John Deer

Hunting early is tough. I rarely see the mature bucks during this time of the year (during daylight hours). In the early season, I've found that the closer you can get to their bedding areas without spooking them, the better your chances of seeing them on their feet with shooting light left. Morning hunts seem to be more difficult than evening hunts for me. Bythe time the sun comes up the deer (for the most part) are back safely bedded down. Somestands I won't hunt in the mornings during the early season because I can't get to them without spooking the deer that are heading back to bed. I will only hunt these stands on evening sits so I know the bucks are bedded and I can access my stand without alerting them. Then it's just a matter of being close enough to their beds and hoping that the bucks get on their feet before dark. I've screwed up a few good spots by alerting deer to my presence while trying to make my way to the stand at the same time the deer are trying to make their way to the bedding area. So, find the bedding areas, find the food, put your stand between them as close to the bedding area as you can, don't hunt them in the mornings unless your sure that you won't bump deer on your way in, and make sure you've got the right wind. This is how I huntthe early season and It's been pretty productive for me. I know alot of you guys do this same thing, but I thought I'd post this to give any of you who haven'thad muchluck duringthe early seasonsomething to try that might help you have some success.