11 Late Season Deer Hunting Tips
Okay, be honest, how many of you that live in States or Provinces that have late deer hunting season
have forgotten about deer hunting? If you're like I used to be, you're
probably thinking about the upcoming fishing season or you're hunting
Small Game and Waterfowl.
But you could be missing out on the best time to take a good buck.
The truth is most hunters give up deer hunting after the second weekend.
When I hunted in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, they had something like a 21 day gun season the best I recall. After the second weekend, the woods were empty! It's like I had them all to myself. If you saw anyone during the late bow season, they were probably lost!
When I lived in Oklahoma, 'back in the day', there was a 9 day rifle season at the end of November. December was a late archery season.
It wasn't until I started hunting in the late season that I found the deer easier to pattern and easier to kill.
Here are some late season deer hunting tips I learned along the way.
- Sleep in. I spent many a frozen morning in my stand waiting on deer. Most of the time, this was wasted time and there were times I was so cold I had to call it quits. I once read an article by the late Ben Lee where he said deer bed up until mid morning because they don't like to feed on frozen vegetation. I think that's true! Also, they the mornings are cold and deer know if they wait, it will warm up. They know they can reserve body heat by waiting to feed later in the day. Besides, these are the best excuses I can come up with for sleeping in!
- Practice shooting in your winter clothes. Whether you're shooting a bow, muzzleloader or modern rifle (or shotgun), practice in the clothes you'll be wearing. Bulky clothes can make you shoot differently than the same clothes you had on when you sighted your weapon in. Bowstrings are notorious for catching on bulky clothes and guns seem to get snagged on the extra clothes as your raising them to shoot. You may also want to think about reducing the poundage on your bow. It's hard to pull a heavy poundage bow when your muscles are cold!
- Don't forget your rutting techniques. During the late season there is a "secondary" rut. Not as noticeable as the first, but enough to make the bucks go bonkers. The secondary rut is for the Does who did not get bred the first time around. From what I can tell, the secondary rut is also drawn out. So you may see Bucks chasing Does anytime during the late season. Give your rattling antlers and deer calls a try this time of year.
- It's all about the food. In late season, Deer need food and lots of it to maintain their body heat and survive the Winter. Bucks will be trying to put on some fat before the hardest part of Winter hits as will the Does. This is why it's the easiest season to hunt in my opinion. Find a good food source, find the trails leading into these food sources and sit back and wait for the right Deer!
- The South will rise again. If you're into still hunting or stand hunting bedding areas, look on the South slopes or areas facing South. These areas warm quicker and sooner than other areas. You'll find your Deer here working on their tans and staying warm.
- Hunt the fronts. Cold fronts seem to affect Deer movement more in the late season than at any other time in my experience. Deer will really be up and feeding heavy a few days prior to the arrival of a cold front and the days following a cold front. Also in my experience, it seems the amount they're up and moving is also dictated by how severe the front is. Weird, but that's been my experience. They seem to "sense" whether or not the approaching front is a "weather maker."
- Dress for success. When the temperature plummets, it's time to break out the cold weather clothes. I still prefer wool clothing on those days with the exception of my Windbreaker coat. I have a friend who swears by the Arctic Shield line of clothes. Whatever you wear, remember to dress in layers. One December I was hunting before the arrival of a major front. The day was really, really cold. It was one of those days when the Sun was out, but you'd thought that it had lost all the heat. It was like the Sun was just making an appearance for the heck of it. No warmth was coming out of that big orange ball on this day! I had taken my camo sleeping bag and put it on while in my treestand. It was one of the warmest late season hunts I'd ever had! (I don't recommend this however, if you do use it, make sure you use a safety belt if you're hunting from a treestand)
- Fuel the fire. On late season hunts, I bring along some water, sometimes Coffee and high energy snacks. Keeping your tummy full will help you stay warm during the day.
- Think safety. Before climbing into your stand, make sure there is no ice. Ditto for treesteps if you're using them. I take a piece of carpet and lay over the seat and platform to keep the snow and ice off of these areas.
- Use lighter colored camo. Remember, there are few leaves on the tree now and you'll most likely be outlined against the sky when a Deer looks up. I switch to either a Winter camo pattern or an Urban type camo as both are not as dark and stark.
- Muzzleloaders only. If you plan on using a muzzleloader, keep it outside. Taking a muzzleloader from a nice warm home or vehicle into frigid air will cause condensation to form in the barrel. Even if you snap a few caps the moisture is likely to come back. This affects those who are still using traditional blackpowder more than those who are using modern primers and blackpowder substitutes.
There you go. You State's Deer season may still be underway. Get out there after them! It's my favorite time to hunt deer!
ALL CREDIT TO THE BUCK HUNTERS BLOG. I SUGGEST YOU VISIT THAT SITE FOR GREAT TIPS AND TRICKS!
The Traveling Hunter
by Ryan Mckinney
So you want to go to the hunting place that flows with milk and honey, where there’s a 160 inch whitetail behind every tree, and the Elk never stop bugling. Now that those lies are out of the way, I’m here to help you see the real picture. I have been fortunate enough to hunt some of those places we just spoke of, and it isn’t always sugar plums and lollipops.
In the next few months, I hope to bring you informative articles that will help you plan your next trophy hunt, hunt of a lifetime, or just a great hunting vacation. I have made enough of my own mistakes. If you can learn from mine, it will help your trip go a little smoother. In this article I will discuss several subjects, such as expectations, where to go, who to go with, and the planning and preparation that should go into the trip.
Expectations
Expectations play such a pivotal role on a hunting trip. They can make
a huge difference in the quality of your experience. I have taught
myself to focus more on the experience of the hunt than on the kill,
because I’ve learned the hard way that if you put too much emphasis on
the kill you leave yourself open for a lot of disappointments, and the
feeling of wasted money.
First, be completely honest with yourself about your own abilities and the actual chances of taking an animal where you will be hunting. Let’s face it, if you travel to one of the southeastern states and expect to take a 150-160 inch whitetail, more than likely you will get your feelings hurt. My personal goal is to take a net 150 inch whitetail with my bow. If I want a really good chance of that happening, I will need to concentrate on one of the Midwestern states where I know plenty of them live, and I stand a good chance of seeing that class of animal.
When you finally go on that hunt that you have spent so much time and money on, never expect that you will not need to hunt as hard as you do at home. When you go to the land of the giants, most of the time you will need to hunt harder, and log more hours in the stand. You have probably spent a ton of money, so get your money’s worth. These giants that you are hunting didn’t get that way by being easy to kill.
To sum up expectations, you should expect to hunt a little harder than usual, expect some bad weather, expect that you need to hunt harder than your guide, and always expect to take a quality animal.
Where to go and with whom
Every year this is the biggest decision that I struggle with, and it
all boils down to where and what you want to hunt the most. I do a lot
of homework before choosing an outfitter or guide.
Where to go, depends on what you want to hunt, and if you want to encounter quality or quantity. For example, I will be going on my first, and probably my only Elk hunt this year and really didn’t care about taking a Boone and Crockett class of animal, instead I wanted to go where I would see lots of Elk and a place that would offer me my best chance of taking a decent bull. So I did my homework and decided that a private ranch in southwest Colorado would be my best choice. If I had wanted to go after a trophy animal, I would have gone to Utah or New Mexico.
Choosing a state is really an easy process except for states that issue their tags in a draw system, but choosing an outfitter or guide is the biggie. The outfitter business has exploded, and there are a lot of choices. Pike Co. Illinois for example has in excess of seventy outfitters in that county alone, and they range from guys that will take your money and set you in a telephone pole on the side of I-24, to guys who will do whatever it takes to get you an opportunity at a quality animal.
This is where you really have to take your time in deciding. Call lots of outfitters and talk with them. Ask them for references, and if they don’t give you any, then absolutely do not use them. There are some great websites that allow hunters to write in and review outfitters that they have hunted with. Take into account that a lot of the bad reviews that you will read might be from guys that are mad because they didn’t kill that elusive 200 inch buck, even though they saw ten shooters throughout the week. Also, don’t be fooled by some the places you see on the popular hunting shows and videos. Many of these places are great places to hunt, but it usually looks better than it really is. I have been in camp with some of these hunting show and video guys, and they are really catered to since they are promoting that outfitter in their finished product.
To summarize, when picking a place to hunt, call your references, do your homework, and if that little voice in your head says not to go there, then don’t. That little voice is usually right!
Planning and preparation
Planning and preparation can make or break a hunt. Good preparation can
make a mediocre hunt a great hunt, while bad preparation results in the
best hunt money can afford turning into a bad dream. For example,
several years ago I was in Manitoba Canada on a whitetail hunt, and
true to Canadian weather, it was extremely cold. Colder weather than I
have ever hunted in. Although I had shot a lot of arrows that year and
from every position that I could imagine, I failed to practice wearing
my heavy hunting jacket. As you can probably guess, a great buck gave
me the perfect twenty yard shot and I was almost pulled out of my stand
when the bow string grabbed my jacket. I missed so bad that I was
hoping there was another buck standing ten yards behind him. Lesson
learned!
Always have an intimate knowledge of the weapon you will be using, whether it be gun or bow. Know where that weapon will shoot at different distances, and every distance in between. Also shoot from every position that you could possibly be faced with, you may be surprised to find how different your point of impact may be. In preparation for my Elk hunt this year I have sent a lot of bullets down range and found that when I shoot from the bench my rifle is dead on target, but when I go to the kneeling, prone, or sitting positions, I consistently shot to the right. Good stuff to know before pulling the trigger on a trophy animal.
When packing gear for a hunt, one on the best tools that I have found is www.weather.com. I can get the ten day forecast and the averages for the area I am hunting. This gives me an idea of what clothing I will need to take. I generally pack for weather on the colder side of the forecast, and try to use a good layering system, so if it warms up I can just take off a couple of items of clothing instead of changing all of my gear. Also remember that if you are flying, take what you need, but pack as light as possible because the airlines are charging a hefty price for extra and overweight baggage.
I hope this article will help you and give you some things to think about when you plan your next hunt, and that you can learn from the mistakes that I have made. Until next time, remember: God gave us these opportunities, so let’s not embarrass him while were out there.
Some other DeerHuntersClub.com Content You Might Enjoy
Deer Scrapes
Most scrapes also have a low hanging branch that the deer lick and rub their head on to leave additional scent. A scrape may be used only the first time it was made or visited numerous times by many different deer. A scrape is not always used by just one buck. I’ve seen numerous trail cam photos of different aged bucks working one single scrape. From what I’ve observed most scrapes are maintained under the cover of darkness. I believe when scrapes are checked in the daylight hours they are done so from a location downwind of the scrape. From a distance a deer can smell what kind of activity the scrape has seen since it last visited. When you’re hunting around the rutting time of year you should notice scrapes in your area. Generally bucks like to make scrapes between their favorite feeding and bedding areas.
We will probably never know all the benefits a scrape can provide to whitetail deer. Research on the subject has changed dramatically over the years. Twenty years ago research claimed that scrapes were used for bucks to be able to find out when a doe was in estrous or getting close to estrous. Recent research that I have studied claims that this is not the case at all. No matter what research you agree with or what your thoughts on the subject are there is one thing for certain: if you find scrapes, you’ve found buckTrick From jordan Sheek, One of The Owners Of Wes & Jordans Hunting Adventures
Written By wes Emory All Credit To Jordan Sheek
After you have cleaned and gutted your deer, save and freeze the bladder until your next hunt*. When your hunting in a tripod or deer stand, Bury the bladder , with a light sprinkle of dirt over it, enough to hide it from a deers view. deer are very territorial, and will run to the sent of the bladder if they think there's another deer in there territory.
*Be sure to put the bladder in three ziplock bags and to only freeze in a foam cooler with other stuff like brains if your tan the hide. the bladder will stink.
| ILMonsterBucks.com |
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Secrets Behind Illinois’ Big Bucks Plenty of states can put together the combination of age, genetics, nutrition and management, but what additional secrets does Illinois have? Most deer hunters understand why these factors play a role in developing record class bucks. Yet there are other, less discussed components that aught to be considered too. These secrets may hold the key to helping you kill your next trophy. River Corridor Connection Few people have a better grasp on the nation’s whitetail population that Gordon Whittington, executive editor of North American Whitetail magazine. He has hunted in several states, including Illinois. There won’t be many issues of his magazine that don’t include a story about an Illinois monster buck. "Illinois is an epicenter of big buck potential," Whittington says. "There is a corridor from St. Louis to southeast Minnesota, along the Mississippi River drainage that is famous for big-buck potential. Illinois has more of that drainage than any other state." |
 Many big bucks are taken in Illinois river bottom properties along trails at creek crossings. |
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"If you plot on a map the historical cases of big bucks that have been harvested, it will surprise you how many are associated with river corridors," Whittington says. "If you look for future potential, you must first look to the past. From The St. Louis Non-typical to The Illinois Roadkill, you will see a connection to the major river drainages. Major river drainages seem to overlay pockets of big-buck production." "Since Illinois has two major river drainages, with the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, it is no coincidence that big bucks have been showing up in the record books from Illinois. River bottom is typically more fertile. The silt deposits result in better soils. Farmers try to clear as much ground as possible, but there is still a great deal of rough ground along river drainages." "Arid climates (such as Texas) are hard on whitetails. They need water and moisture to thrive. Rivers also provide a means of control in overall herd migration. Deer typically travel river corridors, and this ensures a good genetic mixing. It keeps genetic vitality in the deer herd." |
Look at the state’s record book and compare the number of deer killed with firearms from counties that border major river drainages. You will probably find that these counties account for more than half of the total deer killed by gun hunters in the state.
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Management Advantages States with long range gun seasons that cover the entire rut typically do not produce top record book bucks. In Illinois we are fortunate to have limited gun seasons that do not allow rifle hunting. As a result the bucks have a better chance of surviving longer. Many Illinois bucks older than 2 years are more likely to carry trophy racks. When a buck is young most of his nutritional intake goes toward building strong bones and a healthy body, just like in humans. When a buck gets past 2 years of age, some of his nutrition can be directed toward antler development. What sets Illinois apart is that the deer herd is managed on a county by county basis. Quotas are set by county for either-sex and antler-less deer. Several other states have more restrictions on antler-less deer and less on antlered deer. Illinois tries to place more emphasis on antler-less harvests. ‘Take a doe so the heard won’t grow’ was once a popular slogan. A number of public state sites also have quality management areas with antler restrictions which some believe improves your chances of harvesting bigger bucks. |
 Creek crossings make prime stand locations. Illinois' creeks, streams and rivers contribute to the big buck potential of the state. |
With the majority of Illinois’ hunting property in private ownership, landowners who practice quality management do have a big impact on the deer population. The impact of leasing and outfitters who focus more on older age class bucks has affected the dynamics of the herd as well.
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Government Programs For expert advice we contacted a land consultant who specializes in converting poor quality agricultural land into the ultimate recreational paradise for hunters. Mark Beck is a unique real estate agent with experience in creating trophy buck sanctuaries that routinely produce Midwestern wall hangers. Mark specializes in purchasing marginally producing properties, incorporating several key steps to bring the land to its fullest potential as a whitetail retreat, and then selling the property to buyers interested in hunting big mature bucks. Whether you own or lease 100 or 1000 acres, Mark’s formula for converting these properties into big buck havens will also work for you. |
 Mark Beck with a big Illinois' whitetail he killed on his property, which is intensively managed for mature bucks. |
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 Landowners who take advantage of government programs to set aside acreage for wildlife benefit Illinois' deer hunters. |
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 0435 Illinois is known for trophy bucks, as this rub can attest. But the secrets behind that reputation are many. |
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Nutrition Scientists have shown the protein and phosphorus are important components in antler development. States with high levels of rainfall or acidic soils tend to have lower phosphorus levels. High rainfall will leech the phosphorus from the soil. Rainfall will also greatly affect the quality of forage eaten by deer. According to geologists for IDNR, "Phosphorus minerals occur in almost every igneous rock in the world. Even though the quantity is small, it may still be enough for animals. Dark-colored soils maintain adequate levels of phosphorus, while lighter-colored soils have lower levels. Even our lower level soils have higher levels than some other states, Georgia’s red clay, for example. There is even a correlation between Illinois glacial history. The northeastern third and southeaster third of Illinois were glaciated. These areas have lower phosphorus levels." Availability of natural forage is another factor that affects buck antler development. Grasses, weeds, browse, fruits and mushrooms are all important foods for deer. They eat grasses during late winter and early spring to take advantage of tender new shoots. During other times of year grasses are too high in fiber to digest well. The exceptions would include several cereal grains, such as wheat or oats. |
 Agricultural methods in Illinois result in phosphorus being added to the soil. States with higher phosphorous levels often have bigger bucks. |
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Weeds are often overlooked food sources for deer. Weeds do provide high levels of protein and phosphorus. Mushrooms are another good phosphorus source. Agricultural methods in Illinois also result in phosphorus being added to the soil. During colder climates, deer seek higher carbohydrate foods such as corn and acorns. Illinois is covered in corn fields and has an abundant supply of oak trees. Other FactorsClimate plays a role in deer herd dynamics. Our winters are not so severe that deer herds suffer large winterkills. Weather conditions affect harvest totals and success ratios. Wet fields may keep farmers from harvesting crops. Deer are notorious for living in the middle of corn fields, which can make them difficult to hunt in the early season. Severe weather that falls on short gun seasons may impact the number of hunters in the field. Lack of large predators is another factor affecting the deer herd. Recent rumors of cougars in Illinois were dispelled by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) "While it is not completely impossible for a |
 Mushrooms are an important food for deer and a good source of phosphorous. |
"Actual cougar sightings in Illinois are few and far between. The last cougar found in Illinois was in December of 2004 in Mercer County. It was found already dead, apparently shot with an arrow. Another cougar was found dead after it was hit by a train in Randolph County in July of 2000. Prior to 2000, the last verified record of a cougar in Illinois was from Alexander County in 1862."
The secret behind Illinois' big bucks is complex. There is no simple formula to growing trophy bucks, but Illinois is one state that seems to have found the right combination of ingredients.
