11 Late Season Deer Hunting Tips

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!

Comments

21 Responses to “11 Late Season Deer Hunting Tips”

Dave @ Land Bin on January 8th, 2008 3:03 pm

Your first point is my favorite. I harvested the biggest buck of my life when I was a 17 y/o kid. Was at a buddies hunting shack and we accidentally overslept for opener (may have had a couple of underage beers). Finally got out and about around noon. I was walking down the trail when I heard him in the woods. I stopped and the monster came out about 25 yards in front of me and he was staring at the ground.

If I would have made it to my stand in the morning, I would have missed him.
okoutdoorsman on January 8th, 2008 3:48 pm

Glad to see you mention the second rut. Most people aren’t even aware that there is one. If a doe does not breed during the first rut, she will usually go into estrous again about a month later. Like you mentioned, it’s not quite as active, but the bucks will still be trailing those does so you can use some of the same tactics such as doe in estrous scents.

Now as far as me during the late season? Our late season here in Oklahoma is pretty much just extra doe days. This is when I like to go out with my daughter who doesn’t hunt quite as much as myself or my son. This is our time together and I don’t even take any weapons with me.
Chris on January 8th, 2008 4:50 pm

Great points especially about practicing shooting with your winter clothes on. I have missed several deer in the late muzzleloader season in PA. I now wonder how much it may have been affected by wearing winter clothes. Very interesting post. Thanks
Arthur on January 8th, 2008 10:15 pm

All great points. I can’t say I’ve shot a late season deer, but one of these days. Too bad our season’s have completed. The good news is is that my freezer isn’t empty:):)
Kris on January 14th, 2008 11:59 am

Good suggestions! In WV, there is a lot of pressure through almost every season. However, in Alabama, where the season runs from October through January, the hunting pressure is much lighter. When I am hunting there after New Years, I rarely see other hunters out and about. It is nice to have the woods to yourself occasionally!
John on January 19th, 2008 7:15 pm

Great points, you’re very right about shooting differently in winter clothing. Before it gets cold I’ll actually practice shooting in winter clothes. Gets a little hot though. Sounds crazy, but my accuracy is alot better when the cold finally hits..

http://www.huntinglivegame.info/
stacey on March 4th, 2008 1:18 am

Very informative article about deer hunting. All the tips on deer hunting are useful I particularly like the tip It’s about food and winter is the best month for deer hunt. I am planning for deer hunt this winter,thank you.
Nathan King on August 4th, 2008 11:30 am

Great tips! I’m going to be doing some bow hunting in the Ozarks (Bella Vista) this year and I am glad I stumbled on your blog today! It’s nice to see deer that big actually exist (or at least used to exist) in my location.

I haven’t hunted since I was a kid (more a logistical problem than anything) and don’t remember a lot of those little tricks my dad taught me.
Deer Hunting on August 4th, 2008 7:23 pm

Hey Nathan,

Thanks for stopping by. I miss hunting the Ozarks, especially in the late season. I used to hunt North of Mulberry, East of Mountainburg and in Northern Crawford county.

During late season I had the whole woods to myself.

I found those Rock Pile bucks a little easier to hunt due to their terrain. During the rut, the bigger bucks seamed to run the 2nd or 3rd bench from the top of the ridges. And the few saddles I found, were deer magnets.

Good Luck on your hunting season!
Nathan King on August 10th, 2008 9:36 pm

Was I-540 in yet? That is such a pretty drive now. Hey, if you want to come back down, I wouldn’t complain a bit! I have never hunted publicly available land before like I am this year. I’ve got a lot of questions, like do you just show up? If you stumble on another hunter is it just tough luck that 2 people are hunting the same location?

Where I’ve hunted was either private land or a few days before your went hunting you went and drew from a bowl where you would be hunting and that’s where you hunted. So one hunting party per “zone” (I don’t remember what they were called) and it was very strict and structured.

But hey, I was doing some scouting this afternoon and stumbled across 4-5 deer where I wanted to spend opening day! That was encouraging.
Beau Stough on November 13th, 2008 3:31 pm

Hey. I’m 14 years old. I just hopped on the net to check out some tips cause me and my dad are going muzzleloading soon. nov 29th. theres a huge 12 point where i am and i wanna see it on my wall
Deer Hunting on November 17th, 2008 10:58 am

Good luck Beau, let us know if you get that big rascal! Would love to see a picture of him if you do. Keep us updated!

Don
Zach on November 26th, 2008 2:08 pm

hey thanks for those tips im a freshman at PSU and of course we dont get first day of rifle season off which is always the first mon after thanksgiving. and since i wont be able to hunt this year i asked for a flintlock(and through good sources understand it will be under the christmas tree) so that i could hunt the late season and hopefully take some jerky back up to college with me.
Deer Hunting on December 2nd, 2008 12:02 am

@ Zach

Good luck with Santa bringing that flintlock. Hope you get to take big bags of fresh jerky back to the dorm!

Don
Beau Stough on December 6th, 2008 2:24 pm

Hey don.. i shot him opening morning.. 216 pounds!
Jacob Cooke on December 18th, 2008 2:34 pm

Thanks for the tips, i usually hunt during the rut and early season archary, but this year im going to Anderson County KY, to hunt in the late season muzzleloader and i think these tips will really help, in all the 16 years of my life I have never killed a big buck so hopefully the tips you gave us will help…
Chris V on February 11th, 2009 1:21 pm

I shot da tirty pointer. me and beau were sitting in the same field and two monsters came out and i popped mine and beau stood up and unloaded luckily hit the monster 12 on his last shit. time for next year
Deer Hunting the Post-Rut | Wired To Hunt on December 1st, 2009 2:38 am

[...] 11 Late Season Deer Hunting Tips [...]
scott on December 10th, 2009 5:54 pm

love the tips. eveyone i hunt with never like hunting late season,me i’ll hunt as long as there is something to hunt cold warm doesn’t matter. i live for hunting just wish the people i hunt with felt the same. emailed the 11 tips to them what else can i say if they don’t convience ya i don’t know what will. GOOD LUCK ALL BE SAFE
mark on December 31st, 2009 7:17 pm

I haventm seen a deer in a couple weeks. Glad to hear there is still hope.I aint quitin till deer season is over.
Joshua Therit on December 22nd, 2010 12:51 pm

Thanks for the tips. I live in PA and late season archery starts 2 days after christmas. Hopefully these pointers help. Thanks

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