Deer love cold fronts, and, not surprisingly, so do bowhunters. The first North winds of late September or early October bring cooler temperatures and reduced humidity, which can create great opportunities for early-season deer hunting success.
However, Mother Nature doesn’t care about what bowhunters want. So, what is the best way to kill your target buck when temperatures are above normal?
We asked some of the best deer hunters we know for their tips on warm-weather deer hunting. Here’s what they said.
Key In On Water Sources
This seems obvious, but it’s at the top of the list for a reason. By the time most deer hunting seasons open, whitetails have shed their thin, red summer coats, and their thick, gray fall fur is starting to grow in.
When it’s hot outside, deer are hot too. Which makes water sources a great place to start for warm-weather hunting.
Man-made water holes adjacent to evening food sources or near bedding areas make for a great ambush spot. After bedding in the shade all day, whitetails will often stop in for a quick drink before proceeding to their feeding location for the night.
Hunt The Shaded Field Edges
As a parent of young children heavily involved in youth sports, I spend a lot of time outdoors all summer. The importance of shade to your level of comfort cannot be underestimated. In many ways, deer are no different than we are.
Green food sources such as hay, alfalfa, or clover are great spots for early-season deer hunting. As the sun sets and the shadows grow longer, deer tend to feed in areas that are shaded by the adjacent forest or other terrain features.
Setting up in those shaded areas not only offers you some relief from the sun but can up your odds of tagging and early-season buck.
Be Prepared For Low Light Shooting
Mature bucks tend to move later in the day when it’s hot out, and for good reason. If you had all the time in the world why would you get up and wander around when it’s hot and sunny if you could just wait until the sun went down?
For this reason, early-season bowhunters need to be prepared for low-light and last-minute shots. Selecting a sight with bright fiber optic pins is a must, and using a large 3/16” or ¼” peep will offer a distinct advantage as well.
If it’s legal in your state, a sight light is never a bad idea. The last few minutes of legal shooting time tend to be darker during early season when the leaves are stil on the trees, and if you can’t see your pins you certainly can’t shoot accurately.
Get Close To Bedding Areas
If you aren’t fortunate enough to have an active food or water source to hunt during warm weather, getting as close as possible to the bedding area is your next best option.
You may only have a few minutes of legal hunting time remaining when your target buck gets up from his bed and begins to move toward food or water.
You probably won’t get a shot at him if you’re not within his comfort zone already.
As always, hunting bedding areas in the evenings increases the risk of bumping or spooking deer. If you guess wrong and push in too close, your hunt could be over before it starts.
However, as Thomas Jefferson once said, with great risk comes great reward.
Acorns For The Win
Many early-season bowhunters key it on man-made food sources like hay, soybeans, or green food plots. While these are obvious choices and great places to see deer, never underestimate the power of acorns.
Finding a white oak that’s dropping acorns and has fresh deer sign around it may be the equivalent of hitting the early-season deer hunting lottery.
If given the choice between a lush, green clover food plot or an oak raining acorns, I’m taking the oak 10 out of 10 times.
As a bonus, hunting over acorns usually means being in the timber and under the canopy of leaves shading you from the sun.
Staying Cool During Hot Weather Hunts
Let’s face it, hunting when it’s hot outside sucks. It can be a dreadful, uncomfortable experience, but you can’t fill your tag from your air-conditioned living room so we go anyways.
Here are a few tips I’ve learned to help make hunting in warm temperatures a little less miserable.
Bring more water than you think you’ll need.
Another valuable lesson learned thanks to youth sports. You can never have too much water. Hydrate early and often.
Get there early.
It may seem counterintuitive to spend any more time in the heat than you need to, but showing up early allows you to move slowly and take your time. If you can avoid overheating yourself on the way in, you’ll have a more comfortable hunt.
Bring an extra shirt.
I learned this last year hunting in near-100-degree temperatures during the early season in Kentucky.
After a one-mile walk through an open bean field in the scorching sun, followed by hanging my climbing sticks, saddle platform, and camera gear, I was soaked. Having a dry shirt in my bag to change into was a lifesaver.
Avoid facing West
I know it’s not always an option, but if I can set up in a tree that doesn’t directly expose me to the afternoon sun as it sets, I do it.
Fortunately, I hunt from a saddle quite a bit, and being able to rotate around the tree to use it as a sunblocker has saved me on more than one occasion.
Have a recovery plan.
When these early-season bowhunting tips work and you shoot your target buck, make sure you have a recovery plan and your kill kit handy.
Warm temperatures mean you need to recover your animal quickly, clean it out and hang it up, or put it into a cooler to avoid meat spoilage.
If you’re using a processor, know when it is open and closed and have a contingency plan if you can’t make it there in time.
Enjoy it!
Although it may not be the most comfortable hunting, it’s still hunting!
Enjoy every minute in the woods, and never take it for granted, even if you’re seemingly melting in the sun. After all, in a few short weeks, you’ll be stocking up on hand warmers and batteries for your heated apparel, wishing for those warm early-season afternoons.
