October Deer Hunting: A Comprehensive Guide
In October, you have a great opportunity to go deer hunting. If you are looking for some tips on hunting during this time, then this blog post is just what you need! Read on and find out about all the different things that can help make your trip successful.
Is October the Best Time to Hunt Deer?
Autumn is the time of year when leaves change colors. It’s usually green in summer, but it turns orange, red, yellow, and brown during autumn. The changing climate patterns are responsible for this – during summer days, it’s hot, but in winter, it is cold. For hunters, October has some changes too. Deer start to separate from their groups so they can fight for dominance in November about which buck they want to mate with.
Opening Day Archery Deer Hunting
Bow season starts now. You have to prepare for it by making a food plot, adjusting your Hoyt bow, and seeing where the deer are. Deer are seen on trail cameras or when you go hunting before the season starts. They eat what is easy to find during this time, so they will be looking for food sources at this time of year.
Utilizing Mock Scrapes
Bucks produce scrapes all year round. They are signs that say where the buck lives. They are made to tell other animals that this is a buck’s home. Bucks make scrapes when they want to ask for mates or fight with another deer. Bucks also make these scrapes to get other bucks in the area mad and excited, so they can fight with them.
Location matters in making a scrape because it needs to be near deer paths, entrances, or funnels. Many deer enter and exit from their homes into another part of the forest or field. Bucks also like trees near these places because it is easier for them to fight with another male deer if there are nearby trees to use as barriers against their opponent.
How to Make a Mock Scape?
When hunting deer, wear gloves so your hands aren’t smelly. People can make fake deer scrapings and other things to get the deer in the area to come closer. You can add other things like rocks or sticks for visual clues to lure them in, too.
Early Season Pre-rut Bow Hunting Tactics
Most people need to come out of the heat for a few weeks. Effective moose call advice is to start trawling earlier in the season. Bucks start forming testosterone, and their response rate becomes slower. There is a lot of competition for does in heat, so bring one screamer, two grunting tubes, and one drool-in-a-beat with you when hunting. The other two work well when you are ignoring a call or caller. Setting up a blind call sequence with 2-5 Dope Blatches and some grunts of different lengths or speeds can help too.
Acorns
Foods should be the main aim during October archery hunting. A freshly plowed hayfield or an acorn drop might trigger the feeding frenzy. Finding out is usually done via a speed-scanning operation and looking for deer using observation platforms like those mentioned above to pinpoint where they may be. The nuts are also distinctive. There’s no way of knowing whether there are deer in the soybeans, corn, or other crops unless oak trees drop acorns on the hunting ground. Deer can freely wander about over the summer months due to their closeness to towns and highways.
Frequently Asked Questions About October Deer Hunting
On public land, the greatest time to shoot deer is around October. When the deer are not feeling the pressure, they stay in one place. But when they feel pressured or scared, they go underground for safety or out of sight. Hunting in October is a good time to find them before this happens.
Avoid changes in the weather or deer behavior that happen at Halloween. Don’t think about October as just a slow time of year. Instead, it should be October instead of December.
In mid-October, deer change their habits. They move around more because they are scared. And they eat different things because there is not much food. So they go to places where it is hard for hunters to see them.
Deer will smell something and come to it. You can make fake scrapes or use scents to attract deer near your site. It is the best time of year for hunting them because they are not expecting hunters.
The best place to sleep during the October lull is somewhere close to where you plan to hunt. If you don’t, it will be hard for you to find a mature buck.
Lundy said October is one of the most important months for hunters. This is because it’s the time when bucks are getting ready to mate, and scrapes stay warm. But in November, they will dry out because it is winter, and bucks will find other spots to make their scrapes.
If you see scratches and scabs in the woods, you should carry deer scent while hunting whitetail deer. You can do similar things like making fake scrapes or using scent drags near your stand to attract more deer.
Bucks will change beds often in October. The reason for this is that they want to be safe. They may be moved inside a larger enclosure or even outside to an area with summer-grown ground cover.
Hunting during October-mid October is a good time. You avoid scrapes since the animals are fighting less. The symbols are bucks will still be checking scrapes during December, although not as many as in October.
Some hunting techniques can be very effective because deer are very active in late autumn. Use this method to hunt for them. Deer use a scrape site and its peak activity in early October.
It is easy to call and get lots of money in October. When you call, the buck will come close to see what you are doing. Sometimes it can be difficult to find where the sound came from.
In October, deer change their patterns. They have more hunting pressure, and they change the food sources. The leaves fall off at night, so deer can’t be seen in the dark.
During October, the deer often move bedding to a more spacious area. Sometimes they move to deeper bushes to be protected from the sun. Sometimes the ground cover changes in varying degrees, and the leaves change in a direction where it’s a little too late to be able to remain.
In the early seasons, deer calls are a good choice. Deer hunters say it is best to stay silent in those times and use diligent scouting. But most will not take time if they take deer calls in October or September.
In October, you have to be quiet from time to time. You have to grunt every half hour to try and get a close buck.
In October, bucks often change what they do. They go to where there is less protection, and it might be difficult for them to get food. Sometimes leaves on the ground are too heavy in the winter that they can’t get the best results.
Some people think that it is too early to call. I think that you should start on the first of October, but it is up to you. Rattling antlers is usually done by hunters trying to catch deer during mating season. But don’t worry if they miss out on some days because they are busy hunting for food.
You might miss out on hunting for deer in November. Find some bedding sites where they sleep. You will want to put your hunting stand somewhere near the trails that lead up to the bedding areas. Do not use any of the beds!
Start by making two to four different sounds. Make them for a few seconds, and then stop. Do this every two minutes. A deer will come if they hear the sound of a buck coming or an intruding buck that is calling to the does.
Carry deer scent when you hunt in the woods. The smell and the marks on the trees can help you find your way home. It’s like other bow hunting tips.
If you see the ruts in your property, make sure you keep going. The best times to rattle on whitetails are between sunrise and mid-morning. A buck might get into earshot and get into an investigation.
Start calling by making a bleating sound, then grunting. Repeat this every two hours. Bucks in the fall are looking for another buck but rarely show up.
Although many hunters think that the end of October is too early to start rattling, I do it at the beginning. The antler rattle is usually only used in November. Still, sadly people can miss out on some good moments if they only use it in November.