[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/10-early-season-deer-hunting-commandments\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/10-early-season-deer-hunting-commandments\/","headline":"10 Early Season Deer Hunting Commandments","name":"10 Early Season Deer Hunting Commandments","description":"With a summer full of velvet trail cam pics and bachelor group sightings behind us, the time has finally come...","datePublished":"2015-08-31","dateModified":"2018-06-12","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Velvet-Buck-Shedding-e1440780601558.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Velvet-Buck-Shedding-e1440780601558.jpg","height":618,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/10-early-season-deer-hunting-commandments\/","about":["Hunting"],"wordCount":2285,"keywords":["Hunting","Hunting Strategy","Tips"],"articleBody":"With a summer full of velvet trail cam pics and bachelor group sightings behind us, the time has finally come to channel all of that built up excitement into a strategic plan of attack.\u00a0 Early season is one of the best times to ambush an unsuspecting booner and here\u2019s a list of tips, tactics, and strategies that will help you punch your tag the very first sit of the season.1 – Know Your FoodDuring the early season, action in the deer woods can go from boom to bust overnight.\u00a0 When this happens there are usually two culprits that may be laid to blame \u2013 the hunter or the food.\u00a0 If you hunt it safely, a change in food source is the likely cause. \u00a0Green bean fields are dynamite, but they typically turn yellow during the first few weeks of the season and that change happens fast . . . overnight fast in some cases.\u00a0 Once they turn yellow deer typically seek out other food sources and it\u2019s your job to find which ones.\u00a0 Corn, wheat, radishes, fruit trees, and acorns are all good spots to start looking.An apple tree like this one can be the perfect spot to ambush an early season buck.2 – Control Your OdorsThere are a couple of reasons scent control is so important during the early season.\u00a0 First, it\u2019s hot out and we sweat more when we are in the woods, thus leaving more unfamiliar odors to alert deer, which is why you should be wearing HuntGuard Nanotec Baselayers. \u00a0Second, scent travels further in a warm and humid climate than it does on the cold days of November because it\u2019s more easily dispersed . . . just think about when you microwave or heat up food, what didn\u2019t smell when it was cold now stinks up the whole house. \u00a0Third, what you do now will impact what you see later.\u00a0 Yes, you can destroy your chances of a mature buck in November from what you smell like in September.RELATED:\u00a0Nanotec\u2122- Proven Scent Control3 – Get In and Get Out CleanlyAs mentioned in the previous tip, entry and exit routes are just as, if not more important than choosing the right stand.\u00a0 Take this for example, once you are in your stand you are only blowing your scent cone in one direction provided the wind is constant, in essence affecting a relatively small portion of hunting area.\u00a0 Now, take your walk in, your scent is blowing in the wind for the duration of your walk.\u00a0 If you enter on a crosswind, you are painting the entire downwind side of you as you walk to your stand which could be several hundred yards in some cases.\u00a0 Depending on the layout, this may not be bad if it\u2019s blowing over a steep ravine or plowed field, but if it\u2019s blowing into bedding cover than this is BAD! \u00a0Walking in with the wind in your face is ideal because you are essentially leaving only one stream of scent.That covers the entrance part of the equation for the most part, now for your exit strategy \u2013 sometimes getting out of a stand cleanly can be the most difficult aspect of a hunt. The solution is to get creative!\u00a0 I\u2019ve done everything from having someone drive through a field to pick me up, to firing off a coyote howl from a hidden FoxPro, to building a barricade of brush to screen my escape.\u00a0 It really doesn\u2019t matter, just get out as clean as possible!4\u00a0– Water Their ThirstWater holes are dynamite locations throughout the season, but even more so during warm early season days.\u00a0 Sunken tanks and little secluded ponds seem to be the preferred drinking stations over large bodies of water at least for hunting purposes. \u00a0Deer may feel more comfortable drinking from a small water hole or puddle because they\u00a0can escape faster since they aren\u2019t trapped on one side by a big body of water.\u00a0 Small holes are also much easier to hunt over since you likely know where they will be drinking from.Finding a secluded water source in a place where water is not very prevalent is like finding a gold mine. \u00a0If you can’t find one, make one.RELATED: DIY Water Holes that Work!5 – Patience My FriendThis tip stems off of trail camera intel \u2013 learn which bucks are traveling together.\u00a0 During the first week or two of September, bucks are typically still in their bachelor groups.\u00a0 It won\u2019t be long before their rising testosterone levels have them splitting apart, but you don\u2019t want to make the mistake of letting one fly a tad too early.\u00a0 As Charles Alsheimer explained in the recent blog \u201cBachelor Group Behavior\u201d, multiple mature bucks tend to hang out together during the summer months, thus said, if you let one fly on a good one, you may miss out on a great one.\u00a0 Use your trail cam photos to determine what bucks are traveling together so you know who might be following one another.6 – Acorns Trump AllWhen acorns fall, deer simply abandon all other food sources.\u00a0 Take the time now to glass tree tops to figure out which oaks are holding a bumper crop and set up nearby.\u00a0 Acorn driven deer are hard deer to hunt because they can feed without ever having to travel\u00a0very\u00a0far from their bedroom.\u00a0 Not only this, but if you hunt a forest covered with oaks you’re basically going to have to guess which one they will choose to feed under during any given day.\u00a0 All in all, deer are much more predictable when they are not driven by acorns or if oak trees are sparse in your area.7 – Go a Little DeeperField edges are great for watching deer, but usually tough for killing deer (at least over large fields).\u00a0 For one, you are usually in a race against time because deer typically enter feeding fields the last half hour of daylight.\u00a0 Secondly, once a deer enters a field they typically work towards the center, which leaves you watching and hoping from your field edge hideout that something will bring him back your way.\u00a0 To combat this compounding frustration of \u201cclose calls\u201d move a little deeper into the woods.\u00a0 Find a trail and setup over it 20 – 50 yards off the field edge.\u00a0 Not only will you heighten your chance of a daylight encounter, but you can also get out cleanly once they reach the field . . . that is if you don\u2019t put him down first.8\u00a0– Trail Cams Don\u2019t LieThis is a simple one, if you run trail cameras and you aren\u2019t getting anything but night time photos, chances for early season success are pretty slim.\u00a0 Your best bet is to hold off on hunting regularly so you don\u2019t overpressure an area and mess it up for the rest of fall.\u00a0 Hunt the perimeters if you need to scratch that early season itch.9 – Prep and Plant it RightLocation, location, location.\u00a0 You probably know the saying from real estate talk, but it applies to the deer woods as well.\u00a0 While this is something you likely can\u2019t change any more this season, it\u2019s an important piece to plan for in the future.\u00a0 Hidey hole food plots tucked in cover near adjacent destination feeding fields are superb locations throughout the season, but especially during the early portion as deer are still heading out to feed in the big fields.\u00a0 These hidey hole plots set up as a perfect staging area before they reach the big ag fields and allow for a close shot.Here’s a side by side comparison of two different types of beans planted on the same day separated only by a tree line. \u00a0On the left is a conventional ag bean the farmer planted for maximum pod yield (shorter maturity) and on the right is the forage bean I planted (longer maturity). \u00a0Guess where the deer will be feeding? (Photos were taken the exact same day)Location is key, but only if it\u2019s planted with the right forage.\u00a0 I have two go-to forages for targeting early season bucks:Late maturing forage soybeans \u2013 not only do they provide the most attractive and nutritious forage throughout the entire summer, but they remain green well after the farmer\u2019s fields have ripened and turned yellow. Having the last remaining green soybeans is a huge advantage.Blend of winter wheat, Daikon radishes, and Purple Top turnips \u2013 this all-season blend is great for hidey-holes because you don\u2019t have to worry about it getting wiped clean before the season like you would with a bean plot. You plant it in late summer and can hunt over it in a few weeks\u2019 time \u2013 that’s a quick turnaround!\u00a0 Deer will primarily hit the winter wheat and radish greens early in the season.10 – Know When to HuntMornings or evenings?\u00a0 That\u2019s a question you\u2019ll have to answer yourself. \u00a0 Evenings will be the best time to catch a buck slipping into a food plot or crop field \u2013 for this, setup just inside the timber over a well-used trail, along an inside corner, or overlooking a small food plot.Mornings will be the best time to catch deer slipping back through the timber towards their beds.\u00a0 One word of precaution \u2013 a lot of times deer will bed closer to the food during early season compared to later in the fall.\u00a0 Two reasons . . . for one, it\u2019s hot out and they don\u2019t want to travel as far in their daily commute to food.\u00a0 Secondly, there is still a ton of cover for them to feel secure just about anywhere in the woods.\u00a0 It\u2019s not until temperatures and leaves begin to drop that you will find them going to their \u201cregular\u201d fall bedding areas.\u00a0 This changes the way mornings should be hunted during the early season.\u00a0 Instead of setting up deep within the cover and waiting for them to return, you will likely have to get closer to the edge of food and try to get in without spooking them off the field.\u00a0 For this reason, I favor evening sits early on in the season.RELATED: Mapping Whitetails \u2013 Hunting The Inside CornersConclusionWhile we as deer hunters live for the whitetail rut, there\u2019s no denying the fact that early season is one of the best times to close the deal on a record book buck.\u00a0 Hopefully, some of the above tips and tactics will have you doing just that.\u00a0 Once you DO tag out share your photo with us using #BuckCountry!"},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/10-early-season-deer-hunting-commandments\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"10 Early Season Deer Hunting Commandments"}}]}]