October is a great time to be in the deer woods. The cooler temperatures and fall colors make for comfortable hunts with a view. The deer are beginning to really transition off the browse to feed on mast. This can be hard mast like acorns, or soft mast like persimmons. This transition from early October, and then the pre-rut action heating up at the end of the month, makes it easy to separate October into two sections.

Early October

A loaded persimmon tree is a great place to hunt. Locate a loaded persimmon tree in the middle of a white oak stand dropping acorns, and it is a no brainer stand site. I like to place a stand within range of the persimmon tree. I have watched deer bed close enough to the persimmon tree that they can hear when a persimmon hits the ground, and then run over to eat it. I have also seen this happen with an early dropping white oak. It is comical but could lead to a nice buck coming within range of your arrow.

You will begin to see a few rubs in early October. Pay attention because mature bucks will rub earlier than immature bucks. Even if the rub is on a small sapling, consider further investigation of the area, especially if the small sapling is shredded and pushed over to the ground. This is the early stages of a buck preparing for the rut as they begin to show their dominance, as well as releasing a little testosterone. These early rubs aren’t your typical rub lines like you see in late October because the bucks are still focused on food more than the rut. The buck’s focus will shift to doe bedding areas later in the month.

Early October can also be a little slow on the deer movement, often referred to as the October lull. I have seen the woods go quiet during this time, but I have also had some great hunts. An old-timer once told me that when the deer have put on their winter coat during those warm, or even hot, October days, is just too much for a deer to move around much. I’m not sure, but it made sense to me. Besides, I have never worried about the October lull anyway; I’m going hunting regardless.

Late October

Late October is when the woods can really begin to become active with buck movement. Bucks begin to establish their core area and will attempt to keep any other mature buck from entering it. Hearing two bucks fighting just out of sight on a cool October morning is exhilarating, and you know you are in the right place for the coming days. Bucks are focused less on food and more on love as the days shorten and instincts kick in. This is the time to use calls, scents and mock scrapes.

Mock scrapes work if done properly. When you find an area where bucks are around, make a mock scrape to lure one in. Look for an overhanging limb near a travel route, use a stick to rake back the area underneath to expose fresh dirt, and squirt some dominant buck urine in the middle. Some would say this is a good mock scrape, but I have found, after many seasons with lackluster results from my mock scrapes as described above, that there is one more secret ingredient: preorbital gland scent.

I use Rack Rub Licking Branch Gel to simulate the scent left by a buck’s forehead and preorbital scent gland. Bucks will rub these glands, located on the forehead and below the eye, on the licking branch as they stand in the scrape. I was never sold on mock scrapes until I started adding this scent to the licking branch. I have watched every deer that came downwind of my mock scrape, with this scent applied, come and rub their heads on the licking branch. Bucks and does.

Man, oh man, I could go on and on about hunting these two months. There are so many things to study and learn about whitetail deer that it never gets old. Use these few tips to increase your odds this archery season. And while you’re out there, pay attention to the little things that will teach you more and more about this great animal.

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