Im from eastern Oklahoma, all my life i have been hunting very thick and rough terrain. Giant oak woods and thorn patches. My question is.. Every year when October rolls around i have so much trouble finding the deer. its not until around November rolls around when the rut is in full swing that i start seeing the bucks. Anyone have any ideas to how i can capitalize on early season bucks. or at least get a head start on them.?
Food, Water, Shelter. If it's hot and dry find water. Key in on what is the least available and that will be a pinch point for you. Post up some Aerial photos and topos and the guys here will be able to help you more.
Setup on those oak ridges... Acorns, especially white oaks, are prime food when they start falling the first few weeks after October 1
Acorns acorns acorns. Find the limited resource in your area and hunt it,example;if your having a drought right now then obviously water is limited so hunting over ponds/creeks can be productive. As far as not seeing bucks until November,well that's mostly normal as some bucks are nocturnal until the rut kicks in.
If you have acorns, hunt them in the evening and stay on the fringe of them in the morning. It's near to impossible to enter the acorns in the morning without eventually bumping your bucks out. If you ever hunt the Cherokee Wildlife Management Area, shoot me a message and I'll point you in a good direction!
Good advice above. Food sources are key for early season hunts. Also you have to consider what area you have access. I only have 20 acres to hunt. In those 20 acres there are doe bedding areas but no buck bedding areas. Results are bucks don't show till rut kicks in. This year I changed that. I was allowed to plant several food plots and as a result I am seeing bucks now in the early mornings. But across have just started to drop so I expect some of that to decline as a result. Bottom line if they are not normally there during that time you might have to wait till they start wandering. Alternatively you can try making the habitat more attractive, such as creating bedding areas that are favorable and solid food and water sources. That will help as well. Good luck.
