Kill a Big Buck This Month

by Will Brantley

Scouting food sources is a big part of bowhunting September whitetails. September may be the easiest month of the year to arrow the buck of a lifetime, whether your loyalties belong to a  treestand  in the east or a spotting scope out west. Whitetail and mule deer bucks, even the big ones, have enjoyed six months of easy living and no hunting pressure. They’re usually easier to locate and definitely easier to pattern at this time of year than any other.

Sure, it can be blistering hot, and in much of whitetail country, the humidity and bugs create a unique blend of misery. But, that’s what water bottles and your ThermaCell are for. Every year, more and more bowhunters learn that with a little preparation, the early season is unmatched for sheer odds of killing a trophy.

September Whitetails
Archery whitetail seasons open in September in many states throughout the South and Midwest. Kentucky is one shining example. Archers in the Commonwealth have enjoyed an early September opener for many seasons now—and it’s become a go-to place for big bucks in full velvet. Consistently killing trophy whitetails during the season’s earliest days isn’t complicated, but it takes some time and a well-planned strategy. Kentucky bowhunter Paul Campbell has it figured out. His best showing from a September bowhunt is a 192 4/8-inch non-typical monster that he shot on September 27, 2006.
Paul Campbell with his best September buck.
Campbell’s history with that buck had spanned a couple seasons. In fact, Campbell had taken a shot at the giant two years prior to killing it (in September), but a limb deflected his arrow. Fast-forward to the hot pre-season days of ’06, and Campbell spotted the buck, one of  several in a bachelor group, feeding in one of his food plots. Trail cam reconnaissance helped the hunter nail down the buck’s daily routine—but he couldn’t rush things, as an unfavorable wind held him in limbo. But finally, the ideal wind for  setting up over the food plot was forecast, and Campbell was able to slip into a stand and begin hunting. Even with the perfect wind, the hunter had to contend with numerous does and small bucks feeding in the plot long before he expected the big guy to ease into the open.

For three days, Campbell sat the stand, waiting on the big buck and working to avoid spooking other deer. The buck never made an appearance, at least during daylight hours, on the first two days. But on the third day, Campbell's patience paid off. The big buck stepped into the field and offered a 27-yard shot. This time, Campbell was on the mark, and the buck fell within sight.

 Paul Campbell’s Tips for September Whitetails:
  • Play the wind—every time: Bucks on an early-season feeding pattern won’t tolerate much disturbance. In fact, if the buck you’re after winds you at the dinner table, chances are the gig is up with that particular setup. If the wind is wrong, wait it out.
  •  Pick the “woods wind”: On the topic of wind, hunters are often faced with a dilemma in September, or really any time they’re hunting a food source—should they wait for a wind blowing away from the field they’re hunting, or blowing away from the woods from where the deer are likely to appear? Campbell opts for a field-to-woods wind in September. “Deer don’t seem to be able to smell as well when it’s hot,” he says. “I bird hunt quite a bit, and you see the same thing with bird dogs. They just can’t scent as well on a 60- or 70-degree day. So, if I have to pick, I like for the wind to be blowing away from the field and into the woods. The deer don’t spend as much time standing around in the woods as they do in the field, and the trees and other vegetation disperse your scent. When you’re after a particular buck in September, you’re likely to have does and young bucks in the field long before you see him, too. It’s important not to spook them with a bad wind.”
  • Sleep in…: Though the morning hunt is a more pleasant hunt, temperature wise, Campbell rarely hunts for a particular buck overLocating an early rub line can be a golden ticket in September. a food source in the morning. The odds of running the buck out of the field en route to the stand in the dark are just too high.
  • ...unless you find an early rub line: Campbell will hunt hard during the morning hours in September if he can find a well-defined rub line. Most bucks aren’t making many rubs by this time, but if they are, Campbell says it creates a golden opportunity. “I’ve killed two nice bucks in September by finding their rub lines,” he says. “A buck that’s making a defined rub line that early is probably a more dominant deer. The trick for me has been to follow that rub line to an area with thick cover, which is usually where he beds. I’ve always then backed off 75 yards or so from that cover and hung my stand. This is a situation that’s ideal when there’s a full moon, as deer are likely to be on their feet late in the morning. If you can slip into your stand in the dark without bumping any deer, hang tight till mid-morning. That’s often when that buck will come slipping back down the rub line to his bed.”

September Mule Deer
If September whitetails are a game of sit, watch and wait, September mule deer are a game of look, find—and hurry up. You may well be after a bachelor group of bucks that you’ve scouted, but whether you seal the deal will depend much more on your stalking skills than trail camera photos. Shawn Monsen, the 6-foot, 5-inch tall guy with Full Moon Productions hunting videos (www.fmpfullmoonproductions.com), loves chasing mule deer any time he can. “I love going after them during the rut because obviously, there’s a lot of action,” he says. “But for the best chance of getting out there and killing a big one with a bow, the early season is the best.”

Shawn Monsen with his 2009 Book Cliffs mule deer. Monsen’s 182-inch velvet-clad trophy from Utah’s Book Cliffs area last season is a great example. “The Book Cliffs is a limited entry area, but I drew a tag,” Monsen says. “We started scouting in July, just doing some routine glassing. On the third or fourth scouting trip, we located a big double-drop-tine buck. We went after him the first morning, but just couldn’t get on him.”

That afternoon, Monsen located another great buck bedded on a sage brush bench at around 7,800 feet. The stalk was on, but was soon interrupted. “As we were moving in on the first buck, I happened to look over my right shoulder and see this buck standing there, no more than 12 yards away. And he’d yet to see us," Monsen says. "I waited for him to step forward, behind a little knoll, and I managed to sneak in front of him using that knoll as cover. I watched his tines moving behind the knoll, and when he stepped into plain view, he was no more than 10 feet away. I was already at full draw, and I drilled him.”  

Shawn Monsen’s Tips for September Muleys: 

  • Learn the area: If you’re hunting an area for the first time, tack a few days onto your trip for scouting. Locating deer initially can be tough during the early season, so plan to spend some time behind the spotting scope.
  • Take advantage of the topography: The lay of the land can be your best friend, so use it. You may be surprised how close you can get to an animal with only a slight rise to hide behind.
  • Don’t get in a hurry—until it’s necessary: When you spot a bedded buck, don’t rush after him; instead, plan a careful course of action. Once you begin your stalk, though, follow through with it in deliberate fashion. Remember, a buck may get up to leave at any time.
  • Improve your shooting: If 30 yards is the edge of your comfortable shooting range, you’d best do some practicing. Western hunting takes place in open country—you’re much better off if you can nail a pie plate every time at 60 yards.
  • Pack a digital camera: This isn’t just to document the scenery. If you’re hunting alone and planning a stalk, take pictures of the area surrounding the bedded buck before you make your first move. Replay the photos during the stalk to reference landmarks such as lone trees, rock outcroppings, etc. This will help tell you when to slow down and start watching for antlers.  

Sidebar:
Warm-Weather Cape and Meat Care
So you’ve made the shot and your buck’s down. It’s also 80 degrees and sunny—meat won’t last long in those conditions, and neither will velvet if your buck hasn’t yet shed it from his antlers. If you’re admiring a whitetail on the edge of a bean field, you can probably get him to a vehicle of some sort pretty fast. Field-dress the animal and fill his chest cavity with ice ASAP for immediate cooling. Don’t delay skinning and quartering the animal, and smother those quarters with ice. Now is not the time to “leave one hanging” overnight for a trip to the processer the next day.

A mule deer in the back country is a little more problematic (though it’ll likely be cooler in mule deer country). Monsen simply bones the animals out where they lay, places the meat in game bags and packs them out. “I’ll either get the meat on ice right away, or if I’m in a camp and it’s going to get cool at night, I’ll tie it off up high.”

Velvet antlers require a little care if you’re going to preserve them, too. “I pack hypodermic needles with me along with velvet tanning solution. Get advice from your taxidermist on how to inject the antlers to preserve the velvet," Monsen says. "I usually end up rubbing a coat of it on the outside of the antlers as well. Then, unless you want to have your deer officially scored, get the cape in the freezer as quickly as possible.” 

Submitted on August 30, 2010

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