I hunt for deer with firearms in Kansas.  What that means is I do not get to hunt in the primary rut.  The rifle season is held the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving when the rut is largely over, although some years the ‘secondary rut’ has some influence over the deer behavior.  The muzzle loader portion of the season is a week long and is at the last part of September, well before the rut.  Many states are lengthening their seasons providing more early and late hunting opportunities.  While nothing beats the rut for seeing lots of deer movement and getting a chance at that big buck when he is most vulnerable, the early and late seasons can still provide great opportunities for hunting.  There are, however, special considerations for each of these periods that must be accounted for.  Let us look at some of them.

Food

I was told a long time ago by one of the guys on the hunting shows that deer are slaves to two things:  their stomach and their sex drive.  For both early and late season deer hunts you can only rely on the fact they have to eat.  That is true year around.  If you know where they are feeding, you can see the deer. You don’t even need night vision goggles all the time!  The extra heat of the early season may mean the deer just aren’t that anxious to get out into the feeding areas until the sun is down. Similarly, if you hunt where there is a lot of hunting pressure in the late season, the deer may be similarly unwilling to step out into that field until dark. In both cases, setting up inside the timber, along a travel, corridor may be especially important for these times.  In my experience  this is particularly true if your early season involves hot temperatures. 

Early season consideration – Often times there are abundant food options in the early season, making it tough to target the animals.  In addition, the heat often slows the amount of feeding required by the deer. Check out the condition of the food sources in the area you are going to hunt as near to the time you will be there as possible. 

Late season consideration – Generally, the food sources are not as plentiful, and the deer can be targeted better as a result.  A nice winter wheat field or a good food plot can be a magnet at this time of year.  Also, deer need a lot of food during the late season both because they are recovering from the rut (during which bucks often forego food to pursue that other thing they are slaves to) as well as the fact that the colder weather requires them to burn more energy to keep warm.  Some of our northern hunters prefer the late season for this very reason, as the big brutes have to succumb to their need for food, and if you happen to be able to hunt over one of the few remaining good food sources late in the year, you are in good shape. 

Cover

Realize that the woods are quite a bit different in September than they are in December.  That shooting lane that is fine when the leaves are all done may not be visible when everything is still green.  Be sure to get to your stands in advance and trim your shooting lanes appropriately.  Late in the season you need to be aware that the stand that looked well hidden when you hung it may now be so open that you stand out as you sit in it.  Any time you hunt a season other than the one you are used to, check out the situation regarding covering.  I have found another issue to contend is that the extra cover of the early season can be hard to track deer in. Often the high growth keeps a good blood trail from ever hitting the ground, so plan on some extra time in recovering your deer. 

Conditions

My first experience hunting the early season was during the youth weekend in Kansas many seasons ago.  My son and I went out one afternoon with the temps in the upper 80’s.  I quickly learned that the weather changed everything.  You need cool clothing to hunt the early season.  As many states have added seasons that begin earlier than ever before, many of us are learning that it is a completely different set of conditions to deal with.  You may also have to contend with the bugs, so investing in a Thermacell should be given serious consideration.  Obviously, late season can bring about the opposite extreme. 

The conditions also impact the deer movement.  In my experience, deer movement is often much more limited to the earliest morning and latest evening hours.  It is my personal observation, and while I have never seen a study on this I suspect it is true, that in the warmer times of the year total deer movement is lower and the deer tends to stick around and ‘mill about’ where they are.  I spent last weekend in my stand with my muzzle loader and watched deer filter in and hang around for extremely long times before moving on.  At no time did I just see a deer walk though the area as if he/she had someplace to go. 

Deer Selection

Consideration should be made ahead of time as to what type of deer you are after, and the time of the season may impact that.  In the early season you have time on your side.  I try to be extra picky early on in the game.  Depending upon your own personal convictions this can vary.  For me, an unused tag from the muzzle loader season can be filled during the regular rifle season.  Whereas I may hold out for a wallhanger in September, by the last weekend in December I am pretty happy with any mature buck with a decent rack. 

Similarly, and this is just my bias, I do not harvest doe in September as I have watched the yearlings still suckling.  We have a special doe only season the beginning of January, and I figure that gives the yearlings an extra 3 months to mature and be ok on their own if I harvest a doe. 

Again, depending on your own preferences and the situation in your area, consider ahead of time what type of deer you want to harvest at which stage of the season.

Hunting Pace

A final consideration is how hard you hunt at different times.  It is tempting to start the season saying you are going to hunt every possible opportunity and be totally single-minded in your pursuit of that deer.  Be careful.  The days are longer and warmer, and you can burn yourself out. Bow hunters have long realized that they need to select an appropriate pace to go about their hunt, as no one wants to burn up all their good will with their spouse, family, boss, and other obligations too early in the season and then not be up for getting out as the season gets closer to the rut!  However, during the late season the days are shorter, and the clock is ticking.  By December I always figure I can push myself a bit more because I can always sleep in come January, right?!

By Miscellaneous Authors

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Comments(1):

1. Good article.

   Seems like we're on the same page, although sometimes I forget to pace myself and think of the season as a whole. Thanks for the reminder.

   Thursday, November 11, 2010 Scott