Early Season Whitetail Strategy: How to Shoot a Buck Before November

by Rex Meikle

Early season bow hunting, especially with cool weather in the opening weeks, is hands down one of the most underrated times during the season. While plenty of folks are still finishing up summer projects, or waiting around for November, smart hunters are punching tags.

Capitalize on Unpressured Bucks

The biggest advantage you have during early season is simple: the deer do not know they are being hunted yet. By the time fall gets into full swing, mature bucks have been bumped out of their bedding, shot at, and have intercepted human scent everywhere they turn. This makes them skittish and even nocturnal. Right now, they are still living on a relaxed summer routine of eating, drinking, and sleeping. On top of that, bucks are still hanging out in bachelor groups. Instead of trying to locate a single lone buck roaming miles of territory, you might have three or four bucks step out into a field together. This dramatically increases your chances of spotting a shooter if you know where they are feeding.

Intercept Travel Corridors to Primary Food

Making the most of this early window really comes down to identifying primary food sources and figuring out how the deer travel to and from them. On an evening hunt, you can count on deer heading toward their food right around sunset. You want to slip in at least an hour beforehand, completely settled and downwind. If you’re unfamiliar, playing the wind correctly is the most important factor in hunting deer which live and die by their sense of smell. The wind needs to blow from the deer to you, because if it blows off your back toward them, they will catch your scent and leave the area quickly. Just as importantly, you have to plan an entry path that does not cross any trails they might use on their way to feed. If they cross your path and catch your scent on the ground, that can spook before you even see them.

Blending in and Managing Your Backdrop

When it comes to picking a spot, do not over complicate things. A lot of early season food sources are agricultural fields, and field edges do not always give you great tree options. Sitting on the ground with tall grass, bushes, or brush moving in the breeze actually masks a lot of your subtle movements. Up in a tree, deer are on high alert for large shapes and potential predators, but on the ground, a little movement in the brush often gets written off as a small mammal. I have nothing against hunting in a tree, but you need to make sure to find one with really good cover. The absolute key here is your backdrop. Whatever is directly behind you needs to be thick and close to your back so your silhouette completely blends into the vegetation. If you sit anywhere with light showing through behind you, you will stick out right away. This will also cause any movement you make to be extremely more visible. Most trees and vegetation is quite dense this time of year so use that cover to your advantage. 

Skip the Scents and Rely on Scouting

You can also leave the calls and scents at home for now. Early in the year, deer are not hormonal, so aggressive grunts or doe estrus scents usually just alert local deer that something is off. Success right now relies strictly on solid scouting. Do your homework ahead of time, pattern where target bucks are bedding and feeding, and set up using the wind to your advantage. Getting close to unpressured deer during a cold opening week is an incredible opportunity, and if you play the wind and stay hidden, you might just wrap up your season before most guys even start thinking about theirs.

Good luck out there.

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