Troy Basso
In the mid-south we are all well into Archery season preparation for America's most pursued big game animal, the white-tailed Deer. Most states enjoy a long archery season, sometimes nearly 2-months. However Bow hunting these early season deer is a different game, than the more traditional gun hunting seasons, as the rut had not started yet. So how does one effectively hunt early season whitetails? Well one must understand what drives a deer in the early season, and that would be their stomachs.
The first step is to determine what the deer are eating, as food drives movement in the early parts of the archery season. Food sources will change 2-3 times before the rut. So the early season bow hunter must not only understand the local food sources, but be able to pivot both strategies and stand locations in order to see success.
Hunting Agricultural Crops
Generally speaking in late September and early October deer are keyed in on agricultural crops. Deer travel from bedding areas to feeding and watering areas with a surprising amount of predictability. Once you determine the travel corridors a good ambush point is not hard to set up. This time of the season is where hunting defined edges is very productive. Deer will use edges, think fence rows, treelines, and ditches that have not been cleaned out, to get from the bedding area to the crop fields. These travel corridors offer a modicum of safety while moving between feeding areas. Even a hard line of trees will become a travel corridor if it offers concealment and an easy get away for the deer.
In late September bean fields are the high value areas. A week or two later we will see a defined move to the cornfields, this should continue for a 2-3 week period. Once the harvest season gets into full swing the deer will start to feed later and later, especially in crop fields adjacent to more urban settings. This should continue until the crops are harvested.
Acorns: The Porthouse of Food Sources
I shoot a Wednesday night indoor archery league all year, to stay sharp. Late October last season I overheard a young gentleman say “ I lost all my deer and have not seen anything in a week”. He was depressed and thought someone was baiting on an adjacent property and had pulled all of “his” deer away.
The reality was the food pattern had simply shifted from agricultural crops to acorns and persimmons. To be a successful early season bowhunter one must understand that when acorns start falling the diet of a whitetail will shift from crops to acorns, and persimmons if your area has them. If acorns are a steak to a deer then persimmons are a fabulous dessert. Having a stand near woods with plenty of oak trees is paramount to continued success prior to the rut.
During mid season I tend to move from my ladder stands on edges and travel corridors to a more mobile set up. A climbing tree stand will put you in the acorn hunting game. As the different species of acorns begin to fall the deer will move around woodlots to feed. An entire article can be dedicated to the different acorn species in the mid-south but the holy grail of acorns are the white oaks. Once those start hitting the forest floor it's time to use a climbing stand and stay close to those trees. This is where you will find deer through the rut. They will gorge themselves on the high protein acorns until the credding instinct kicks in.
Read More: Archery Practice that Pays off in the Field
Bowhunting during the acorn phase of the fall can be a challenge because different acorns fall at different times. Normally the Chinquapin oaks start falling first in middle to late September, These will start pulling deer from the agriculture fields to the woods. In late September/early October the White oaks will begin to fall, at this point is when you will see deer make the big move to the woods. After that the red oaks will start falling in late October. All of the red pack species are high in Tannis, it makes them bitter and less desirable. Historically the deer won't shift to the red oaks until the white oaks are gone. There is a theory that red oaks have to set through some rains so that the water can leach the bitterness out of them before they are a preferred food source.
Mid season success for a bowhunter can hinge upon their ability to stay mobile. Being able to move between stands of different oak trees is the difference between seeing deer and being close enough to harvest a deer. One may have to move as little as 50 feet or as much as a hundred yards in order to make an effective archery shot. Remember not all trees drop at the same time so one oak tree may be dropping acorns whereas another is not ready yet, hence the ability to move a stand location is crucial when hunting hardwoods. This is also key in years with excessive rain. Acorns are subject to rot and mold, as is any food in a high humidity environment. At times a certain group of trees may have acorns that rot before they fall and the deer wont key on them.
Hunting over Persimmons: The Fanciest Dessert in the South
While all the Acorn madness is in full swing there is another food source just waiting to mature, and at times cause a need to move your stand for the short term. That is the sweet fruit of the persimmon tree. Once these start hitting the forest floor they become a primary food source, only for a short time but they are the one tree I want to know the exact locations of. In the Mid South this delicacy matures around mid October and starts falling shortly after. A good first frost will accelerate this process. If there was ever a place I want a stand it's near a persimmon tree that's dropping fruit. Many bowhunters never see the fruit as it's consumed as fast as it can fall. This makes a persimmon that's producing fruit a very high value, and unfortunately short lived, key food source for a bow hunter. One more thing on persimmons is that all fruit is not created equal. Look for large orange fruit that is soft because it's a ripe and tasty fruit. Unripe fruit is like an acorn, high in tannin and very bitter. Unripe fruit will appear yellow and be very firm.
Success Means Hunting a Deer's Diet
To have constant, and repeatable success in the early season the prudent bowhunter must have a keen understanding of their local food sources. Crops, acorns, and persimmons are the things that cause deer movement to suddenly change. A hunter's ability to move with these changes will, in most years, determine their level of success.
Hunt smart, safe, and always wear a safety harness!
