Hunting Early Season Whitetails

The early part of the whitetail hunting season can at times be one of the more difficult times to hunt. Deer are shifting their patterns from summer to fall behaviors, and variable scorching hot/crisp and cool weather can make deer movement activity differ day by day. But there are also plenty of perks to hunting September and October (if the season is open in your state). Deer haven’t experienced weeks of hunting pressure at this point, and they’re hitting food sources hard to build fat reserves for winter. Here are some things to consider when it comes to late summer/early fall whitetail behavior.

Shifting home ranges. During the summer, you’ll see bachelor groups of bucks hitting the beans with their velvety antlers pretty consistently. Suddenly, they disappear. There is a time in the late summer when bucks go from their consistent bachelor group feeding and bedding patterns to breaking off into more solitary behaviors.

They establish a stronger dominance hierarchy and are less tolerant of other bucks. Often coinciding with these bachelor group break-ups is the shedding of velvet, which is actually an energetically costly event to bucks. Some bucks will still travel together, but the summer days of big groups in the beans are going, going, gone.

Nocturnal deer. Particularly in highly pressured areas, sensitive deer may turn to more nocturnal behaviors in the early season. They don’t have the rutting drive or intense need for high carbohydrate foods to make daytime activity a necessity yet. Choose your hunting days wisely. Although it’s tempting to want to spend all your time in the woods since it’s deer season, try to strategize here. Overpressuring deer can backfire into nocturnal behaviors and avoidance.

Hot weather is another driver of nocturnal behavior in whitetails. Deer have already started growing their winter undercoats, and being out in the hot sun is uncomfortable. Cooler days will be a better bet for good hunting.

Shifting feeding patterns. In the summer, high protein forage is extremely important for deer. Both lactating does and bucks growing antlers need high quantities of protein in their diets. Soybean leaves provide 25-30% crude protein, while alfalfa provides 16-20%. Clover and other legumes are also great sources of protein.

When soybeans begin turning from green to yellow/brown, their palatability to deer is reduced and deer may shift from beans to other food sources. In the fall, deer move from seeking out high protein foods to high carbohydrate/fat foods, which they will store for winter as fat reserves. This means mast and grains like corn. As soybean palatability goes down and the availability of fall mast crops increases, deer will shift their feeding patterns. Finding acorn-producing white oak trees can be a great spot to hunt early season.

Hunting water sources. If it’s been dry in the late summer months, visiting water is extremely important for deer. Keying in on good water sources that deer use can be a great early season strategy. Creek crossings and isolated, brushy ponds are good places to scout for deer tracks to determine use. Thermals can be tricky hunting water sources, however, with scent swirling or being pulled downwards. This is something to be aware of and incorporate into your setup strategy.

Choose the time of day you hunt wisely. Many whitetail experts will tell you that you’re better off hunting in the evening during the early season. Deer have been bedded all day through the hot weather and are ready to get on their feet and find food during the last hour of daylight. This is a good rule of thumb, but don’t overlook the first cool mornings after a hot spell, especially around the full moon. Deer will be on their feet and activity will last well into the morning.

The early season can be an excellent time to hunt! Deer haven’t experienced intense hunting pressure yet, and the weather is mild for enjoyable sits in the woods. But the early season is also a time of transition in deer behaviors, which can make patterning deer more challenging. The most important takeaway to apply to your hunting strategy is to be flexible and dynamic, just like the deer this time of the year. Changing your game plan with what the deer are doing and paying attention to the resources available to them is a great way to go about early season hunting.

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