Read The Beans

How to hunt the soyfields when they’re hot

- Scott Bestul

Soybeans are a favorite of farm-country white tails from midsummer until the combines appear. Indeed, if I had to name one solid and consistently attractive big-buck crop, I’d pick soybeans over just about any other.

But early fall is an important transition time for the annual bean crop, and your whitetail hunting strategies have to change as the plant matures.

Here’s how to identify three major changes in a soybean field and how to adapt your hunting tactics during each stage of growth.

STAGE ONE: THE BIG GREEN SALAD BAR

WHAT’S HAPPENING: Early-fall beans are often summer-green and attractive to deer. Unless acorns are dropping in the woods, expect deer to hit soybeans consistently.