Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Zack Azar, III

Deer gun season comes in on Saturday, Nov. 22 with a special youth gun season which ran on Nov. 15 through 18. Vince Lombardi said, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” Sounds like he was a deer hunter, because these words certainly apply to this sport. 

Don’t get me wrong; luck plays a big part in harvesting a trophy buck. Being in the right place at the right time is a key ingredient, but through proper preparation, you can help make your own luck. 

One way to pinpoint possible stand sites is with an aerial photo of your hunting property. I downloaded the free version of Google Earth and was actually able to find my hunting property. I zoomed in until I was satisfied with the picture and then printed a copy. 

I studied this photo and made notes of likely stand locations, places that would cause deer to funnel through a particular spot were noted, as well as creeks, inside and outside corners and points of trees extending into a field. These points allow deer to cross from one woodlot to another without being exposed too long. 

Although most terrain features can be seen on aerial photos, you won’t be able to see the deer sign that helps pinpoint exact stand sites. You will need to scout each likely area for signs to find the best ambush locations, but an aerial photo will allow you to pinpoint these areas without having to walk all over your property. 

I’m a firm believer that repeated scouting only serves to stink up the area, and a deer’s best defense is its great sense of smell. That’s why it is a good idea to take your stands and related gear when you head in to find the right spot. 

Bucks prefer to spend time in heavy cover in low areas, like creek bottoms, where they are out of plain view or on a high ridge where they can see anything coming. Mature bucks live in rougher terrain and thicker cover by choice and are simply harder to find.

The average deer needs 8 – 12 pounds of food per day, preferring high quality green forage whenever it is available, including ground plants like honeysuckle and the leaves of certain trees. Hopefully, you planted food plots last month and if so, deer will be feeding on these as well as around feeders. 

This time of the year, deer are in search of acorns, particularly white oak acorns. Look for light colored bark and leaves with rounded lobes. 

If there aren’t white oaks on your property, the deer will be feeding on other varieties of acorns and spend more time feeding than any other endeavor. They usually separate and move about feeding at will. Deer start to feed about 30 minutes before dark or early in the morning, and if food is plentiful, they can fill up in less than an hour.

The early part of the season is for calling deer. We all know that bucks will respond to a variety of calls during the rut, but they will also come to calls this time of the year. You just have to adjust your technique. Early in the pre-rut, a buck will respond to soft grunts, known as contact grunts. 

The sounds give several impressions that a buck is looking for contact with other males, then that the male emitting the sound is doing so in a non-threatening manner. Next, the buck communicates that “everything is okay over here.” 

In the opening stages of the pre-rut, bucks have not yet scented does in estrus and still frequently travel in bachelor groups. This explains why hunters often see several nice bucks together-living in seeming harmony-at this time of the year. Soft contact bleats will also attract deer during the pre-rut. 

I’ve bleated in does as well as bucks during the first month of deer season using a bleat call. The key with calling deer early in the season is to keep the calls soft. Loud, aggressive grunts work during the rut, but not early in the season. 

It doesn’t take deer long to realize that hunting season has arrived. Your best chance of taking a mature buck will be during the first week of the season. After that, the older bucks will become more secretive and much more difficult to hunt, that is, until the onset of the rut in late December. 

Remember, safety first. Always wear a safety harness when hunting from an elevated stand and be sure of your target at all times. If you are going to be hunting alone, let someone know when to expect you back. 

And, if you can, take a young person hunting this fall and introduce them to the outdoors.