If I had to pick my favorite month to hunt “Monster Bucks” it would have to be October! Yeah, you heard right, October, not November. I have had my best luck in October and harvested all of my biggest bucks including all 3 of my 200” deer prior to Halloween. There are a few good reasons for my success during the early season, and I’m going to break them down for you and I’m also going to separate this special month into 3 individual phases over the next few weeks and take a close look at them all. I like to break down the month into: The Opener ( obviously the beginning ), The Lull ( basically after the first week and up to the 20th give or take), and Red October or the last 10 days of the month. During this period here in the midwest, there are a lot of changes going on, almost on a daily basis, with both deer and their habitat. Each phase takes a little different approach and there can be some last minute changes that have to be made in your set ups, but above all else you have to be as sneaky, scent free, and as careful as you possibly can not to blow your cover with a big buck! October can be a great time to kill a monster, but it may be the most difficult too.
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Monster Minute Blog
Understanding “The Change” for Whitetails
Who out there has an eyeball on a big buck already? Trail cam pics? Video? Or have you burned a hole through him with your spotting scope? Is he predictable, doing the same thing every night? Have you had your eye on him all summer, watching him waltz into the local soybean field like he owned it, with such regularity that you could set your watch by his movements? What’s going to happen when he sheds his velvet? The time is drawing near, and there’s a change about to take place. A change that will happen and you better be prepared for it! I see it happen every year and hear the horror stories from guys like you and me that can’t wait for opening day to get here because it’s going to be a slam dunk, then as quick as it gets here, he’s gone! What happened and where did he go?
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Patience, the Name of the Game for Trophy Bucks.
When it comes to hunting Monster Bucks, especially early in the season, patience is the name of the game! They say patience is a virtue, but in this situation it might be better explained that in order to make the best of a difficult situation, we have to understand the circumstances and deal with them accordingly. I believe that when it comes to chasing these big Dominant Bucks, you have to hunt them hard during the rut, but you have to hunt smart early on.
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Bumping Mature Deer on Purpose???
Is it ok to spook a mature whitetail? If you do, what will happen? Will he turn nocturnal or leave the area completely never to return? Is there ever a good time to spook a big buck? All good questions and I wish there was a definitive answer. I don’t believe that if you do happen to jump a big buck from his bed that he will immediately become nocturnal or leave the county entirely! My whole approach to hunting big bucks is all about surprise, stealthy observation, entering and exiting my stands secretively and not letting a big buck know I’m after him.
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Stand Locations for Early Success
If deer season opened up next week, how prepared are you right now? I know, it’s only the first week in July and the opener is 3 months away, but how ready are you? Have you found a buck you are interested in harvesting yet? Do you know where you have the best chance of getting a shot at him once season begins? This is a great time to take inventory and evaluate how ready you are for season, while there’s still time to do something about it! I’m a HUGE believer in the fact that “it’s the little things we do right now to prepare ourselves, that will make the BIGGEST differences later in the year when it will be too late!
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Summers Best Kept Secret for Big Deer
When is the best time to see a Monster buck this time of the year? I’m sure if you are reading this column, you’ve probably been running trail cameras in your hunting area and cruising the roads glassing the bean fields, trying to catch a glimpse of a giant in velvet. I’ll bet some of you have even purchased your moon guides, and you have those special evenings for seeing the big boys highlighted on your calendars! I know I’ve been out on those red evenings and caught a glimpse of some big bone already. The deer in my area are showing some good growth with most racks over half way developed and a few looking like they are almost done. Like I’ve said before though, the only definite when it comes to chasing mature whitetails is “nothing is ever definite” and as much as I believe in the moon guide, there may be some better nights to catch a big buck out in the open, and it has nothing to do with the moon – it has to do with salad dressing!
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Advanced Summer Scouting Tactics
If I had to name just one thing that has increased my success on seeing monster bucks during the daylight hours, whether it’s in season or during summer scouting, it would have to be paying attention to the MOON! I know there are many different opinions about the moon and what impact it has on whitetail deer, and some of you may or may not believe in it depending on your own experiences, but I’m here to tell you it is vitally important to my success! What I’m going to share with you comes from my own personal experiences after following this tactic for the past 16 years, and from 30 years of trial and error and in the field experience from my good friend and the late Jeff Murray.
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Summer Scouting Tips
Although it can be extremely hot and humid during the summer months here in the mid west, the dedicated hunter can accumulate some valuable information from June through September to help him score on a monster whitetail! Last week, I started on the subject of summer scouting and the best locations I’ve found for keeping an eye on local bachelor groups, this week we’ll take a look at the very low impact, two step approach I use to monitor these deer.
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