The October Lull: Real or Fake News?

The October lull is real but the truth is, you’re creating it. The October lull is said to be when deer turn nocturnal in early to mid-October. The truth is the deer are just getting used to you and everyone else nearby being in the woods and have changed their pattern to avoid human interaction.

How To Avoid The October Lull

Avoid burning out your spots early season. Everyone is excited when the season opens, including me, and can’t wait to get in a stand. I’m guilty of hunting several days in a row as soon as the season opens. The deer notice everything that is different in their environment. Think of what you would do if you noticed a random person standing in your driveway all of a sudden when October 1st rolls around. That is basically what we are doing when we start intruding on a buck’s territory.

You might get lucky and kill some young does or an immature buck. More times than not, you’re going to educate deer in the area. The best tactic to use is staying out of the woods early season. The only reason to sit early season is if you’re on the edge of a woods, perfect wind, and you have a buck patterned coming into some food. Stay out until if you can until the pre-rut timeframe. For us hunting in Ohio, bucks start to get excited at the end of October.

Jeff Sturgis of Whitetail Habitat Solutions just recently made a video about the October Lull. If you don’t believe my opinion, watch the video below.

What Should I Do During October To Avoid Spooking Deer?

The best thing you can do to not spook deer is monitoring your cellular trail cameras. I’ve been running cellular trail cameras for about 5 years now. This is the best way to see what’s on your property without getting your scent all over it. If you’re like me, you want to check cameras as often as possible. With a cell cam, you can get real-time photos sent right to your phone. You still get your deer picture fix without compromising your hunting spot. You’ll be thankful when the cold comes in late October and your deer aren’t pressured.

Related: Tactacam Reveal Cell Cameras, Most Budget Friendly Cell Camera

Can You Prove That The October Lull Is Real or Fake?

As the saying goes, picture or it didn’t happen, take look at the below pictures. I had already educated the deer on my property by October 22nd of 2019. More times than I care to admit, shooter bucks walked right to my corn pile within minutes of me leaving the woods. There wasn’t some magical date the deer knew about or I didn’t. What they knew is I came into the woods about 4 hours prior to that, dumped some corn and hunted, and now I was leaving and they were safe. I never saw that buck in daylight. It’s not that he went nocturnal, he just avoided me. This buck was moving during daylight somewhere. I just educated him enough by hunting too early and too often. Moral of the Story: Patience is key, hold off from hunting too early and unknowingly created your own October Lull.