The most magical of the year's four seasons is not May, June, July, August or September, despite what the sun-lovers may say. It is October, and my mouth waters just thinking about it even though it is still months away.

It is a time when deer move naturally and on schedule; one of brief moments of heart-pounding excitement as a heavy-antlered buck eases within easy bow range; and it's the thrill of watching whitetail fawns try to nurse while playing like young children in the woods.

October lacks some of the pizzazz and immediacy of the Nov. 15-30 firearm season. It also lacks the calm and dignified approach of fly fishing during the late April season opener or the late-June Hex hatches. However, the bow season rates high marks in my book for many different reasons. Here are just a few.

Watching a big buck trail a hot doe is great fun.

*October is simply the best month of the year, and none of the other months can ever come close. It's just too bad that October isn't 90 days long. Rutting deer are fun to watch.

*This is when the air is cooling, leaves are turning color, and it is 31 days filled with sunny days and cool evenings. It just happens to be the finest time for sportsmen to be afield, whether they hunt deer or not.

*This is when whitetails are still in their summer mode of bedding, feeding and travel. Deer are as predictable now as they ever will be, and that is a boon to sportsmen who spend time in ground blinds or tree stands.

*Likewise, this is when a lengthy study of whitetails during the off-season can make our planning and execution of hunting plans perfect; when our mind fairly screams "this is the ideal spot for a tree stand;" and when our earlier scouting efforts can pay big dividends.

*It's easy, with some preseason scouting, to predict where deer will be moving during the first 10 days of bow season. The deer, if not spooked, will have become complacent with nine months between the last deer season and now.

*This is when we can expect some deer to make a mistake, not that we can count on them doing so but often a wee error in judgment on the deer's part can spell hunter success or failure. That same mistake can also ruin a hunter's chance of getting a close shot at a fine buck.

*This is a time when the air develops that first nip, giving hunters a hint of the approaching winter. All game, and especially deer, feed avidly and produce fat layers to carry them through several months of bad weather.

*Bucks, the image that all bow hunters carry in their minds and hope to see from a ground blind or tree stand, become more active. Antlered bucks still travel in bachelor groups but that will change as the rut kicks in during late October.

Now, not October, is the time to plan a hunt.

*Bow hunters revel in watching bucks, planning ambush sites, noting the most active trails the antlered animals use, and in studying how deer move. This month is about hunting strategy.

*It, too, is a time when hunters can practice drawing on deer. Each year, I grant extended life to many bucks and does, and drawing but not releasing an arrow can make it much easier for that special moment when you do decide to shoot.

*Now is the time to sit high in a sturdy tree stand, and survey wildlife from a distance. It's a month when skunks prowl at dusk, leaving that pungent odor behind as they forage for food, and it's when wavering V's of geese pass overhead, sounding their lonesome and forlorn call. It's a time to watch antlers grow, and that's an amazing sight.

Big bucks in early October are most susceptible to hunters.

*It will be a time to pass up button-bucks, and hold off to wait for a clean shot at an antlered buck or fat doe. Button-bucks this year will be the antlered bucks next year. Binoculars can help a hunter spot the knobs on a young buck's head, and give us enough reason to wait for a mature deer to offer an easy shot. Those same binoculars are ideal for helping a bow hunter spot a big buck moving through thick alder swamps and heavily wooded locations in in the densest of cedar swamps. Preseason scouting can be a major help to dedicated hunters.

*This period of time between spring and our first whiff of wood smoke that jump-starts our heart, will remind us of past and future deer camps and the camaraderie of good friends. It means helping others drag out their deer, and it's a time when being with friends really means something.

*October is the month for sensory perceptions and a reaffirmation of our love of the outdoors. It's when bow hunters most truly savor the outdoor life.