The author figured out this deer's pattern before the season started. The buck would pick one of two fields, depending on the wind direction. It took less than a week to tag him. Photo by Steve Bartylla.

There he was, coming in at full trot. The mature 10-point I'd targeted in the late summer months was following the script to perfection.

Positioning myself, I came to full draw. As if he knew his lines by heart, he stopped in the perfect position to chow a few acorns. No doubt his next move would be a walk to the crops in the valley below, if I let him.

I placed the pin behind his front shoulder and squeezed off the shot. A week into season and my bow tag was already full.

As bowhunters, we have a significant advantage over firearms hunters. Sure, we are limited by our weapons' range and are forced to deal with more insects. That said, getting the first crack at filling our buck tags more than makes up for it. Of course, that assumes we know how to take advantage of it.

EARLY SEASON ADVANTAGES
Though everyone gets amped up about the rut, early season offers advantages that no other seasonal phase can provide. You often hear bowhunters talk about how they wait to hunt until it gets better later in season. This is a huge waste of a prime opportunity, in my opinion.

The obvious advantage is that the woods have been left pretty much alone all summer. Nearly every hunter realizes that hunting pressure can have an adverse impact on deer movement. The more hunting pressure, the less deer move during daylight hours.

Furthermore, deer aren't smart enough to realize that the guy squirrel hunting isn't a threat, but the one bowhunting is. Let's face it. The open week of bow season isn't the perfect time to be in the woods. It can be hot, and the bugs can be horrid.

Still, the midsummer months are even worse. Because of that, most people need a darn good reason to go out in the woods, and generally avoid it as much as they can. This helps encourage deer to move more freely during daylight.

But as bow season opens, so do other seasons. Still, at the same time, it's getting more enjoyable to go for a walk in the woods. Toss in other bowhunters hitting the woods and it all adds up to deer starting to feel pressure in a hurry. The result is rarely good.

So bowhunters have the advantage of getting the first crack at the bucks.

In the majority of cases, in that first week or two of bow season, deer will be more relaxed than they are for the entire season. Once they realize they're being hunted, their guard goes up and, outside of the rut, they get much more cautious.

DECIPHERING THE PATTERN
The other significant advantage is that bucks are more patternable during early season than any other phase, with the possible exception of late season. For those wanting to get the edge on a truly mature buck, this is invaluable.

The late summer, early fall life of a buck is a simple and lazy one. You can really boil it down to eating, drinking, sleeping and the movements required between those three activities.