Outdoor Columnist Eric Davis

November 15th is just over a week away and success during gun season comes down to being prepared and sometimes having a little luck.

The best strategies can also be the worst if used at the wrong time, so understanding what is going on in the woods can be critical.

Opening day is probably the most anticipated days of the year for many deer hunters. In New York, the peak of the rut spikes in the first two weeks of November so the firearms season opens as bucks are looking for does that are in heat. They might have already bred a doe or two but the small window of the breeding season makes bucks keep looking until they find a doe. You will sometimes hear that you need to hunt the does to shoot a buck. If the deer haven’t been hunted very hard during archery season, they will be a little more relaxed and will be following their “usual” patterns.

Deer will feed until it starts to get light out and then they will make their way back to their bedding area. If you know where they are bedding and what direction they will be returning from feeding, a stand or blind set along this corridor should give you an opportunity to harvest a deer. Be ready for does to have fawns with them or for groups of fawns to be traveling together as they get run off from their mom by bucks who are looking to breed with her. If you are looking to harvest a buck, find a location where you can see the downwind side of the bedding area. Bucks will walk the edge of the bedding area trying to get the scent of a doe in heat. While deer movement may slow down as the morning goes on, hunters will begin to exit the woods to go back to camp to eat and wait until the afternoon sit. If you can wait until noon at least, the exodus of hunters will likely cause deer to move around at all the noise and odor.

Afternoon hunts seem to get better as sunset approaches. This is because deer are up and heading to feed. Knowing where the deer are going to feed first can give you a chance to harvest a deer before shooting hours end. Sometimes it is an oak flat that is between their bedding area and large fields where they feed at night. Setting up on this staging area can also give you a shot at bucks that know the does stop there before heading to agricultural fields. Also, food plots planted specifically for deer to come feed in can be great afternoon stand locations. Just have an escape plan ready in case deer come in after shooting hours and you need to get back to your truck or house. Later in the season, food sources can play a critical role in hunter success. As the rut dies down and bucks need to focus on feeding to put on fat for the winter, easy to get, high nutrient foods can bring big bucks out during daylight.

Deer that have been hunted hard during archery season or during the first few days of gun season can quickly change their habits and become nocturnal. Almost every hunter who has trail cameras out has run into a case of a nocturnal buck. I get at least one a year if not two or three. These deer are only on my trail cameras at midnight to four o’clock in the morning. They might also learn to move at noon when most hunters have called it a morning but haven’t returned for the afternoon yet. Doing a deer drive might be the only way to get a chance at these deer during shooting hours. Drives can be a risky technique because it can chase deer off a property and it can present some safety concerns for hunters. Don’t do drives with hunters who feel are unsafe or don’t follow the 10 Commandments of Firearms Safety. Requiring anyone participating in the drive to wear blaze orange clothing can help with target misidentification. Also, give the watchers specific areas to shoot so they aren’t firing in the direction of the pushers. When I was learning how to deer hunt I was given this quote, which I repeat anytime I am doing drives, “Take your time, we like the deer walking not running.” Giving the watchers, a slower moving target allows them to adequately prepare for a shot and to use their brain to think about the shot instead of trying to shoot at a running deer.