doetrain

I live in Indiana & our season starts on Oct.1,Kentucky Sep.1. For those of you who have seasons that start in September I have a question about your success this early in the year. It will cost me 190.00 to get an out of state license & permit if I want to hunt a month earlier in KY. For those of you who are from Ky or states in the same area say WV,TN,IL that have the same weather what is it like to hunt this early? What are my chances if I find a good area to hunt,good,not so good or bad. Some insight from you guys would help me decide wether or not to drop the 190.00 or not for an extra month of hunting time. Thanks

salukipv1

Time to take up elk hunting in September

gbrownlee

I hunt Kansas every year in September, although the season doesn't start until September 20th. I plan most of my hunting time around water sources as they have to drink fairly regularly during that time of year. Be prepared to sweat, get eaten by mosquitoes and have short hunts as the deer move very early and very late. All that being said, the deer are pretty predictable and are usually still in bachelors groups, so they can be patterned better than deer in mid Oct-late Nov. I have seen some giants in Kansas in Sept. do the same thing every day, almost as if they were wearing a watch. I missed a 170" deer 2 years ago I had watched for 3 days and he would show up at the water within 15 minutes each day. I also guided my dad on a buck I had seen 4 days in a row who showed up again on the last day of the hunt and my dad shot him. He was a mature deer, 4.5 at least scoring around 150" that acted like he was on the clock as well.

My advice, go to the area you think you might want to hunt around the middle of July to early August. See what kind of movement is going on in the area. If you are going to be in there September 1, they will be on a schedule fairly close to what they are doing in August. If you think you have a good deer patterned, set up cams and buy a license.

GTOHunter

Like GBrownLee mentioned...prepare to sweat and be sure to buy/pack along a ThermaCell to keep the Bugs and Mosquito's away.I like to hunt in Sept. because there is plenty of leaves on the tree's so You have a lot of cover to stay hidden and the Bucks may still be traveling together so your chances are better of getting one,plus your out there early before most Hunters have scared the Deer into going nocturnal.I usually wear a short sleeve camo shirt and try to walk slowly to my stand so I don't sweat a lot,use good scent control always shower with non-scented soap and spray down with scent-killer and your chances for an early Buck or Doe will increase!

KYDeerHunter03

The deer are easier to pattern in September, but its SO hot! As long as you have access to land I would say go for it. Make sure you do alot of scouting and get them deer patterned, oh and like previously said...a Thermacell works wonders

RJPOUTDOORS

September is a great time to hunt bucks. They are still in there feeding pattern making it easier to score. I start scoutting with camera's in July and watching crop fields in August. By the time season is in I can tell you which corner of the field most of the bucks come out of the woods at and which water hole is being hit the most. I have taken a number of deer in the early season. Also you can hunt turkeys during this time also. Good Hunting.

iSnipe

* Feeding Patterns are an advantage
* Bachelor groups abound this time of year
* Water supply can help determine stand placement(s)

If you are going to hunt this time of year, it will pay to scout extra hard to find the bucks that are patternable. If you see some nice bucks in a field while using your binos along a roadside, give up on those because another 1/2 dozen guys are seeing them too. Find open areas where roadside traffic do not have a view. Still, it helps to go back deeper to scout giving more distance between you and the competition.

Everyone and their uncle's cousin sister's brother in law think they will "get the big one" if they can spot one in early season. Besides the shooter, they are the ones you'll have to outsmart as well.

It would be nice to have several shooter bucks lined up because many of them will have their patterns interrupted due to excessive scouting and tromping around of other hunters... that and Murphy's Law.

iSnipe

doetrain

Thanks for all the input everyone,I'm going to check out a couple of private land spots this weekend to see if the Deer are as thick as I've been told by my friends in Kentucky who have given me permission to hunt their land. The areas are surrounded by fresh crop plantings so I should be able to skirt the area and see some tracks in and out of these 40 to 70 acre wooded areas for possible beding spots. Other large wooded tracts are nearby so they should move in and out of these areas to a creek that provides a water source.

southernhtr

Those first two weeks of KY bow are great. The bucks are easy to pattern and most are still in velvet. Most action usually occours in the last hour or so of light. Your best bet is a waterhole near a beanfield or other major food source. Bring your thermacell and plenty of water cause it's Hot!

deerdust

That early in the season can be a good hunt, as long as you have done your homework. As has been stated, know their water holes and possibly hunt these. Crop fields: Early season, try to hunt green soybean fields. If it has been a dry season and the beans are brown, they are less likely to hit them. If the corn is still green and the beans are brown, they will probably be in the corn where you can't hunt. But you may still be able to catch them going to or coming from it. Unless they are staying in it and coming out at night for water. An Alfalfa field is always a good place to hunt early season.