When I first started archery hunting in 1991 I was green. At twelve years old I guess it’s impossible not to be. The only experience I had at that point was practicing with my 45 pound Darton bow on two bales of straw in the backyard. And yet on October 6th, my birthday, I hit the woods with my blotchy 90’s camo and high hopes of launching an arrow at a good buck. My father kept meticulous records of our hunts in those days in a journal, and despite my enthusiasm and hunting hard, I got blanked that first season, only having an errant shot on a doe in mid-December. The crazy part is that, according to the journal, I spent over 100 hours (50 hunts) on stand that first year. Contrast that to just a couple seasons ago where on 7 hunts I had 5 shots at mature bucks. But other than age and experience just what is the big difference between these two very different seasons I had? It turns out science and a little personal observation point to one simple answer, and leveraging it might help produce your best deer season yet.
The Research
I recently interviewed two whitetail researchers on the Deer IQ podcast looking to get to the bottom of the question, “how much does hunting pressure affect whitetail movement?” If you asked a hundred different hunters this question, you’d most likely get a hundred different answers and most of these would be anecdotal – based on unscientific observations in the field with relatively few data points to back them up. But when you have tens of thousands of data points from gps collars to analyze in a scientific way, the trends and facts become much more apparent. A few years ago Dr. Andy Little from the University of Nebraska conducted a study in Oklahoma on 37 gps collared bucks from 2.5 to 8.5 years of age seeking to answer our question. In his study they controlled three zones, one having no hunters, another being a “high-density” area with 1 hunter per 75 acres, and the last was a “low-density” zone with 1 hunter per 250 acres. Through tracking both hunters and bucks they found that after just 1-2 hunts the deer completely altered their behavior in the high-density zones, with both day and nighttime activity decreased significantly. But the deer didn’t move to other areas, they simply hid very well from the hunting threat. In Little’s study, the deer did not significantly change behavior in the low density and no hunting zones, and 7 days after hunting ended a gradual increase of movement of all deer was noted.
In a similar collared buck study by Clint McCoy at Auburn University, hunters were sequestered to hunting stands near food sources like food plots and feeders called “harvest zones.” Before hunting began, deer were 4 times more likely to visit these zones during daylight (when they could be feasibly taken) than by the end of November (after months of hunting). According to the data deer made 1/3rd of their visits in daylight before hunting began and by the end, only 1 in every 19 visits happened in daylight in these hunting zones, or just 5%. On top of this, the hunting was highly regulated by location and intrusion, only allowing for hunters to be dropped off and picked up from stands and blinds. According to Clint the results showed that “deer have an immediate reaction the moment a hunter sets foot in the woods,” as odds go way down of having an encounter or even sighting. In this relatively low-pressure hunting scenario deer stopped their full avoidance behavior after 3 days of no hunting in a zone, but also it should be noted that this was not “attraction” to these locations like initially observed before hunting began.
The First-Sit Paradox
As a kid I wasn’t privy to this information, and like many hunters, just thought the more I got in the woods the better my chances would be. But this “hunt harder” mindset didn’t work out well for me, and according to the studies actually ensures you’ll have worse odds of connecting on a buck. It also explains my experience just a few years ago (5 shots on mature bucks in 7 sits) and my personal stat of over 84% of my harvests since 2016 being on what I now call “first sits.” As Clint told me, there is indeed power in the first time you hunt a location, and the gps data agrees. There also needs to be a bit of calibration of this data when compared to the hunting pressure in Michigan and ultimately where you hunt so it’s of value.
According to Dr. Little’s study, deer movement began to increase in the 7 days after the hunting season ended in the high-pressure zones. Remember this was 1 hunter every 75 acres. In many places in Michigan, whether private or public land, hunter density is much higher and it can be reasonably assumed that this rate of return to normal behavior is delayed further. But is having success on good bucks just about hunting once in a location and that’s it, and what does a person do if they only have one place to go? There are some practical steps you can take to up your odds next whitetail season and have multiple hunts of first sit quality. Here are a few.
Extending the First Sit
1. Up Your Portfolio.
I’m always trying to find a new hotspot. A simple fix for burning out one hunting location is always having more on my list to try. It may sound simplistic, but with public land accessible to everyone this should not be that difficult a task, especially if scouting and preparation is done in the off season. In just several years time a large number of stand sites can be found and put in the hopper. It is true that not all areas are equal and time of day and phase of season need to be considered, but in the most basic sense if you have 10 times you can hunt in a year, and have 10 different locations, then no one spot should get over-pressured. Competing hunters can be a problem on state land which is why I concede 50% of my hunts to being messed up by someone else. So a good rule of thumb is having twice as many locations ready as days to hunt.
2. Time it Right.
There are some days that you just shouldn’t hunt, no matter how much you want to. Realizing this fact will significantly stack the deck in your favor even if it burns a hole in your soul sitting at home on a fall night. Wanting to hunt does not translate to success, but hunting a location and deer at the exact right time does. Putting most of your effort into scouting and determining this best day and place to hunt a buck dramatically increases encounter rates when you do go in for the kill, and should be a majority of your effort and time spent. Think of it like a pyramid – the smallest part is at the top which signifies the amount of time spent hunting, compared to the large base which represents your prep time. Don’t get those inverted. The key indicator of when to hunt a deer is them proving they will visit a location where you can hunt them in daylight. If you see this, it is time to hunt, but if not you should gather more information and wait until you do. And the more spots you are monitoring the better your chances of this high-odds scenario happening multiple times during the season.
3. Build Great Habitat.
A factor highlighted in both studies was the type of area that harbored deer after hunting started. Areas with quality cover and browse were those deer retreated to, and is why these should be created, maintained, or sought as a priority where you hunt. Cover is king according to McCoy, not food.
Although not an overnight project if you don’t currently have this habitat where you hunt, sanctuary areas can be set aside immediately that deer will learn is safe – drawing and holding deer as hunting season goes on. When much of Michigan has higher hunter densities than the areas of the two studies, the magnetic effect of prime habitat increases as well as your need for it.
4. Avoid Food Sources.
Food sources are great for a property, but hunting directly over them many times is not. Unless you have a rock solid way to enter and exit without spooking any deer feeding, these locations many times just educate deer quickly and plummet your chances of taking them. This was the scenario in the Auburn University study, where deer avoided stand locations immediately after one hunt. Food sources tend to concentrate deer which dramatically increases the odds you’ll run into a few as you come and go. So hunting just off from food sources will decrease this likelihood and therefore extend your number of first sit quality hunts.
5. Don’t Hunt Sign.
Hot sign gets a lot of attention, but can be an enemy of tagging a good buck. Focusing on fresh scrapes or rutted trails can lead to success but oftentimes is the wrong focus, especially if hunting these locations adds pressure. Flipping the focus from sign to the level of intrusion your hunting brings is the solution for more first sits and higher-odds hunts. When selecting a stand location choose a mediocre spot that allows for ultra stealthy entry and exit over a spot that has hot sign but is intrusive. I’ve found that I often mess up “hot” locations before the hunt even begins, and playing it safe will lead to more encounters over time due to this low-risk approach.
Maximizing the power of the first sit has led to more shot opportunities than putting excessive time on stand, and the one factor you can bet on for having a successful whitetail season.
