early bow season

[Robhuntandfish]

Whats your take on the early bow season?  I always look forward to it finally opening and getting out, but i mostly dislike it and have hunted it less and less.  Although i have a strategy to hunt the fringe areas for a freezer filler doe so i can concentrate my efforts on a buck in primetime.  I look at the first 2-3 weeks as an oppunity to get that doe but i def dont hunt it hard. I HATE hunting when its 80 degrees.  Just doesnt seem right.  Cant help myself but to hunt the opener and some other cooler days, for all the work and time i put into hunting season.   I am sure some guys have areas they can hunt bucks in a summer pattern, but my hunting spot doesnt get good for bucks til later in the season every year. First extra days off i have scheduled for hunting start 10/23. 

Edited June 30, 2022 by Robhuntandfish

[fasteddie]

I like to be out there for the opener . I am at the age where I want someone with me to help if I get a deer . I don't hunt bucks . I hunt deer for the freezer . Not sure how many more years I can keep doing this as I will be 81 in September . 

[BowmanMike]

I gotta get out just because I can. I also work out any kinks in my climbing and packing system during the first few hunts. I do practice a lot beforehand but it is a little different when you are really hunting.

As far as hunting strategies,I also look for an early doe and will go wherever I think they are feeding. I have enough spots that I don't feel I am burning out anything by popping in once in a while.

If I get a doe permit I will try to fill three tags during bow season and skip gun season altogether,except for a few drives with friends possibly or a weekend at camp in the Adirondacks.  

I get invited every year but haven't been yet because usually I still am trying to get a nice buck with the bow.

I also use the early season as an opportunity to scout with my bow in hand to get ideas about mast crops and things in general.

[Robhuntandfish]

ive got a spot this year that i havent been able to hunt in three years that may get me in the tree more early season.  Usually its a green field and right around Oct 1 the local farmer puts their cows out there, but this year it is a cornfield!  Its a bit of a drive and i can only really hunt it in afternoons and need an eastbound wind.  But it will play into my early season for a doe.  If i can take one there to fill the freezer - which is the #1 goal - then i can work the rest of the season at my regular spot for a buck.  

[Nomad]

I go opening day as I’m a bow Hunter ! Now I generally keep,the hunts limited and mostly mornings .

My thought this year is to take a doe early and can most of her , then wait for the rut mostly . But I do like to keep a presents on the land , park my truck where others can see it , so I’ll go here and there on week ends .

A guy from work bought the house right across from where I park ,and he’s tremendous on keeping an eye on the place ! 
 

 

[Doc]

I have to admit that bow season starts a bit too early for me. I hate battling the bugs. And the excessive heat that usually comes with such an early start. Also, opening up a deer with the heat and the flies all over the place is a bit nasty if you are not super-fast at getting the deer into a cooler real quick.

Besides, the fishing is still good that time of year, and summers are so busy, that I am usually looking for some time along the lakes and creeks.

[Swamp_bucks]

I have to be out just because it’s early. However I try to find a buck that is on a certain pattern that time of year.  I’ve had encounters with some big deer the first 2 weeks just haven’t been able to harvest any.  

[loworange88]

Same as most have said.  I like to get out, but it’s very weather dependent.  I have a spot in the NZ so I do like to take advantage of early muzzleloader as well for that freezer filler.  Again with gas the way it is, I’m more likely to shoot the first deer I see and not be picky.

[GreeneHunter]

As far as being a Bow Hunter goes I'm a Crossbow Hunter and that's it . So no early Bow for me !

[fasteddie]

Just think , October 1st falls on a Saturday this year ! 

[boo711]

I’ll be out on the opener. Maybe the 2nd day because it is a Sunday. I don’t usually hunt much after the opener until the middle of the month. I’m not big on hunting in the heat, although I have done it. I’d still be happy with a 10/15 opening date. 

[moog5050]

Having lost one of my properties, last year I sat out early season (and frankly most of the season) but I did see quality bucks on 3 of the 4 hunts I got out - if I had cleared some vines in front of the scrape or if that big buck took 1-2 more steps - if only.  So I think patience is a virtue if only hunting one small parcel.  Hopefully I actually get out more this year with my personal life starting to settle down but I will be very careful not to burn it out so early season may be field edges only if at all.

[Jeremy K]

I go because it's open but sitting in a stand all sweaty really does take the enjoyment out of it.

[DirtTime]

If we had gotten the last house we looked at, I would have been a half hour from the private land I hunt and a huge tract of state land 20 minutes away in the NZ, I would have sold my bow. The early ML season starts up there the second weekend of October, and I would have been more than happy to sit out those two weeks to be able to use a boom stick.

[Robhuntandfish]

Having lost one of my properties, last year I sat out early season (and frankly most of the season) but I did see quality bucks on 3 of the 4 hunts I got out - if I had cleared some vines in front of the scrape or if that big buck took 1-2 more steps - if only.  So I think patience is a virtue if only hunting one small parcel.  Hopefully I actually get out more this year with my personal life starting to settle down but I will be very careful not to burn it out so early season may be field edges only if at all.

Didn't you drop a beauty on opening day a couple years ago? Was that on your current spot?



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[moog5050]

Just now, Robhuntandfish said:

Didn't you drop a beauty on opening day a couple years ago? Was that on your current spot?



Sent from my motorola edge 5G UW (2021) using Tapatalk
 

He was OK but no its not my current spot.  My place is loaded with does and the bucks tend to show up come later OCT.  I have enough cams that if I had one patterned, I will hunt him.  Otherwise, I will wait for the early rut.

[Robhuntandfish]

He was OK but no its not my current spot.  My place is loaded with does and the bucks tend to show up come later OCT.  I have enough cams that if I had one patterned, I will hunt him.  Otherwise, I will wait for the early rut.

Glad to hear your gonna be able to get out more. Look forward to seeing some pics. Sounds like a good spot to go.

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[G-Man]

Yep its opening day best chance a buck that is on summer pattern and if you get into a buck bachelor group thats still together thats exciting!!  Only morning and evening hunts though  vacation starts mid oct thru till gun.  So it has to be nice buck . Though i will take a big doe early for the freezer off field across street as i have 6 on cam this year with no fawns in tow.

[wolc123]

20 minutes ago, DirtTime said:

If we had gotten the last house we looked at, I would have been a half hour from the private land I hunt and a huge tract of state land 20 minutes away in the NZ, I would have sold my bow. The early ML season starts up there the second weekend of October, and I would have been more than happy to sit out those two weeks to be able to use a boom stick.

That early ML week is definitely my favorite time up in the NZ.  There is usually plenty of color left on the trees, the fishing is always fantastic, and the deer hunting can be good.  That said, I have not seen many bucks up there then, but have done pretty well on does.  It was good to see them open up much more of the Adirondack park for does last year.  An Adirondack doe is the equivalent of a SZ 8-point buck, as far as the satisfaction I get from the harvest. 
 

I have sat out the early SZ bow season since 2014, when they legalized crossbows for the best two weeks to hunt bucks down there.  Prior to that, I did take a few bucks early, including my personal best vertical bow kill on the opener(a 2.5 yr old 7-point).  
 

I am definitely looking forward to the mid-September antlerless gun season this year.  The warm weather didn’t bother me much, for the little bit of that I got to hunt, last year.  Dress appropriately, bring the mosquito repellent, and get the carcass skinned and into the deer fridge ASAP.  I am itching to use my new grinder knife and screen on a fresh mature doe, and my brother in law could really use the grind.  I only used my grinder on one old buck last year.  

[518BowSlayer]

If you have a buck patterned then early season is your best chance at killing him before he starts changing his routine. Early season is a great time to put a few does in the freezer too. I love all of deer season myself. If the season is open and I have a tag and don't have to work... I'm hunting!!!

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[knehrke]

I don't mind the heat...too much...but the bugs get to me. Everything gets compressed for me in September with tree stand work, final mowing, getting the boat put away, and we usually take our vacation in September, that I'm often not completely ready for the season. I always say that I'm going to take a doe for the freezer, but then don't pull the trigger. Honestly, I like MZ for doe anyway. 

But it's tough not to get out there when you have a summer of trail cam pics and big, bloody racks from September starting to get shiny. Season-to-season is a long wait.

[dbHunterNY]

most of our farm is a hay fields that isn't ground we get multiple cuts off each field so it's a giant fawn factory. matriarch doe don't get along with bucks so many bucks pass through as they shift to their fall ranges. I hunt spots early in early season typically only in the evening and that are easy to get to. i use it to catch lingering bachelor groups or larger doe family groups. stick a some doe to fill the freezer early in the process. also check easy to access cams while out. two seasons ago i couldn't get an early doe in range to save my life. i passed a lot of bucks. finally did get a doe in range and it was a crazy rush, so i say why not get out there as long as you can still make it fun.

[greg54]

I go out but if it is hot and buggy I will call it an early day. No fun when its 75-80 F.

[fasteddie]

I don't care to hunt Sundays . I hold that sacred ! Sundays are for Football ! 

[Merlot]

Remember when we had only 15 days before the shotgun opener, but I enjoyed the brief time to cram in some bow hunting, as the activity/movement picked up, then stride into the gun season.

I have hunted a couple times early in October, but the warmth bothered me, plus you got to hustle to take care of the deer. Guys I hunt with drive to NC to deer hunt in that hot September weather. They get deer, but it's too hot for me. To each their own.