Early Bowhunting
#2
Spike
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From:
Defianetly not. do as much bow hunting as you can but when the rut comes then go even more...because the fun thing with bowhunting is you never know when that big buck you've been scouting is gonna be 20 yards broadside.
#3
If ,since it's your first year, you don't mind taking a doe get out there. If your wanting a big buck you might get lucky if your area isn't very pressured, but for the most part you probably wont seea mature buck early on. your best chance at a buck would be between the bedding area and the fields. For a doe I would hunt right on field edges where there is sign of them coming into it. Bucks around here just don't seem to come out until it's just too dark to shoot and my area isn't pressured to bad. I would suggest not passing up a doe your first year, it will still be a good trophy and lasting memory.
#4
Fork Horn
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 143
Likes: 0
From: Little Chute, WI
Opening week is always the best week because there is no pressure.After that it's a judgment call. It depends on the pressure, deer movement and your area. The first week is always the best where i hunt, then it seems like the hunting slows down until pre-rut starts. The season in my area starts Oct.1. I hunt hard for 5 days, and then the deer hunting slows down, so on or about day 6, I slow down my hunting until the end of october. Why? because I hunt 20 acres and don't want to ruin it for the rut. If you have access to large amounts of hunting area and have multiple stands already setup, hunt hard and it will pay off. Do your scouting and hunt your best stand(s) the first week, then go hunt somewhere else or something else, then go back to your best stand(s) during the pre-rut and rut.
#8
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Windham County Ct USA
I hunt on 23 acres of private land and it's all woods, no fields or openings. I just don't really want to stir things up if it's to early. There are some state bow only areas near me but they open up the same time rifle season does. I would have to wait till Nov. 15 for that, I wish you could hunt it the same time as private land starts but you can't. I'm think that I have down the trail they use but there are really no spots for a tree stand. There is some think cover on the ground so I'm hoping to use that as my spot to shot from.I cut out some shooting lanes about 5 different ones. The trees that would of been nice for a treestand were about 55 yds out off the trail and I'm not that good. Should I even chose this spot since I can't shot from a stand or is ground hunting ok?
#9
You can also use natural cover and terrain to your advantage. Last year was my first year bowhunting and I shot a young buck from a chair on a rock cliff about 20 feet up because I don't have a tree stand. Called him in 3rd week of October. This year I'll try for a mature buck but I shot him to break the ice and get my first with a bow. Just try your best with what you have to work with and make sure you know the direction of the wind the days your hunt.


