, but it's paradise non-the-less.
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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby mheichelbech » Sat Sep 05, 2015 1:23 pm

For me there are 2 big issues in hot September weather, the meat keeping if you don't find it and get it dressed pretty quick and for bucks, And it's just my opinion but I don't think the racks are all that attractive In velvet...especially if it's in the shedding process.

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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby kurt » Sat Sep 05, 2015 2:46 pm

I would love a Sept. 1st opener in Wi. This would give you a couple weeks vs. days to get right wind/conditions on a early season pattern.

I've shot my biggest deer to date in early oct. Though.

I've already seen signs of yellow in a couple bean fields

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Re: Early season hunting strategy, and success rate

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Sat Sep 05, 2015 3:04 pm

One thing I will add is it gets tougher earlier in some parts. When I spent a lot of time in Ontario it seemed like pattern shifted in mid september. In northern WI, it seems like late September. Southern WI early October. I don't have enough experience south of WI to comment the changes farther south.

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