Why Your Early Season Hunting Should Include a Ground Game

Rather than riding out a bad plan or not hunting altogether, a few adjustments and some in-season scouting can help you find deer during the early season. One of the ways to bust the October lull myth is to get mobile. No, I’m not talking about saddle hunting. Instead of bouncing from tree to tree without any fresh intel, leave the tree saddle in the truck and take to the ground. Sure, you won’t have the vantage point you would at 12 to 15 feet in a tree, and you’ll need to possess a bit more stealth, but adopting a hunting strategy from the ground can help you find success during October.

One of the great things about the first month of deer season is the amount of leaves still on the trees. This provides obvious cover advantages, especially when you hunt from the ground. Most of the woods are still thick, and ground cover can range from river cane and palmetto thickets to any number of saplings and shrubbery.

I once shot a buck hunting from the ground behind a small huckleberry bush. Though evergreen, this huckleberry bush gave just enough cover for me to get a shot off on the buck before he saw me. Luckily, most everything else in the woods this time of year is still green, which makes it easy to draw your bow without being seen if you’re hidden enough.

Most hunters, if they could, would probably fast forward to November 1^st and skip the whole early-season dance. As a hunter in the deep South, I empathize with this sentiment. However, it’s easy to overlook the changes that occur during the month of October and how they affect deer movement and, in turn, deer sightings.

For starters, deer shift their feed patterns during the early part of October. Depending on where you hunt, this might occur later in the month. The year-to-year variance of acorn crops can also throw a wrench in the best of preseason plans. In the middle of a months-long drought? You can bet this will have an effect on deer movement. Constant habitat changes and the fact that the woods are now filled with two-legged predators means the deer are doing their best to survive. They will adapt whether you do or not.

Unless you’re hunting low-pressured deer, you’ll need to modify your approach to keep up with these changes. Hunting from the ground can get you started. You might not have to cover dozens of miles to get into deer, but if you’re struggling to see them or get them in range, it’s time to hit the ground. Start by scouting (with your bow in hand) for fresh sign. Look for white oaks dropping this time of year. It can be a low-hanging fruit if your goal is to just find deer. If you find a tree with a ton of fresh deer droppings, take advantage of it while it’s hot. If the sign looks like it’s over a week old, look for more recent sign.

Scrapes and rubs might not be heating up just yet, so don’t forget about the importance of fresh tracks, especially this time of year. Deer haven’t gone into rut mode at this point and can be mostly predictable. If you find fresh tracks along a trail to an area with feeding sign, it might not hurt to spend some time there if the conditions allow.

When you’re scouting on the fly and trying to stay stealthy, hunting from the ground can minimize your presence. Instead of trying to hang a set, construct a natural ground blind or tuck into some cover. You might feel vulnerable the first few times you hunt from the ground, and it’ll probably require a few learning curves to figure out what you can get away with. However, it can give you more opportunities once you add this strategy to your tool belt. There won’t always be spots where you can climb a tree. If you don’t see hunting from the ground as a viable option, you might be doing yourself a disservice.

Hunting from the ground might seem like it limits your opportunities, but this is hardly the case. Sure, you might be able to get away with more from a tree saddle or stand, but having a ground game will make it second nature when it’s time to make a change.

Feature image via Adobe Stock.