This is the third part of a 12 part series covering my time spent with a Kansas Whitetail outfitter during his entire bow season.
Although I will have to wait a few more weeks to check in with some of my contacts and acquaintances in the hunting industry to confirm my suspicions, I am guessing that the 2012 Whitetail season is one of the worst in decades. As of the middle of November, only one frost has been recorded for this area of Kansas. Weather is everything when it comes to deer movement regardless of the rut, and this year’s climate is as quirky as they come.
During the first week of bow hunts, the group from New York persevered through some brutally warm weather that kept deer movement to a minimum during the day. When this group showed up, they pledged to hunt all day long regardless of temperatures or deer activity.
When someone proclaims they will hunt all day, every day, I tend to harbor doubts. However, all five members of this group proved to be hard-core, die-hard hunters and they all stayed in their trees all day every day of their five-day hunts. I have never been more impressed in my life. I will be telling their tale for a long time.
During this time of the year, the deer are wearing their winter coats. During the warm years, this is a cruel joke that nature plays on deer. Luckily, their hardiness seems to get them through it all. However, deer movement during the hot days prior to the rut is almost non-existent unless it occurs during the dark early mornings or late evenings. This is a huge problem for daytime hunters for which there is simply no solution.
A hunter either has to hunt smart near water sources or constant shade. No matter what, when the weather is warm when it is supposed to be cold, deer hunting is a serious grind and takes a lot of dedication. That is why I was so impressed with the New York group. They were the elite of all bowhunters, the true all day grinders.
In opposition to this group, there was a gentleman here from the south that chose to come out of his stand at around 10:00am and return at 2:30pm. Although he seemed to be forfeiting a large chunk of hunting time for comfort and rest, in the end his gambling paid off as he got a shot at a nice buck when the all day grinders did not.
