Late season tactics?

[bigbore442001]

I'd like to ask what methods do you people use at the end of the season? Here in Massachusetts, the deer have been pursued by bowhunters from October 16th to November 25th and then from November 27th to the 9th of December during the shotgun season.

So, after all of that, the muzzleloader hunters can have a crack at them until the end of the year. Needless to say, there are fewer deer in the woods and those that are there are very much spooked from all of the hunting pressure.

What methods do you people, who hunt in similar conditions, use at the last part of the season?

 

[Slamfire]

Here we have a muzzleloader season, followed the next week by an all weapons season, then a week of russian bore/black bear, followed by another all weapons season. I like the late season, not much competition due to the cold. I like to hunt the edges of one the old clear cuts, where the brush is grown more than head high. Sometimes a buck will step out on his way to bed or water. :v

 

[Stumpkiller]

Sit still and shoot straight.

 

[Cherokee]

IM just listening for any movement and ground hunting the deer paths.
I find me a place to set and ambush an approach or two and listen. After maybe an hour or more on one spot and I hear nothing I move maybe 75-100 yards deeper into where I think they are hiding or possibly will approach.
I had my shot and missed. I hope I get another this year if not I give it up to the deer and plan the attack for next year.
The deer IM hunting are running from farm to farm and if one farm isnt hunting them well they dont come back.
The first two days of the seasong here they were running in the woods you could hear them and catch a glimpse of them. I spent five days after that no new tracks no sounds no movement.
IM not even going out to check on them. We have another 2 day weekend added this year for deer gun season and then 4 days statewide muzzleloader season. Bow season runs until Feb 4th!!!

 

[wolfers]

Many times when the pressure is on the older bucks will become nocturnal. Later in the season as pressure lightens up they sometimes get back to their old routines.

There are several things to try. In the morning prior to sun up try to get between their bedding areas and feed ares. Sooner or later they will pass by. Also in the afternoons they could be bedding on the sunny side of a hill in the thicker areas. You will have to still hunt very slowly and walk like you are walking on egg shells. Another tactic could be to find a place where several trails cross paths and hole up in a spot where you have several good shooting lanes and wait em out. That could take days depending on their routine.

Hunting right before a storm front moves in can lead to success. The deer will sometimes feed heavy and often just prior to a storm.

I hope this helps. Good luck and I hope you get a nice one.

 

[Cherokee]

Hunting right before a storm front moves in can lead to success. The deer will sometimes feed heavy and often just prior to a storm.

Thats a good tip there wolf. :thumbsup:

 

[Mad Professor]

With some luck we'll finally get some snow and make still hunting more practical.

The rut will slow down too and bucks will have to start thinking about food for the winter. Not much of a nut crop where I am most of the deer are eating browse, honeysuckle and blackberry leaves.

The colder it gets the more time they will spend on south facing hillsides; I'd look for some with browse as not many nuts this year.

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you have been able to find where the deer are bedding down during the day, hunt the bedding spots. Deer don't often return to the exact same spot, but they will find a similar area each day, and often bed down within a few feet of the bed they used the day before.

Do try to set up to ambush them when they leave their beds to feed. This is often in the last half hour of the day, and sometimes they show up too late to get a good shot.

If you get snow before the season ends, then trach them to their beds and ambush them. IF the season is over, before it snows, get out in the snow and follow the tracks to find out where they like to eat and where they bed down in different wind conditions and temperatures. Snow does not seem to bother deer until it gets 2 feet deep or more. Then they often yard up to protect each other from dogs, coyote packs, and up north, wolves. They will eat everthing in the yarding areas, including tree bark. Look for such areas during the winter months. If you have an early snow next year when the season is still open, you can check back in those yards to see if the deer are there again.

 

[Catof9tails]

For whitetails I like to sit and wait no matter what time of the year. But I find a good, dry snow fall pays an advantage for stalking. Stalking meaning cruising through the woods at a few steps at a time.

Geographic locations will vary with hunting methods. Best advice I can give is know the area and make judgement from there. It's been my experience that whitetails can change patterns by season or overnight. In some areas, them dudes can pose a challenge.

Best of luck on your hunt.
Cat9

 

[RC]

well I ain't the one who asked,but I'm listening too! fer all the deers the state says is in our area(????????)ain't seein them,,,course A LOT of people ain't..a lot! I'm hoping the weather was the biggest issue..it was 62 last week! but we got the same problem alot have,,posted land,them city folk buyin up the land and makin "safe havens" fer the poor defenseless deer..and seems the deer catched on right quick! ain't seen many hunters out either,guess they get bored quick, on the bright side the weather has changed,got some snow last nite...not necessarily a good thing..imho! but I usually see more once ml season[url] starts...again[/url] could be the weather..mostly do the stalkin thing,and checkin dem "lil spots" where they seem to hide cause no one goes there patch of brush,fenceline, etc..anyways good luck to all,i gots 12 days left...hope all yer hunts are good,even the "unsuccessful"ones! RC

 

[Big John]

Bedding and feeding areas and don't forget the 2nd. rut for does that were not bred during Nov.! Most of all, get away from where most hunters go.

 

[Headhunter]

Sneak slowly to cover ground and hunt near food sources.

Headhunter

 

[barebackjack]

I prefer to stand hunt. Unless we have snow, sill hunting is not really an option in our thick underbrush woods.

I do however like to still hunt on that first heavy snow of the year, with the big wet flakes. The wind is howling across the open ground, but deep back in the woods its really cool, big flakes drifting to the ground, 1-2 feet of fresh snow on the ground to dampen your footfall. Put on a white suit and sneak right up to em.

 

[playfarmers]

I like to still hunt if conditions permit, and I have found that the Deer never really stop moving deep in the bush. Set up close to a bedding area, or an area they feed that is deep in the trees. You have to set up in these areas well before first light and sit high in a tree stand, and stay as long as you can. A climbing stand works good for this.

 

All our rifle seasons are over, except for a late, (January) anterless season so I'm back in the woods with my long bow. I'm most like The Wolf in my hunting methods. If conditions allow I'll be still hunting. Often such is not the case here in the Ozarks. Dry leaves and right now REALLY crunchy snow and ice will keep me on a stand, ground or tree, between feeding and bedding areas.

As I write this all the acorns are under 3-4 inches of sleet and ice and 3-4 inches of snow on top of that. Groceries are a little tough for deer to come by so any concentration of feed or in some places, south facing slopes where the snow and ice have melted off can be good. In my area they seem to be out at any and all times of the day. Hunting just before a low pressure system moves in has always been good, same with fishing.

I often see more deer during the later bow season and I believe this is because of less hunting pressure and groceries being considerably reduced....to say nothing of being able to see farther thru the woods and snow cover.

Vic

 

[Chiefs50]

I have a similar situation hunting on public access lands in the Central U.P. of Michigan. Bow hunting runs from Oct 1 thru Nov 14; followed by the regular firearms season that runs from Nov 15 thru Nov 30. By the time the muzzleloader season rolls around on the first weekend in December,the few remaining bucks have pretty much gone nocturnal and seem to have disappeared from the woods. The past two years I have seen nothing but does and fawns and even these were very nervous and skittish. It is not unusual to stand hunt all day and not see a deer.

The best solution, IMHO, would be to find a decent sized tract of land that hasn't been hunted during the earlier seasons - most likely private land. Harder and harder to find these days - I'm still looking. I've used most of the methods described here by others and none of them have proven to be very effective in getting within shooting distance of those elusive bucks during this late season. If the weather is cold and the snow cover isn't too deep, I don the overwhites and still hunt the south faces of hardwood ridges ( particularly those containg beech or oaks ) from mid-morning until early afternoon. Other than that, I'm pretty much a trail watcher especially those located between bedding areas and any remaining food sources.

 

Get in the thick stuff, sit still, read sign, mind the wind and shoot straight!

Billy