In the early season bucks still concentrate on the food sources. Therefore my number one favourite stand locations are located near food sources. These locations are the most consistent producer and the easiest to identify of all the early season options. Start glassing fields about two weeks before opening day, observe where deer enter the fields and then start from there to look for a suitable stand site inside the woodland.
Ideally, you want to hang the stand a bit back from the field edge in the thicker stuff where bucks hang up until nightfall before they enter the open fields. Bucks feel safe coming out in these hidden spots and will fall into a more consistent pattern than they would where they are more visible.
One thing about bucks on a feeding pattern: they’re sensitive to hunting pressure. If they detect any human presence they’ll completely stop using that particular field, or they’ll use it only after dark. Make every effort to prevent deer from knowing that you’re hunting them for as long as possible.
When the does and small bucks get spooky, their body language will send a message to the mature bucks that they should immediately stop using the field. There’s no rut and no urgency to cause them to ignore danger signs. The bucks have nowhere they absolutely have to be and nothing they absolutely have to do, so they can wait until dark to feed or simply relocate to a different food source with little provocation.
Try to select as many stand locations as possible and then hunt them never more than twice per any given week. The more often you hunt a certain stand chances that deer will be on to you will increase significantly.
Bedding-To-Feeding Bottleneck
If you study the trail systems used by deer during the summer and early fall (prior to the rut) you’ll notice one thing they all have in common: an hourglass shape. The trails spread out and disappear as you get close to the bedding areas and they again fork off (though not as dramatically) into several smaller trails as you get close to the feeding area. That portion in between, the main arteries where the trails tend to come together, are great locations for early season stands. These trail intersections (bottle necks) are hot spots for deer movement.
These spots close to bedding areas present a slightly greater risk of disturbing deer, but it also gives you an advantage. Since the deer will get to this stand earlier in the evening than they will to the edge of the fields, you might be able to catch those bucks that aren’t entering the field until after legal shooting time. I also like this stand because you can get away from it without spooking deer at the end of the hunt because they are all in the fields feeding. In theory, they’re already past you and into the field.
The Bedding Area
Hunting near or in bedding areas are the highest-risk stand locations. The bedding area is the buck’s top sanctuary were he feels absolutely safe. Understandably, if the buck should notice any changes or intrusion in this area he will be gone for good. Of course, you don’t want to hunt the bedding area unless you have already hunted stands along the field edge and the bottleneck to no avail. Bedding areas are always a last ditch effort to kill a large buck.
Unless you already have a stand up, there’s really no gentle way to find and set up this ambush. Therefore it is important that you set bedding area stands up long before the hunting season starts and give the deer plenty time to settle down and forget about the intrusion.
Be careful placing the stand, whenever possible, choose a tree that will carry your scent out over a valley or ravine so there is little chance that the buck will smell you on the final approach. If you can’t find this perfect scenario, at least set up so the wind will blow your scent away from the most likely feeding areas.
Bucks will never be more predictable than they are during the first week of the season, but they’ll also never be more sensitive to hunting pressure. If you approach opening day with a plan, this period can be nearly as productive as the rut. Start at the feeding areas and very carefully work toward the bedding areas. It’s a simple strategy that will keep you in the action for a solid week or two.
0 comments:
Post a Comment