For serious deer hunters, success in the early season isn’t a matter of luck—it’s built on hard work and preparation during the dog days of summer. While others are lounging in the air conditioning, you can be out there setting yourself up for a smooth, efficient, and rewarding hunt come September. The key is to “sweat now” so you can “tag out early” when it counts.
Here’s a full breakdown of summer prep tips every whitetail hunter should be doing right now.
🦌 1. Scout Smarter, Not Harder
Dial in Patterns While Bucks Are in Velvet
During summer, bachelor groups of bucks are predictable. They’re focused on food and have not yet felt the pressure of hunting season. Use this time to:
- Glass Fields at Dawn and Dusk: Set up with binoculars or a spotting scope near food sources like soybean fields, alfalfa, or clover plots. Bucks in velvet are creatures of habit now.
- Place Trail Cameras Strategically: Monitor travel corridors between bedding and feeding areas. Focus on field edges and mineral sites.
✅ Pro Tip: Check cameras only during midday heat when deer are least active. Minimize your scent and intrusion to avoid tipping them off.
🌾 2. Food Plot Maintenance
If you’ve planted food plots earlier in spring, now’s the time to keep them thriving. If you’re running behind, don’t worry—there’s still time for fast-growing plots.
- Late-Summer Plantings: Brassicas, oats, and winter rye can still grow strong and attract deer during early bow season.
- Weed Control: Maintain your plots by mowing and spraying unwanted vegetation.
Remember, a lush food source is like a magnet for early season activity.
🪜 3. Stands and Blind Placement
Hang Stands Early
- Place stands now to allow deer to get used to them before the season opener.
- Focus on trails between bedding and feeding areas.
- Always consider prevailing winds and thermal currents when picking locations.
✅ Safety Check: Inspect all straps, cables, and climbing sticks. Replace anything weathered or worn. A summer mishap while hanging a stand is not worth risking your fall hunt—or your life.
🏹 4. Fine-Tune Your Archery Skills
Summer heat makes shooting more challenging, but that’s the point—practice now under tough conditions so you’re ready for any scenario.
- Shoot in Your Hunting Gear: Practice in long sleeves, gloves, and even your harness if you plan to wear one.
- Simulate Real Hunts: Take shots from elevated positions and awkward angles to mimic stand hunting.
- Dial in Broadheads: Don’t wait until September to confirm broadhead flight; tune them now.
✅ Pro Tip: Build strength with resistance bands or shoulder exercises to avoid fatigue during long sits.
🫧 5. Scent Control Starts Now
- Wash your hunting clothes in scent-free detergent and store them in sealed containers.
- Establish scent-free habits now, like showering with scent-free soap before scouting or practicing.
- Start clearing shooting lanes and trimming branches with gloves to minimize your scent profile.
The habits you form in July and August will pay off in October.
🗺️ 6. Plan Access and Exit Routes
It’s not just where you hunt, but how you get there.
- Map Out Routes: Plan paths that keep you downwind of bedding areas.
- Avoid Bumping Deer: Stay out of core areas as much as possible until opening day.
This kind of prep prevents you from educating deer before the first arrow flies.
💪 7. Physical Conditioning for the Hunt
Dragging out a big buck or hauling gear into remote stands isn’t easy. Use the summer to build strength and stamina:
- Hike with a weighted pack.
- Do cardio to improve endurance.
- Focus on leg and core workouts to handle uneven terrain.
Hunting is as much a physical game as it is mental. The fitter you are, the longer you can stay in the field.
🏹 Wrap-Up: Earn Your Early Season Success
The hunters who fill tags early aren’t just lucky—they’ve spent weeks, even months, preparing while others were sitting idle. From scouting velvet bucks and fine-tuning gear to maintaining food plots and building endurance, every step you take now brings you closer to that opening-day shot opportunity.
Put in the sweat now, and you’ll be sipping coffee next to a punched tag while others are still wondering where all the deer went.
