Two years ago during a summer scouting trip, I knocked a few bucks off their beds. Weather and habitat conditions then were similar to those we typically see at the beginning of the archery season.
The early morning was scorching, soggy, and the temperature was in the 70s. My first goal was to find the exact spot where the biggest villain lay.
Indeed, it was located in a place that many bucks seem to prefer. The deadly waterfall that arched over a low point in the terrain created the perfect place for the whitetail to crouch safely and comfortably. There was great sunshade above and the air was cooler there than the surrounding area.
Fast forward to September 1 this year in North Dakota. I was placed in a tree 20 meters from this particular bed. About two hours after first featherlight, a buck passed in front of me and roosted in this exact spot. (Watch the video of the dollar below.)
It was a nice deer, but I wasn’t quite ready for the end of the season. Instead of shooting, I watched him get into bed and lie there for several hours. Finally he stood up and slowly grazed on the green vegetation until he was out of sight.
It was a fun encounter that showed what ideal conditions are for a morning hunt early in the archery season. A day later, a doe and two fawns fed by me for a few minutes during another morning hunt in similar terrain.
There seems to be an unwritten rule in whitetail hunting that you don’t hunt in the morning early in the season. This mainly involves vast expenses. The idea is that you won’t put a buck back in the bed, and all you can do is put pressure on the deer with your presence.
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This philosophy appears to continue into mid-October as well. That same morning I saw a buck in North Dakota. A buddy of mine used his spotting scope to observe a huge buck feeding on soybeans an hour after sunrise in South Dakota.
Morning hunting early and mid-season is certainly more complex than during the rut when bucks cover a larger area. But it’s not a lost cause.
You can position yourself to have a chance at deer, including older bucks, during your morning stops by focusing on a few things while hunting them.
Safety areas covered with natural vegetation
The top priority is to find unthreatening areas where deer feel unthreatening to be on their feet during the day.
The best of these areas have natural vegetation where deer can feed comfortably all day long. This may be directly in the litter cover or near a habitat transition where a thicker protective cover meets the shrubs or trees.
These “soft” edges are often much more subtle and harder to see than “hard” edges, such as where the field meets the wood. But gentle edges are great areas to focus attention on throughout the season.
Many times I have seen bucks move in and out of this type of cover, going back and forth from the bedding to feeding right at the edge of the cover. They are never more than one step away from being able to avoid danger if the need arises.
In the example above, the deer are feeding on ragweed and stinging nettle leaves (unless my plant ID app is confusing me).
When examining plants, look for bitten off leaves. Giant ragweed grows to the size of deer in some places, providing both safety and feeding opportunities.
There are areas in forests where the tree canopy is not so broad that sunlight reaches the forest floor. This is where you can often find gentle edges, where lush vegetation grows slightly higher than the surrounding cover.
These edges are great year-round destinations because they provide both mulch and tastier food options in the same area.
Access is key
Once you have identified den sites, successful hunting of them is possible thanks to good access to the area where you are staying.
Is there a terrain feature that allows you to get into the area unnoticed? Sometimes the answer is no, but great access is what truly makes a great location.
Consider how you can enter through the “back door” while the deer are feeding on their primary food source (crops, acorns, etc.) before returning to the bedding area.
I often look for areas of water so I can apply my hip boots, waders, or kayak to get to the tree undetected. This is how I managed to slip into the tree in front of the goat on September 1st.
My kayak was parked right behind me on the river bank, hidden from view. I walked up the bank and it was about 5 meters before I reached the tree I had prepared.
Take your chance in the right conditions
During such a hunt, not everything will go perfectly every time. You hit some deer. You will be stunned by an alert doe. This is hunting. This means you find areas where deer want to hang out, and that’s a good thing.
Stay with it. Your hunt doesn’t have to be ruined by a doe catching you early. Some of the best moves, even early in the season, often occur two or three hours after first featherlight, as deer rise from their first bed of the day to search cover.
