The Year-Round Hunter in October: It's Archery Season, Whitetail Hunters

This can be a very exciting time of year for archery hunters who are willing to start hunting in the early part of the season.

You've already scouted to find deer hunting land. Now, as we continue our "Year-Round Hunter" series, let's take a look to see how and why October can be both exciting and highly rewarding for hunters. But as with any part of deer season, October can also bring about some very frustrating and difficult challenges to tackle and overcome to be successful. We will talk about those to give you some options for success even when hunting is tough.

October Is Prime Time for the Dedicated Hunter

Early October can really be a great time to harvest a big mature whitetail.

During this time period, the weather is still fairly warm in a lot of the whitetail's range, and deer have not quite broken away from summertime feeding patterns. This can make getting within archery range much easier if you know where deer are coming from and feeding to in the evenings (when most hunting happens due to warm weather).

But if you also have a good morning stand to hunt and you know where deer are feeding at night and going to bed, it is the same concept of knowing the patterns your deer herd is on.

Don't Forget About Does

October can also be a great time to harvest some does off your property before the weather starts to cool and things really start to intensify for the pre-rut and rut in late October and into November.

Harvesting does can bring you a lot of confidence in your shooting abilities by knocking off some of the rust before Mr. Big comes in past your stand. With the early part of the month, though, comes one of the biggest obstacles for deer hunters: weather.

October Hunting Season Cold Fronts Trigger Movement

This time of year can still be brutally hot for some parts of the country with temps climbing well into the 70s, 80s, and in some places even hotter. These temps make it very difficult to hunt due to lots of sweat, which causes body odors that deer can smell. The heat can also cause deer to stay bedded up longer and not come out into fields until nearly dark.

If you are going to hunt this early part of the season, look for those cold snaps. While 70 degrees might be hot if it is coming after a day or two in the 80s or 90s, this is a major cool-down at this time of year. A 70-degree day could very well get those deer up on their feet and into food sources just in enough time to get a shot off on one!

Use HuntCast to continue searching for these types of drops in temperatures, along with WindCast to help you plan around wind direction changes. Two or three days of the same wind, which might be followed by the opposite direction, can also cause deer to change when and where they are coming and going. Be ready for these changes and play it smart; you might get to see the bruiser walking by!

October Whiteail Season is Known for Change

October is also the month that can truly bring about some of the most changes in the entire whitetail season. With the first part of the month being hot, deer are still focused on food-to-bed patterns. Toward the middle of the month, deer are not exactly the easiest to kill due to a week or two transition period for the deer. Then, the weather starts to cool off more and more toward the end of the month, and the pre-rut is coming up, but not here quite yet.

We call this the October Lull.

While you can still kill a deer in this timeframe, lots of hunters shy away from it due to the lack of movement from the deer. However, if you get the chance, you may be able to score big during this time, as fewer hunters are out and about. This means less pressure on the deer, and possibly a big cash-in for you!

Continue to play the weather, temps, and wind. Don't get too careless, even though there are not as many hunters out. Deer will still be cautious.

Put in the time, focus on good bedding sites along with a good food source, and you might just be that hunter in the area who scores big during this generally less productive time frame. 

There's Plenty of Opportunity During the October Bow Hunting Season

If you make it past the lull with still no deer, the back end of the month is where lots of hunters really start to get antsy for what is about to happen during whitetail season.

Temperatures are still declining, and you start to see more and more northerly winds. We are approaching the magical month of November and the rut.

But before that happens, hunters can take advantage of the pre-rut. Bucks know what is about to happen within the next couple of weeks, and they are ready for it!

Now is the time that bucks are going to be scent checking trails more frequently to find that first estrus doe. Scrapes and rubs will be hit harder and more frequently, and bucks will start to spar and establish dominance to get breeding rights to those early does. This makes hunting bucks a lot of fun, as you can now start to pull out lots of different tricks from your tool bag to lure in bucks.

Find a good trail to set up on (by), a frequently visited scrape, or an area with lots of rubs, and you can bet you're going to see deer. The use of deer scents (drags) is also a great idea, as using doe urine or buck urine around your area to entice deer to come into range is a wonderful trick.

The use of calls can also be beneficial. With some low grunts and light rattling, bucks should come looking to see who and what is in their area. They will not want anyone there as does are coming into estrus soon!

Use HuntWise for a Better Archery Season, Whitetail Hunters!

Keep these tips in your back pocket as the bow hunting season is upon us. You may just find yourself sitting behind a nice set of antlers this October!

Good luck, shoot straight, and make sure you have HuntWise. The app's primary features (HuntCast, WindCast, and RutCast) are your guides to buck behavior throughout October (and beyond), where to hunt, and when. Plan better hunts when using these features, along with the app's various map layers and markers to identify feeding and bedding areas and mark them when scouting so you know where to set up later.

Don't have HuntWise yet? Download it today and enjoy your first week free to start planning your October hunt.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

We have answers to questions about archery season, whitetail hunters!

Q: Can you hunt all year with a bow?

A: No. Bowhunting is only legal during designated archery seasons, which vary by state.

Q: Why shouldn't you hunt mornings in October?

A: Morning hunts in early to mid-October can push deer off their feeding-to-bedding patterns, making them harder to hunt later.

Q: Should you grunt in late October?

A: Yes, light grunts can be effective at this time of year, as bucks start seeking does and establishing dominance.

Q: Where do deer go during the day?

A: Most deer bed in thick cover, such as brush, woods, or tall grass, to stay hidden and conserve energy.

Q: How to call a buck in October.

A: Use soft grunts or light rattling. Being too aggressive can spook them before the rut kicks in.

Q: What attracts bucks in October?

A: Food sources (acorns, crops) and the scent of does, since bucks are beginning to check for early estrus.