“You can walk their trails and rub routes to see where they are moving and familiarize them to your scent.”

Acorns begin falling in August, something many hunters seem to deny. Anyone who has attended Game Fair knows about this fact on a windy day when the acorns rain down. Acorns are a critical food source for deer and if you find a stand of oak trees, plan to hunt nearby.

By Sept. 1, Michels said, the deer are shedding their velvet and starting to scrape. These scrapes are very small and only made with a few scratches with each hoof. By mid-September, most bucks are in their fall breeding ranges, so hunters should be willing to move around. The bucks you saw in the summer may still be around the first week of the bowhunting season, but they won’t be around long, so pay attention to their movement.

There are plenty of deer to be taken on public lands, including numerous trophy opportunities for those interested. Either way, even though these lands are open to the public, there are ways to hunt them where you don’t have to worry about others ruining your hunt and can actually use them to your advantage. Take the time to carefully research prospective hunting areas, devise a game plan, and remember to send us a photo of your deer when the plan comes together.