Focusing on opening week more than the rut......

[James]

Interesting article, thanks for posting.

I think the early season is feast or famine depending on the weather...but all times of the year are sort of that way. The proof is in the results from past years. Bowhunters had awesome early season success in Wisconsin and other september openers last year (2014) with the massive cold front that rolled through on the opener...in September 2013 and 2012 as I recall there was less success because the weather was a lot warmer. I remember in 2012 tons of big bucks were shot in October because every week we got a massive cold front all month long. No one talked about an October lull in 2012 in the midwest...

We target preferred bedding and all that but looking at stuff like this puts things into perspective.

In the marshes I have had good success during the first few weekends of September when it has been very warm. My last two September bucks were both shot on near 80 degree days. They sure do not move too far before dark though, but they are oh so predictable and huntable.

[Stanley]

Interesting article, thanks for posting.

I think the early season is feast or famine depending on the weather...but all times of the year are sort of that way. The proof is in the results from past years. Bowhunters had awesome early season success in Wisconsin and other september openers last year (2014) with the massive cold front that rolled through on the opener...in September 2013 and 2012 as I recall there was less success because the weather was a lot warmer. I remember in 2012 tons of big bucks were shot in October because every week we got a massive cold front all month long. No one talked about an October lull in 2012 in the midwest...

We target preferred bedding and all that but looking at stuff like this puts things into perspective.

I think this post really describes that nothing works all the time every time. If we get hung up on early season and the weather is 90 degrees I would suspect early season success could not be written about, "as the time to go". I have hunted early season in 90 degrees. I honestly think staying home and watching football would be a better option. You would save your time, energy, enthusiasm, and resources for better days to come.

[dan]

Interesting article, thanks for posting.

I think the early season is feast or famine depending on the weather...but all times of the year are sort of that way. The proof is in the results from past years. Bowhunters had awesome early season success in Wisconsin and other september openers last year (2014) with the massive cold front that rolled through on the opener...in September 2013 and 2012 as I recall there was less success because the weather was a lot warmer. I remember in 2012 tons of big bucks were shot in October because every week we got a massive cold front all month long. No one talked about an October lull in 2012 in the midwest...

We target preferred bedding and all that but looking at stuff like this puts things into perspective.

In the marshes I have had good success during the first few weekends of September when it has been very warm. My last two September bucks were both shot on near 80 degree days. They sure do not move too far before dark though, but they are oh so predictable and huntable.

I agree, and I have had pretty good success in hills and farm country in hot early season weather too... I don't think your going to see it in the majority of hunters though, most guys are either one dimensional and hunt the same stands / situations regardless of the weather, or they stay home and say "to hot" But, I have done quite well by targeting water near beds, or low cool shaded areas.

[JoeRE]

Interesting article, thanks for posting.

I think the early season is feast or famine depending on the weather...but all times of the year are sort of that way. The proof is in the results from past years. Bowhunters had awesome early season success in Wisconsin and other september openers last year (2014) with the massive cold front that rolled through on the opener...in September 2013 and 2012 as I recall there was less success because the weather was a lot warmer. I remember in 2012 tons of big bucks were shot in October because every week we got a massive cold front all month long. No one talked about an October lull in 2012 in the midwest...

We target preferred bedding and all that but looking at stuff like this puts things into perspective.

In the marshes I have had good success during the first few weekends of September when it has been very warm. My last two September bucks were both shot on near 80 degree days. They sure do not move too far before dark though, but they are oh so predictable and huntable.

I agree, and I have had pretty good success in hills and farm country in hot early season weather too... I don't think your going to see it in the majority of hunters though, most guys are either one dimensional and hunt the same stands / situations regardless of the weather, or they stay home and say "to hot" But, I have done quite well by targeting water near beds, or low cool shaded areas.

Very true...in every situation there are things to improve your odds. To me that is what "beast" hunting is in a nutshell.

[KLEMZ]

I agree, and I have had pretty good success in hills and farm country in hot early season weather too... I don't think your going to see it in the majority of hunters though, most guys are either one dimensional and hunt the same stands / situations regardless of the weather, or they stay home and say "to hot" But, I have done quite well by targeting water near beds, or low cool shaded areas.

This statement caught my interest. I have several areas to hunt that the bucks are bedding deep in a sea of tamaracks. It seems that when it comes to tamarack swamps, the bigger (shade producing) trees are on the highest ground, so it is no coincidence that this is where the bucks are bedding! My stand sets are also in the tamaracks. I was planning to hunt these areas after pheasant season started (mid October), figuring pressure pushes them back into the remote tamaracks. Maybe I need to rethink WHEN I hunt these areas. I can't imagine a cooler place to spend a hot early fall day bedded in my area than under a stand of mature, shade producing tamarack trees...if I were a deer!

[mainebowhunter]

Great article. Interesting age class did not appear to be affected differently by hunting pressure.

[Dan T]

Very interesting and informative read! It's quite clear that hunting pressure has a negative effect on deer movement, but one piece of info the article didn't mention that I would be curious to know, is what time of day the food plot visits were? not just daylight or dark. I'm curious of the actual time they came, because as the season progresses the amount of daylight decreases and we experience the time change. For example; in September or early October if a deer were to visit a food plot at say 6:30pm-7:00pm that visit would be in the daylight, if a buck were to keep on that schedule uninterrupted, a visit at that same hour a month later in November it would be after dark. My dog has a ridiculous biologic clock and by 5pm if I home he's wants his dinner, during the summer he get's his dinner in the daylight, in the winter he gets his dinner in the dark. I'm 100% certain knowing this would have no change on the conclusion of the study, but I would be curious to know of the increased movement after dark how much does photo period (hours of day light/day) translate to these food plot visits being in the dark as well as hunting pressure? I hope I got my point of curiosity across without being too confusing.

[RDubs44]

1st time sits and mobility!

[JusPassinThru]

Thanks for the bump, great article! Really hammers home about needing to be mobile and not falling into a pattern. That is something I am going to change this year. Last year a sat one of my favorite spots 3-4 times and I could literally see the deer patterning me. I had deer stopping from a distance and examining the area and looking up into the tree before they felt it was safe to proceed. Or they would swoop around me and bust me downwind. After that it really hit home to me that I was being lazy and the deer were patterning me. Two days later I decided to go into an area for the first time that wasn't hunted in 2 years. I setup on the leeward side of the ridge at the top of a draw where I expected the deer to travel through. About 15 minutes before closing time I tagged my biggest buck with a bow to date you bet I'm going completely mobile this year.

[Josh03]

My best bucks have come when I still had a buck on a feeding pattern in early October and a cold front came through. Ive never had much luck with big deer during the rut on my property.

[tgreeno]

I have also had better luck during the first month of the season then during the rut! The rut is usually a crap shoot for me.

[<DK>]

BUMP

"Researchers examined the probability of a buck entering a given “harvest zone” before and after a hunt at that stand. If the stand had not been hunted in the previous five days, deer seemed to be attracted to the stand site (most stands were set over food plots and feeders that would naturally attract deer). Once a stand was hunted, avoidance began immediately and lasted on average for three days. By the fourth and fifth days, avoidance was no longer statistically significant, but attraction had not returned to previous levels."

[tgreeno]

BUMP

"Researchers examined the probability of a buck entering a given “harvest zone” before and after a hunt at that stand. If the stand had not been hunted in the previous five days, deer seemed to be attracted to the stand site (most stands were set over food plots and feeders that would naturally attract deer). Once a stand was hunted, avoidance began immediately and lasted on average for three days. By the fourth and fifth days, avoidance was no longer statistically significant, but attraction had not returned to previous levels."

How was it hunted? Did they walk thru the food plot? Did they hunt the wind? Did there entrance & exit path cross any trails? Were they busted leaving their stands that night?

I see the statistical theory here. But without the details of the hunt, It's hard to know how "real world" the stats are.

[<DK>]

BUMP

"Researchers examined the probability of a buck entering a given “harvest zone” before and after a hunt at that stand. If the stand had not been hunted in the previous five days, deer seemed to be attracted to the stand site (most stands were set over food plots and feeders that would naturally attract deer). Once a stand was hunted, avoidance began immediately and lasted on average for three days. By the fourth and fifth days, avoidance was no longer statistically significant, but attraction had not returned to previous levels."

How was it hunted? Did they walk thru the food plot? Did they hunt the wind? Did there entrance & exit path cross any trails? Were they busted leaving their stands that night?

I see the statistical theory here. But without the details of the hunt, It's hard to know how "real world" the stats are.

Agreed, more details would be nice and more older deer tracked. I am sure they did walk through the plot, probably hunted w the wind into the plot and im sure that is a YES to both the last things you mentioned. They do talk about the forest workers dropping each hunter off to walk in - recorded locations, dates and times to judge these results better. The bucks actually INCREASED their usage of the plots, but daylight showing PLUMMETED. Baiting sites declined in both categories though! Fascinating...

[Boogieman1]

From a down south view we are about a month behind u guys, in low pressured areas a hidden alfalfa field was pretty easy Pickens in my early years. Crop rotation has changed and I have my best early season luck in a isolated persimmon tree close to bedding these days. But in all honesty the sounds and smells of the rut bring me the most joy. I luv a swole neck toad with his tongue hanging out