If you have done your homework in the off-season....

If you have done your homework in the off-season, why wouldn't one take off the first week of bowhunting season?

If you know where 4-5 different bucks bed or have a pretty good idea of their movement pattern, then why not take off the first week of bowhunting season in early October instead of waiting until late October/early November?

Anyone on here consistently have more success hunting in late Sept/early October as compared to late Oct/early November?

 

I did that this year Brett and honestly the buck I was after switched off his pattern about 11 days before our opener of September 15. From there on out all I could get was night pictures of him. I did end up taking a buck about the 3rd week of bowseason I believe.

 

Yeah thats how I look at it. I've killed some hawgs from Sept 1 to Oct 20th.. over the years. Often my best chance at a big mature buck is that first week of Sept.. I usually dont start teaching school until after Labor Day. I had my chance this year Sept 6th and blew it on an great buck for here.. mid 150s 6x5 shot right over him.

The rut here is tough with a bow, your dealing with rifle season and big woods deer that are either on lock down or a mile or two away from their home turf. I never take extra time off during Nov here to bowhunt .. I like early and late season better for the kind (targeting a few particular bucks) of whitetail bowhunting I do here.

 

With the pressure that the properties I hunt I have started doing just that. I'll take a few days off at the beginning of the season to try my luck before the deer adjust to the pressure and then hunt when I can until I take some time off for the rut. It worked out for me this year. Our opener was on October 3rd and I shot my buck on October 8th.

 

Good information gentlemen. I am leaning toward possibly taking the first week of October off of work to bowhunt. But I will only do that if I feel really good about my off-season scouting and such. I have never done it before but hey, I might as well start somewhere.

 

I don't feel my situation lends itself to that type of approach to be succesful on a mature buck, no matter how much "homework" I've done in the offseason. If It did, I would try it more.

 

I saw a ton of more deer in the stand the first 2 weeks of october. I counted 9 deer on one evening sit and they were all within 40 yards of me! mostly does and 1 small fork. hell I dont think I have seen that many deer total for all my sits in the last 4 weeks. I really like the early season!

 

It can be deadly - especially those first couple sits.

But for me it's more about enjoyment...too much risk of Heat, bugs/skeeters, spoiled meat...I want those days off work to count and I just love cooler fall weather, changing/falling leaves...oh, and the increased activity the rut brings

 

I take off the entire hunting season from Mid October (opener) through late December (close). Usually don't miss a single sit unless weather dictates (which would have to be pretty extreme weather to keep me out of the woods). But to your point, I agree. I find them very "patternable" and unpressured in the early season. As good of a chance as first week in November IMHO.

 

In Wis, we have about a week (depending on hunting pressure) to hunt a good buck that is on an evening feeding pattern. Usually, after that (Oct 1st or so), the bucks disperse from their bachelor groups and go to their core areas, many times becoming nocturnal. Also, the pieces of ground that I hunt are so small that I'm lucky if I have 1 good buck bedding on it. Otherwise they are too far from my property to hunt them until the pre-rut.

If I haven't done my homework, I don't hunt much after the first week of the season until about Oct 15th or later.

 

I remember you telling me that Josh. I have scouted and had those seed ticks get all over my body before, thousands of them. It was not fun so I understand.

 

Man even though I almost made it happen on the second day this year I just cant get myself to take vacation that early in the game. My track record is not good enough in the early season to warrent me doing this. Now if I feel that I really have one patterned. maby just maby

 

Let me just say.. that only one time in my life I had a run-in with these nasty little buggers.

My wife helped to pull off nearly 100 of them from my body.. 3 of which were on my unmentionables.

Ya... they would keep me out of the woods too! Not fun!

 

i dont like that my state open archery season on sept 15, it's way to hot, the mosquitoes are killer then and if you shoot a deer it's hard to it from spoiling before the meatlockers open in the morning. i would like vote for a late oct opener :D

 

I get to hunt every day of the season I wish, just not mornings except weekends. My food plot is usually hot from day 1 all the way through the season. Honestly, looking through my journals the last two years, I'm seeing good numbers of deer early in the season, but the big boys aren't being sighted until later in the season even when I've watched some of the bucks on their summer patterns. Since PA's season comes in relatively late, I think many of the bucks at least are a little off their summer patterns.

 

I would do it every year here but the boss believes harvest comes before hunting. He sucks !! I hope for rainy days !!

Tim

 

I would still opt to take vacation during the rut because hunting early season bed to feed patterns is usually a afternoon hunt and I'm sure most people could get out of work early enough to still get in the woods. If the early season doesn't produce then you still have the rut vacation which can be productive all day.

 

I hear you magic. I guess I am trying to establish a goal of a first week buck kill as motivation to really scout and have an in depth game plan come day 1 of next year.

 

It doesn't matter how well I know a bucks pattern if he doesn't move during the day. By the time our Oct 1st season opens the youth hunters have been through the woods as well as increased traffic from bow hunters scouting and hanging stands. This is more than enough to put the 99% of the mature bucks nocturnal. I don't see daylight movement out of them til generally the last week of October if even then. I have found I serve myself better by keeping the pressure low during the early season in hopes they will stick around til the rut begins.

 

Must be nice.