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october deer hunting | Muddy Outdoors

2 Bucks That Show You Shouldn’t Dismiss October Deer Hunting

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2 Giant Bucks That Prove October Deer Hunting Can Be Successful

What you are looking at are two bucks “Lefty” and “Danger”…and they are both examples of October deer hunting perfected. This is a smack in the face for many hunters. All too often bow hunters dismiss the first 3 weeks of October as fruitless and barren as far as deer movement and harvest opportunities are concerned. If you have up to this point been one of these hunters…the small amount of days left in October should be exploited.

The two bucks shown above and below are proof that big mature bucks can and will be brought down throughout October. If these two stories don’t change your mind about October upon watching them, will prove you might just be the most stubborn hunter in the woods to date.

Bill Winke’s “Lefty”

october deer hunting | Muddy OutdoorsOctober 19th Bill WInke had his last encounter with a buck he called “Lefty”. If you follow the Midwest Whitetail show at all, you were kept up to date with every single photo, trail camera image and video that Bill got of “Lefty”. Throughout the season Bill dove into a constant state of patterning “Lefty” with his Muddy trail cameras. In fact, in his weekly web show “Whitetail 101” featured on Muddy TV, he discussed “Lefty” on episodes, keeping an audience up to date with the buck’s home range, recent movements, and status. Even when the mature buck “Lefty” broke off his G3 on his signature left beam, Bill kept us up to date.

Midwest Whitetail’s signature, the thing the audience loves the most about the show, is that it is semi-live content. Every week, you get the latest intel, hunts, and what is coming up from the guys that are actually out there hunting. Some of this semi-live content is available on Muddy TV  under the web show name “Whitetail 101”. The weekly episode, Episode 8: October Cold Fronts, covering the hunting strategy Bill was going to be using, actually explained the scenario that led to the successful harvest of “Lefty”.

Whitetail 101 Ep9, “October Cold Fronts”

Bill’s focus for the week of hunting was to concentrate on cut corn fields. As soon as the combines rolled out, Bill went in. This tactic and information that he presented to the audience could not have proven to be any more reliable as the buck he named “Lefty” worked his way into the field.

Iowa Giant | Winke’s Quest for “Lefty

Mark Drury’s “Danger” 217 2/8” Inch Buck

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Another big name in hunting, Mark Drury of Drury Outdoors, found success with a very very impressive deer during October. Again, this particular buck was brought down with help of trail camera info. A build up of trail camera information from previous years and recent information on the bedding area where “Danger” resided, led Mark to believe that hunting the bedding area would pay off big.

After the thought, the strategy went into place Mark built a platform for, and hauled in a Muddy Bull box blind to hunt “Danger”. Mark spent a couple hours setting up the box blind, and trimming shooting lanes and set up for the day he would go in after “Danger”.

box blinds score sheet Blind | Muddy Outdoors

Takeaways From These Bucks

The takeaways from these bucks killed in October is obviously that October is a month to hunt. We all to often hear of hunters that completely dismiss October deer hunting as a “good” month of hunting, when in fact it could be the best to your specific situation. Sure October is a month of rapid change, this change is associated with homornes, weather, food sources and the changing deer movement as a result of those factors. But if you have the knowledge of how to kill a buck in October, then you can use the month of bow huting to its full potential.

This knowledge can be summed up from these two hunts that give you some amzing hunting tips for October. Bill WInke’s buck “Lefty” was killed using the information he revealed on his weekly show “Whitetail 101”. Cut corn fields, again the same information he told the audience “could pull deer off acorns during October”, led him to a successful harvest of his number one hit-list buck. But before this, with keeping up with both Midwest Whitetail and Whitetail 101, the audience viewed the entire strategy laid out behind the deer and the hunt that day. Years of trail camera information suggested not only the buck’s personality, but his home range depending on the month and time of the year. This supplied Bill with information to where the buck “Lefty” might be bedded, giving Bill the intel he needed to stay out of the area.

The biggest mistake hunters can make in October is being carelessly aggressive after a buck. Going after a buck is one thing, but being careless in you scent strategys, entry and exit routes, noise, and stand setup will ruin the hunt and your chance for the deer. Bill took extreme caution on this buck. This mostly came with his trail camera strategies, not being to invasive with his placement, wearing rubber waders while checking cards, and keeping the pressure off the buck.

Mark Drury used the same strategies with his buck “Danger”. The trail camera intel was invaluable, but his hunt brings with it a new factor that you absolutely should be paying attention to this time of year. Mark looked for an October cold front, just like the one that is explained and laid out in the blog: Deer Hunting October Cold Fronts. With a cold front pushing cooler temperature and a rise in pressure, Mark planned to go in for an aggressive hunt. The combination with the weather and an optimally placed Muddy Bull box blind came together for the harvest of the number one hit-list buck “Danger”.

Both of these giants are tangible evidence that October is more that a month to sweep under the rug. Each and every week we bring you new, “fresh” content on our semi-live, always available channel, Muddy TV. You will find several shows giving you the latest hunting observations, how tos, and tips for each week of hunting! October is not over, now is the time to get aggressive and go after the bucks, with of course the tips and tactics you have learned today.

deer hunting cold fronts trail camera tips | Muddy Outdoors

How To: Deer Hunting Cold Fronts in October

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Deer Hunting Cold Fronts

Have you got the rhythm down yet? Are you back in the saddle so to speak?  When it comes to bow hunting it feels like it can take a week or two to finally get used to waking up earlier, master walking quietly across parched leaves, and perfect the art of patience, little movement, and silence. Bow season is here and whether you are ready or not does not concern the deer and more importantly the fleeting month of October. Deer hunting during October is short lived as is, and more often than not, several opportunities go without recognition and “seizing”. The worst of these missed opportunities takes the form of deer hunting cold fronts during October.

Digging deeper, many hunters will come to realize that it is the rapidly changing behavior of deer…not time itself that lets us perceive October as short. During the first part of the month or so, patterns exist, food sources are still intact, and there appears to be a very real opening to harvest a buck. However once the second and third week of October arrive everything changes. The shifting weather, food, hormones, landscape, and much more create a list of factors that seem to alter everything we knew about our property and the deer going into October. The second and third week of October (October 10th – 24th) seems to throw hunters a curve ball.

Acorns, Ag fields harvested, cooler weather, varying attractiveness of food plots, intolerance due to heightened testosterone, and of course the pressure of the approaching rut seem to mix up deer behavior so badly that they themselves do not understand what’s going on….let alone us hunters trying to figure it all out. If someone figured out exactly how to hunt October, you would know the absolute authority on the subject, but no one will ever be able to figure it out entirely. Why? You cannot control Mother Nature…

What Is a Cold Front?

By definition (to a hunter) a Cold Front is Mother Nature’s answer to the hunter’s mercy plead. Curve ball after curve ball, Mother Nature has taken us through the ringer no doubt, but it’s nice when she answers our prayers. A Cold front is a hunter’s saving grace so to speak. When deer movement seems to be slowing down, or unpredictable a cold front is a sudden snap to get deer and more importantly mature bucks on their feet.

A Cold Front – advancing mass of cold air trailing the edge of a warm sector of a low-pressure system.

When should you hunt a cold front?

A great source for hunters as far as weather patterns and cold fronts is Weather Underground. Customize the 10 day weather forecast to show temperature, the chance of precipitation, pressure, wind speed, and humidity can also be an advantage. Hunters are by no means meteorologists, but knowing the simplest things can make a huge difference to the action you witness in the woods.

deer hunting cold fronts trail camera tips | Muddy Outdoors

https://www.wunderground.com

In the picture, you can clearly see when the cold front is advancing. This graph was exported from a state in the Midwest this year, 2016, last week in fact from the date this blog is posted. From the period of Tuesday the 4th to Friday the 7th you can see a period of high temperature hovering around 80 degrees or so. Friday afternoon marks the entrance and arrival of the front. When the front is passing is typically seen as a drop in temperature > 5-10 degrees, and an increase in pressure. You will also either see nasty weather or precipitation increase as the front passes. The amount of temperature drop isn’t necessarily the main take away or reason a cold front is so productive.

Notice the days before the cold front arrives. You have hunted these days before…the same boring, long, and hot days that are common in October. Low 80s High 70s during the day for several days in a row, plus the combination of nasty weather as the front arrives signifies how “productive” the cold front will be. Deer movement will be slow or what you will normally experience during the days beforehand. During the nasty spell of weather, deer will undergo intense stress. When the skies break open (Saturday-Sunday), pressure increases, and temperature plummets deer will be excited to get on their feet, especially to feed on available food sources.

That covers when you should be deer hunting cold fronts, but not “where”. Unfortunately, the “where” is a bit trickier than the “when” and subject to a lot more opinion and variability.

Deer Hunting Cold Fronts: The Big Question is Where

So up to this point we have told you “when” you might fake a sudden cough or take a vacation day off work, but the next important thing to decide is “where”. Where should you go “all in” on what seems to be your only and best chance at a buck in October. While we cannot give you a definitive answer that is a sure fire tree stand location, we can offer plenty of well thought out and proven suggestions.

While October is leading up to highly anticipated action-packed weeks in November, the majority of the month’s deer activity revolves around one thing…FOOD. Two big food sources are competing during this time frame and a third is thrown into the mix if it is available. Above all acorns and cut corn fields should be on the hunter’s radar, but food plots can also be thrown into the mix.

Acorns

Trail Cameras Weekly “Week 2” Oct 10th- 16th | October Cold Fronts and Acorns
(Video)- As the second week of October arrives, strategies must change accordingly. In this week, two major players are present, acorns and October cold fronts.

 

Acorns are a staple for deer during the month of October. White oak and red oak acorns rain down from mature timber canopies across the Whitetail’s range, offering a continuous and reliable food source. Unfortunately, it is also a plentiful food source…meaning the little package of carbs that is known as the acorn can spell disaster for hunters. This abundant food source’s availability means that deer do not have to work very hard or move very far to get to a food source. When deer are on acorns, it can be very hard to pattern them, but with the help of some landscape features like fingers, saddles, ridges, funnels, creek bottoms, and transition areas it can be done. Muddy TV’s Trail Cameras Weekly touches on these features and how acorns, with the addition of a cold front, could mean success.

Cut Corn Fields

Whitetail 101 S1 E8, “October Cold Fronts” | Best Way to Hunt October Cold Fronts
(Video)- On this week’s episode of Whitetail 101, Bill Winke discusses October bow hunting tactics, food sources, and October cold fronts.

 

Cut corn fields, a common site this time of year is one of the only food sources that can pull deer off of acorns. As Bill Winke mentions in the video from Muddy TV’s Whitetail 101, freshly cut corn field offers “easy pickings” as far as deer are concerned. The missed kernels and mangled ears of corn can leave a significant amount of food left scattered across the tangle of stalks. The combine leaving the field is a dinner bell for deer and has the power to bring brutes out of the timber for a quick buffet. Again a cold front moving through, with some nasty weather in the forecast may just prompt a farmer for a quick harvest, meaning you will have a cut corn field to hunt over while deer hunting cold fronts, both bumping deer to their feet to feed.

Green Food Plots

Trophy Pursuit S6 E6, “Close Calls” | Close Encounters with Mature Iowa Bucks
(Video)- This week on Muddy’s Trophy Pursuit, several team members have great encounters, close calls, and trail camera photos of mature Iowa bucks.

As always a well-planted food plot, with the right species, in the right location can always be a dynamite spot to sit when deer are on their feet. As you can see in Trophy Pursuits Episode 6, the team encounter several hit list bucks moving through, around, and to food plots. Clovers, brassicas, and species like oats can attract deer throughout October and even through November and later. This is especially true for years with low acorn production, or in areas with little mature timber and ag crops. Food plots such as the ones you witness in this episode work great as staging areas and transition plots as deer begin to filter out into larger areas such as cut corn fields or oak flats.

deer hunting cold fronts trail camera tips | Muddy OutdoorsTrail Cameras Will Tell You Where

Overall the secret to perfecting deer hunting cold fronts and bow hunting in general in October is relying heavily upon your trail camera data. As you noticed in all the weekly deer hunting videos and web shows on Muddy TV  this week (Trail Cameras Weekly, Whitetail 101, and Trophy Pursuit), they all relayed intel and information from their trail cameras to support their observations and predictions.

Take the advice and do yourself a favor. Setup trail cameras based on the available food sources. Await an October cold front, and base your hunt around the most recent information you have….you won’t regret it.