This weekend features a great chance for both an early season mature buck opportunity, as well as an exercise in patience! This central WI forecast illustrates how the table is set for an outstanding opportunity to hunt Sunday evening, AFTER the cold front has passed through. Here is all you need to know in 5 quick points for success this weekend:
1. Deer feed 5 times in a 24 hour period. If deer miss 1 or more feeding, an even higher value is placed on the following feeding(s). A chance for evening storms tonight equals missed quality feeding opportunities, and so do high winds through Saturday evening. What does that mean for you? As soon as the conditions are calm and cool...deer will feed heavy!
2. Sunday morning and evening will offer outstanding, calm conditions for deer to replenish their missed feeding opportunities. Also, what does cold weather and high winds promote? Heavy feeding! Cold weather creates a need for increased energy supplies, and the stress of high winds depletes energy reserves. Between missed feeding opportunities, temperatures dipping into the low 40s and the stress of a passing cold front the table is set for a heavy feeding period on Sunday evening.
3. Why not Sunday morning? Stand locations away from evening food sources as well as clear of daytime bedding areas can offer a good chance for morning success, but not nearly as predictable as an early season evening food source movement. Sunday morning could offer an "OK" chance for shot opportunities, but great care should be taken not to come anywhere close to spooking the potential high-value Sunday evening sit. I look at it this way: While a morning value may be a 2/10...the Sunday evening value could be as high as a 6-7 out of 10! For an early season WI sit on known mature buck movements, the Sunday evening conditions rarely get any better.
4. Focus on a stand location that allows you to get in and out of, without spooking deer within their daytime bedding area, or their evening food source. Also, enter early! In some of your locations it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if deer begin feeding up to 3 hours prior to dark.
5. If you have mature bucks moving on your lands close to shooting hours, Sunday evening is a can't miss opportunity!!
Patience is very important as it relates to your success this weekend. I like to think of it this way: The value of the Sunday evening sit is higher, than the sum of the values of Friday evening, all-day Saturday, Sunday morning and all-day Monday-combined! Taking a seat during the low-value time periods can offer a small % of potential success, but I urge you to do all that you can to keep from spoiling the high value Sunday evening sit.
Enjoy this early season cold front archery opportunity, and I can't wait to hear about it!