Every step was carefully placed with all attention focused on getting closer, undetected, for a high-percentage shot with the longbow in my hand. With each step, my excitement surged full-throttle. I could feel my heart pounding swiftly as the moment’s intensity grew.

My prey was feeding in the shade of a large persimmon tree, totally unaware of my presence. As the bowstring came back to my anchor point, my wooden arrow departed perfectly. The shot was clean, resulting in a quick kill. It was my first deer with a longbow!

Fruit trees are a whitetail’s weak spot, and you can exploit that weakness this fall and fill your freezer with precious red meat.

Persimmons are Money Spots

In Arkansas, where I live, a whitetail’s life revolves around the mast crop consisting of many oak varieties. But, in most years, the acorn drop happens a little later than the persimmons, making this early-bearing fruit tree a deer hotspot. The sweet fruit draws both does and fawns, as well as bachelor groups of bucks, daily until the acorns begin to fall.

Early-season whitetail hunting can be as exciting as the November rut, but only if you play your cards right and do some pre-season scouting. Unlike the rut-crazed bucks that you deal with later in fall, early-season whitetails have but one thing on their minds: food. Food sources are, at times, difficult to identify. But, I can help straighten the learning curve.