I just have to remember all of the trail cam photos from summer scouting and the two big bucks I’ve seen. That is the motivation I need to get me in a treestand in this heat. Sitting in the treestand in 90-degree temperatures, with mosquitoes swarming all around, can make for a bad day. Sometimes while sweating in the treestand and in-between slowly swatting at mosquitoes I think to myself, why I am sitting in this tree. For me it’s just being in the outdoors hunting and the chance that I might see a deer that makes it seem worth it.

I believe success can be had in the southern states in the early hunting season, and I usually hunt in between a food source and a bedding area. The most success I have had this year is in a particular bottom where I have a feeder setup about 300 yards away and a treestand setup in a hardwood bottom. The pines, where the deer like to bed are about 300 yards away. I know that it is not the finest time to get out in the woods but the mosquitoes and heat aren’t enough to keep me from hunting. The chance that I may get a shot at a great buck drives me to the woods on a consistent basis. I simply enjoy the outdoors and hunting and wouldn’t rather be doing anything else.