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Many corn and soybean fields will be cut this weekend and in the coming days. The days immediately after a farmer cuts those crops are awesome for hunting. The sudden change in habitat will force the deer to move around a lot, as they settle into new bed-to-feed patterns. The animals will seek out alternative food sources (acorns and browse) in nearby woods and thickets. Any bucks that bedded out in the stalks will transition to new bedding thickets.

Hang a tree stand 100 to 200 yards off a freshly cut field, in a timbered draw or on an oak ridge and you will see lots of movement as deer sort things out. Even if you don’t kill a buck, you’ll observe how and where the deer will move the rest of the fall, which can only help on future hunts.