Late Season Deer Hunting Tactics

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Late Season Deer Hunting Tactics

December 10, 2010 by Jacob McIntosh

To say this season has been odd — would be an understatement! The early season’s weather made hunting conditions, in many areas, less than ideal. This left a lot of folks banking on the rut, which ultimately fell pretty flat for many hopeful hunters. The 2010 deer season has been a head-scratcher. Even so, we have been fortunate this year.

We’ve had steady deer activity despite very unusual patterns all season.

At Chasin’ Tails, we are fortunate to have harvest a number of deer. Both Justin and our dad scored impressive bucks and only until recently…I was rewarded a nice doe. Each season has its ups and downs. All we can do is put in our time to win. Lose or draw, it’s important to enjoy the pursuit.

As we approach the latter part of the season, it’s important to note and take advantage of specific transitions deer are making. As they shift from rut activity into their winter patterns, the key to success now is through their stomach! Food, food, and more food! That is what drives deer this time of year! If you’re hunting agriculture land or areas with food plots, now is the time to get on them!

As whitetail herd up and begin their winter methods, chances are when you see deer — you’re going to see lots of them! If you’re a big-woods hunter, or don’t have a food plot to sit over, being able to identify deer wintering areas can mean hitting the jackpot big!

So this will be our focus as we hunt throughout the rest of the season. We’ll frequent our proven areas that we know produce big deer! We’re also hopeful that we’ll soon be able to venture back across the border to Wisconsin. The river we travel is frozen-over and is making more and more ice everyday! Soon, we’ll be able to drag a deer home.

There is a late season antlerless hunt in WI that runs from Dec. 9th through the 12th that we’re excited for as well! The season runs until Jan. 1 in Minnesota and Jan. 9 in Wisconsin.

One of our biggest challenges now will be the weather. Bowhunting in frigid cold conditions is especially difficult but we’ll be hitting the woods for as long as we can! Like I say — Ya can’t get’ em on the couch! So we’ll be doing our best to take advantage of the late season opportunities we have in the coming weeks and we’ll of course be bringing you updates along the way!

So if you’re like us — with the ol’ smoke pole or still flingin’ arrows, we want to wish you good luck and continued success this late season! Thanks for tuning in, stay warm and shoot straight!