October weather matters. Study your HuntStand app and look for a temperature dip or a wind change.
An elk hunting mentor of mine told me once, “Jace, don’t miss a morning.” He was referring to elk mornings. He preached that no matter how tired you were or how hard it was to answer the bell, you don’t miss a September morning in the elk woods. Of course, he would follow up his statement about the importance of hunting mornings with, “If you’re too tired and need to take some time to rest up, skip an evening.”
I realize that comparing September elk to October whitetails isn’t the best comparison. Comparing September elk to November whitetails would be spot on, but bear with me.
While I might advise you to rest in the morning and not miss an evening hunt from October 1 through the 15, it’s time to stop skipping morning hunts.
Here are five reasons I like hunting on late October mornings — and why you should, too.
HuntStand's HuntZone shows you the current wind conditions and forecasts future wind directions.
1. Ideal Temperatures and Winds for Deer Hunting
People who know me say I should’ve been a weatherman. The weather has always fascinated me, and I spend way too much time on HuntStand’s weather section of the app. Yes, I love the predicted movement times the Whitetail Activity portion shows, but mostly I rely on the app’s weather tracking. Not only is it the best weather app I’ve found but I also love the extended hourly forecasts with the 10-day model.
Another win is the HuntZone feature, which shows the current wind direction along with the forecasted wind direction. That’s a significant factor and aid in the hunt.
Traditionally, during October, the coolest hours of the day are the first few hours after daybreak. Whitetails love cool weather, and with the rut creeping closer, shooter bucks will be on their feet longer, making mornings prime.
Also, it’s not uncommon to observe a wind change, which typically occurs an hour or two before first light. I’ve had some of my best whitetail sits after hours of the wind blowing in one direction, and then when it switches, bucks want to cruise to sniff for does with that “new” wind blowing in their face.
If I see a forecasted temperature dip, wind change, and a barometric pressure over 30.00 inches, my butt will be in a stand the next morning.
The Best Days of Deer Season
The last two weeks of October are an excellent time to make some noise in the deer woods.
2. It’s the Right Time to Grunt and Rattle to Deer
I’m an aggressive hunter. That’s just my style. I’m certain my aggressive nature has cost me as many deer as it has earned me. Still, I’ve found bucks start reacting well to rattling and grunting beginning around October 22. No, it’s not an exact date, but I do start using deer calls around this time every year, and I get way more action in the morning than in the evening. It seems when the air is brisk, bucks start feeling their oats, and if you catch one in the right mood, a well-placed decoy and clashing some horns can work wonders.
If I’m strategically planning to call on an October morning, I look for two setup options. First, I like an open area where I can set a decoy. This tactic works great if you know where a buck is feeding and going back to bed but are worried about bumping him. I’ll set up in a more open area off the buck’s main travel route, make the decoy visible, and hit the horns together.
Another excellent October morning calling strategy is to get in thick timber — the thicker the better — and start cracking ’em and grunting about an hour after first light. Typically, I will call about twice an hour and stay in the tree until 11 a.m.
Find Better Deer Stand Sites with HuntStand
Isolated food plots between primary food sources and bedding areas are great places to hunt during the final two weeks of October.
3. Now Is the Time When Micro Kill Plots Shine
In my neck of southeast Colorado, I can’t grow food. I have access to the equipment but have no way to water the food. Temperatures in the latter part of September will still be in the 80s and 90s, and rainfall will be ultra-sparse. Mix no rain with hot temps and sandy soil, and all you end up with is a small winter rye plot. Still, that spotty winter rye food plot is money during October’s final two weeks, and I get more traffic on it in the morning as bucks wander off larger ag food sources and grab a last-minute snack before finding their bed for the day.
Not to mention that my little food plot always has a family group of does on it morning and night. Bucks know this, which is another reason they swing through, or at least by it, during the morning. Bucks will scent-check these plots for does, and if there is a community scrape around the plot — which there likely is — bucks will freshen it.
How to Find Deer with Topo Maps
Scrapes that stop you in your tracks and make your jaw drop deserve October attention.
4. Odds Are Good for Seeing a Buck Work a Scrape
I’m not a scrape hunter. Most scraping activity occurs at night. However, between October 20 and the end of the month, bucks crush scrapes, and if you catch a rain between 4 and 6 a.m., chances are good a buck or two will freshen the just-rained-in scrape.
However, not any scrape will do. If you’ve done your due diligence, you know where hot scrapes and fresh rubs are. Concerning scrapes, the bigger the better. By October’s third week, community scrapes — depending on how many bucks are hitting them and how often — can reach several feet in diameter. These are the scrapes to focus on, as area bucks are using them, and all the local gals know where they are as well.
Scouting and Installing Water Sources for Deer
If you discover a fresh rub line, pick a few trees, use your HuntStand app to learn about forecasted wind directions, and go hang-and-hunt.
5. Rub Lines Are Showing You the Way
I was fascinated the first time I saw a rub. A bull elk made the rub, and the pine sapling was stripped of its green and oozing sap. However, it was just a lone rub.
Today, I only get excited about elk rubs when I find several of them — ten or more— in a small area in the dense timber. Like bucks, bulls have bedrooms, and when you enter a domain where a bull spends time, it typically reeks of urine, and there are too many blazed trees to count.
The same is true of whitetail bucks, and while I’m not telling you to get in his bedroom in October, I am suggesting you find a trail with a series of rubs and hang near that trail. Bucks don’t rub every tree they come across. They prefer aromatic woods such as cedar, pine, sumac, and cherry. However, if those woods aren’t available, you could turn up a fresh rub line anywhere.
It’s called a rub line because the line of rubs will mostly run straight down the trail. Typically, these trails will connect food and bedding. I’ve killed a lot of deer by hanging and hunting on a fresh rub line on a chilly October morning.
Hunting Tips From Mature Buck Research
The author with a public-land Sooner State 7-point harvested using the rub line method.
It’s Early, But Not Too Early
We haven’t “fallen back”, which means you don’t have to get up quite so early to hunt mornings. The time changes on November 2, and starting on that day, it will get light an hour earlier, which means less sleep in your near future.
Make no mistake, November is king in the whitetail woods, but October is a prince, and if you play your cards right, you might punch a tag before the calendar flips.
