Early Season Tactics

[Hoosier_Slayer]

How do you guys go about setting up for an early season hunt? Do you like to hunt fresh cut fields of corn/beans, hunt in the timber set up on oak trees hunting over acorns, or stick to the trails?? Just seeing what everyones opinion is to see how it varies from one person to another!

[ManofTheFall]

All of the above. I have stands set up for all those situations. Then I watch my trail cameras and check the wind and make a choice based on that.

[V8Ranger]

Originally Posted by ManofTheFall

All of the above. I have stands set up for all those situations. Then I watch my trail cameras and check the wind and make a choice based on that.

What he said, but I don't have bean fields, and my corn field is only 30' by 60'....

[obsessed bowhunter]

If acorns are falling I would hunt them hard. Find a trail from bedding to the majority of the acorns and your good to go. Not many crops around the area I hunt so couldn't tell you much about that option.

[Krypt Keeper]

I have a couple stands up to pick from. There are two corn fields where I am at and they just got cut a week ago. The crop was basically worthless, have to actually look to find any corn on the ground, probably 75% of the field never produced any ears.

This made me place a stand further away from the field and hope they deer will be munching on acorns and the persimmon tree notto far from my stand.

Also got a stand down near a water source which I hope is pretty good for early hunting as we haven't had any rain in weeks.

[pearsontx4]

i have over 100 stands to pick from but early season i stick to cut corn fields or baited stands or i will sit in the woods on well used trails

[V8Ranger]

Originally Posted by Krypt Keeper

I have a couple stands up to pick from. There are two corn fields where I am at and they just got cut a week ago. The crop was basically worthless, have to actually look to find any corn on the ground, probably 75% of the field never produced any ears.

WOW, that sucks, thats allot of wasted time and money to not get much corn out of it.
The deer will still go out to that field and scrounge around. They will find something out there worth eating. So I wouldn't count that field out just yet.

[Huntdeer25]

I was curiuos as well. New property that I am hunting. 2 overgrown fields that had some old corn in it but mostly golden rod and tall grass. i have been getting tons of pictures ont he trail cams by my stands which are just inside of the field lines on well used trails. Last week the farmer decided to mow and turn the fields leaving some grass exposed but mostly dirt. the number of deer caught on film has decreased by 75% and I have not seen any bucks in the pictures. Any thoughts? I am wondering if the mower and plows just halted their travel routes for a week and things will go back to normal. Any thoughts?

[V8Ranger]

I'm sure they stopped showing up there because the food is gone. Its not because of the mower. If you are getting does, the bucks will show as soon as the rut hits....

[Krypt Keeper]

Originally Posted by V8Ranger

WOW, that sucks, thats allot of wasted time and money to not get much corn out of it.
The deer will still go out to that field and scrounge around. They will find something out there worth eating. So I wouldn't count that field out just yet.

its like that everywhere around me in VA. Buddy of mine who lives next to the property I hunt works for a farmer. Normally he is going full speed hauling corn. They had over 3000 acres of corn this yr. and he wasn't needed. They used a 10 wheeler instead and still took half a day to fill that up. Crop insurance is telling everyone to cut anything they can. One farmer down the road round baled his corn fields to feed to cattle. Never seen that before but guess saving his cattle is more important than cutting a field with little to no corn.

I got one of my stands 40 yards from one field and about 30 from the other so hopefully if they do go to one of them they will pass by me.