In my early archery hunting years, I was quick to hit the woods as soon as the season opened, and often, the weather was relatively warm, the foliage was still heavy, and the rut was not yet underway.

I must admit, however, that over the years, my enthusiasm has waned a bit for those first couple of weeks of archery hunting, partly due to a hectic schedule and partly because I choose to center my hunting tactics around the rut, hoping to increase my chances. Make no mistake about it — though those first two or three weeks can be very productive. We are barely into the archery deer season, and I know of a couple of very successful hunts.

On Wednesday of the opening week of bow season Kaden, son of Rich and Michele Rodarmel, arrowed the nice buck in the photo accompanying this article. Kaden was hunting from a tent blind when the buck, along with another buck, showed up at the edge of the woods about 75 yards away. A half-hour later, Kaden’s crossbow took the buck out at thirty-two yards. Rich and Kaden had been watching these deer from a distance for several weeks prior.

On the second Saturday of bow season, my son, Brian, sent a text complete with a photo of a dandy eight-point that he nailed with his compound. His tree stand was set up where several deer trails passed by just below an old logging road. Not only were there well-used trails, but there was also a good-sized rub close by — obviously a good setup. About an hour before quitting time, the buck showed up and eventually rubbed its antlers on the nearby rub. The buck then walked almost directly under Brian’s stand, forcing him to shoot nearly straight down; the arrow penetrated between the spine and shoulder blade and into the lung. The deer was recovered about 100 yards away.

These are only two successful early-season hunts that I’m aware of — I’m sure there are several other success stories out there. Probably one of the big advantages to getting out there early is that the deer have not been subjected to a lot of human intrusions. Serious archery hunters likely limited their scouting activities and scouted from a distance when possible or, where possible, made use of cameras to record deer movements. Often by the time you get into the middle of the rut, a good bit of hunter movement and human scent has made hunting more difficult.

The successful hunters mentioned in this article were very familiar with the area they were hunting; they were aware of deer bedding areas, and where they were going to feed, and trails they would likely follow. Stands were placed strategically to intercept those movements.

However, something to be aware of is that as the season progresses, movement patterns change partly due to changing food sources and, of course, the coming of the rutting period. Since corn, soybeans, and other farm-raised products are being harvested and less available, dropping acorns may alter a deer’s movements since acorns are high on the menu.

Now that the early season has passed, I guess it’s time to target those rutting bucks, and there’s still plenty of time to score.