-By Brandon Wikman
The tireless daydreaming of archery season has finally come to an end as reality settles upon the eager hunters of Wisconsin and across the country for that matter. This coming weekend marks the grand opening of the 2009 archery deer-hunting season for several states around the country.This year is incredibly interesting because the opener of bow season is far earlier than previous years. This brews a much more potent concoction for hungry hunters! The date of the big bang is Saturday, September 12th. Thanks to a gracious calendar year, opening archery weekend favors on the hunters’ side now. Shimmying a tree this early may pay off in a huge way for a few reasons.
Scoping out some of the places I’ll be hunting this fall has proved that several bucks are still carrying fury velvet. Typically, deer begin shedding their soft skin at the end of August, but it appears many are still sporting their summer headgear. Like many, I’ve always wanted to arrow a buck in velvet. The beauty of a reddish short and thin coat complimented by fury wrapped antlers is a hunters dream. This year’s hunters may have a true chance at a buck that hasn’t fully cleaned his rack and is still wearing their summer suits. Hunters will find that the earlier than normal opener, will still show deer cruising their exact same travel patterns they used throughout the duration of the summer. That includes trails, feeding locations, and bedding areas.
It is obvious that deer slowly transition and rotate to feed on different crops as farmers begin harvesting their spring plantings. Deer are going to be mowing the soybeans, alfalfa, and clover for another few weeks. In fact, much before the farmer’s heavy-duty equipment will. Thousands upon thousands of agriculture fields remain moist and green. The summer has been very mild. The scorching heat from previous years has been replaced by substantial rainfall in 2009. The crops are healthy and the deer are too. We must take advantage of the opportunity and make our best attempt to pick off an early season bruiser.
I’ve captured a few incredible trail cam pictures of several mature bucks. The photos not only provide me proof of a few bucks on my hit list, but also give me a reason to be in a tree come this weekend. Thanks to using these cameras, I’ve been able to photograph a handful of mature bucks on countless occasions. The camera was set up on the edge of an alfalfa field, where deer have been pounding the greens. Food sources once again prove to be my best location to position trail cameras.
If you are the type of hunter to hunt the rut exclusively, this season it wouldn’t hurt to try your odds in a few days! I wish everyone the best of luck as we get our deer hunting gear back out and a new season underway!
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