4 Late-Summer Tips for Early-Season Success

Hunting season is almost here and there are just a few mop-up chores left to ensure you enter and exit your stands without alerting deer to your presence.

August is a special time for those anticipating the upcoming archery deer season. Some southern states open in August and many mid-west states open around the first week in September. The bucks are all but finished growing antlers, so you know which bucks are shooters.

Camera Surveillance

This is also the time to fine-tune your early-season sets and lay a game plan for early-season success. Use cameras and long-rang surveillance to tweak your sets. Be sure to place cameras and move stands or blinds during the middle of the day when deer are bedded. We’re too close to opening day to risk pushing a mature buck from his core area prior to season. Once you have these sets tweaked, stay out and don’t check cameras. This is where cellular cameras shine. Keep your intrusion completely away from the sets.

Brush-in Blinds

If you’re planning to hunt from a ground blind, get it adjusted and brush it in good; deer need time to get used to ground blinds. They are not like turkeys, normally they come completely unglued if you try to set and hunt unless you can set inside the canopy of something like a cedar tree or brushy plant.

Clear Entry and Exit Trails

Plan your route in and out very carefully; you’ll want to hunt these sets again, so don’t burn them your first sit. For stands you have hung for later in the season, such as pre-rut and rut, now is a good time to clear your entry and exits paths if possible. By clearing, you may want to mow or weed eat a path through tall weeds, trim limbs and underbrush as well as rake leaves out of your path the last 50 yards to your stand or blind. Anything you can do to keep from leaving human odor and eliminating a noisy approach is a positive. Note: this only makes sense if it’s in moderation, and obviously this probably isn’t possible on public land.

Eliminate Scent During Set Up

When tweaking your sets and ground blinds, be sure to use Code Blue’s D/CODE scent-elimination spray to help reduce human odor. Spray the stand including the ladder sticks. This goes for a ground blind, as well. Set the blind up before you head to the woods and thoroughly spray it down. Then re-spray after setting it up and brushing in. You can’t be too careful! Do all you can to ensure you leave the least amount of human odor possible.

Prepping in anticipation of the fast-approaching season can be nearly as fun as a successful hunt. Do it correctly and you’ve increased your odds for a successful early-season hunt.