Archery hunting is filled with extra challenges that gun hunters do not have to deal with. Not only do we need the animal to be close but we need it to provide us with a good shot angle. Most gun-hunters feel that if they can see it then they can kill it. Depending on the skill of the hunter this may or may not be true. We do not have that luxury. To archery-hunt during gun season we must be not only be smarter than the deer; we must also be smarter than the gun-hunters.
During archery season, field edges are a great place to set up your stand. Deer are still in their summer feeding patterns and their routines are predictable. With proper scouting you can determine where and when the deer are entering. This makes it easy to find a good spot to set up. But during gun season, lazy hunters will be here. They feel they can place a stand anyplace and be assured a reasonable chance of tagging out opening weekend. It does not take long for the deer to pattern the hunters. For the archer the best place to set up is at least fifty yards inside the wood line in a staging area. Even better would be along a trail between the staging area and where the deer bed up for the day.
Power lines are another common place to find gun hunters. The view is often vast. Deer will cross these open areas every morning and night. It is not uncommon to see them feed along the edges. This is a dangerous place for not only deer but archers to be. This is another place that will not take mature deer long to avoid during the day.
In heavily-hunted areas, any picture-perfect feeding zone such as an oak grove is sure to be visited by a camo-clad hunter each day. After the morning sit, many gun-hunters will walk around looking for signs. Often you can hear them before you see them as they high-step through the leaf littered forest floor. An archer needs to take a stand on an escape route that a whitetail is likely to take. Deer will often run 100 yards before calming down when spooked. This is were you need to be. In reality this is the perfect spot for an all-day sit. I have harvested many deer as they sneak back in during the mid-day lull.
An advantage archers have over gun hunters is that they are more likely to gain access to suburban woodlots. Homeowners do not like deer eating their expensive roses and plants. It seems like the more a plant cost, the more a whitetail will enjoy eating it. Archery hunters can provide a safe solution to their problem. If you are granted permission, then always have the utmost respect for the homeowner and his neighbors. Never gut an animal on the property. It is always best if you can remove the deer without anyone seeing you. Young children might be extremely upset if they watch you loading Bambi into the back of your truck. If you want to be invited back, then you should never leave any garbage behind. That will ruin a relationship faster than anything else.
Safety is the biggest concern an archer has to deal with. In some places only a fool will walk through the woods during daylight. Every year it seems someone is killed by a hunter that hears a "deer" in the bushes, only to find out it wasn’t a deer. Even if it is legal to wear full camouflage, every archer should have some hunter orange on. Most hunters are safe and courteous; unfortunately it only takes one unsafe hunter to ruin it for all. During gun season I never sit in a ground blind on public land.
While using archery equipment can be frustrating, the thrill of success far exceeds that of gun hunting. It will force you to hone your hunting skills far beyond what the average person has. That in itself makes it worth bow hunting during gun season.
