By Ben Smith:
For most people this time of the year deer are the last thing on your mind. We are close to putting a bow on turkey season in Mississippi and fishing is taking over our free time. That also makes me think about hand grabbing season being just around the corner (if that’s your sort of thing). Even still, deer season will be upon us before you know it…after we fight off mosquito season, of course. As for me, even though I’m in beach mode for now, I’m counting down the days until October 1st and at the time of writing this there’s only 163 days left!
So, what are the deer doing right now and do they think of me as much as I do of them? If you’ve spent any time in the woods lately you probably notice a lot less deer activity than you would see in the fall and winter. If so, there’s nothing to worry about. The deer are still there, they are just in a different phase of life right now. It’s a quiet, transitional period where survival takes a backseat to recovery, regrowth, and preparation for what’s ahead.
The woods are now full of tired bucks that are focused on rebuilding. If you’ve ever chased a woman for a couple of months straight you’ll understand this. It takes a lot out of you. Then, throw in fighting a bunch of dudes for supremacy and you’d need some recovery time yourself. At the end of deer season, most bucks are at their lowest body weight of the entire year. So, naturally their world pretty much revolves around food and rest this time of the year. Movement will be limited, deliberate, and mostly confined to the safety of thick cover and bedding areas.
One of the most important things happening right now, that you probably won’t notice in plain sight, is antler regrowth. Those antlers that they shed a couple of months ago are starting to grow back under velvet. This is a process that requires high quality nutrition. That’s why you’ll often find deer keying in on protein-rich food sources like clover, alfalfa, and young, tender browse. Even native vegetation, greenbrier, honeysuckle, and fresh spring growth becomes critical this time of year. If you manage property, or plant food plots, this is when the payoff begins. Those lush green fields aren’t just attracting deer, they’re helping determine antler potential months down the line. What a buck eats right now will directly impact what he carries on his head come fall.
Another noticeable shift this time of year is in deer behavior toward one another. The tension and aggression of the rut are gone. Bucks are no longer competing, and you may even start to see the early stages of bachelor groups forming. It’s not uncommon to spot two or three bucks feeding in the same area as spring progresses into summer. For now, though, interactions are limited and calm.
Now, what are those delicious does doing this time of the year? If we are fortunate, they are entering one of the most important times of the year. Most of them should be in the late stages of pregnancy. Fawning season is just a few weeks away for a lot of Mississippi, with some beginning in late May. Their priorities are shifting toward nutrition and security for themselves and their newborns. They’ll favor thick cover with quick and easy escape routes from predators. Eventually, this is where they will isolate themselves to give birth to a new generation of backstraps. Once that time arrives, does will become even more reclusive. They’ll seek out quiet pockets of habitat, overgrown field edges, cutovers, or dense bottomland thickets, places where predators are easier to detect and avoid. When fawns are born, they’ll spend their first weeks hidden and motionless, relying on camouflage rather than speed to survive.
Across the board, deer movement right now is minimal compared to what hunters are used to seeing in season. The pattern is simple: bed, feed, and repeat. Most movement happens at dawn, dusk, and under the cover of darkness. Mature bucks especially have little reason to expose themselves during daylight. With no breeding pressure and abundant spring food, there’s simply no need to take risks. Patterns you see now aren’t set in stone for fall, but they can offer clues. Food sources, travel corridors, and bedding areas that hold deer in the spring often remain relevant later in the year, especially in areas with consistent habitat and low disturbance.
Last, what can you do now as a deer hunter to better prepare yourself for the fall? First, spend time in the woods learning. You’re not looking for fresh rubs or scrapes. You’re learning the land. Walk your property, or public ground, and pay attention to terrain features like creek crossings, ridges, funnels, and transitions between thick cover and open feeding areas. These don’t change with the seasons, and they often dictate deer movement year-round. Now is a great time of the year to look for access routes to and from your stand locations. The last thing any of us want to do is bump a deer from a bedding area on the way into the woods. Find those potential bedding areas and plan a route to be able to hunt them next season without messing up the deer.
The other thing you can do this time of the year is prepping your land for deer season. Plant summer plots that could influence deer movement in the fall. Trim new growth from your shooting lanes and keep your existing plots maintained so there’s less work once the season gets here. And as always, now is a great time to start getting your body into shape to cover the ground needed to kill your target buck this fall. And you’d better hurry up, there’s only 163 days left!
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