Late season bow hunting..

[RedShaft]

Those of you who hunt the late season, got some questions.

Ours don't come in till after Christmas so with that in mind

1. Do you guys hunt the evenings the most? Any morning hunters?
2. I don't have fields or food plots to hunt over, so it's browse and acorns. And we have plenty this year. So.. how do you guys go about hunting deer in the late season that have been pressured hard and figure them out?
With snow do you guys just walk n hunt over left over acorns that you can see they they are hitting?
Find heaviest cover near by in hopes there bedding there? The deer here bed all over. There is no defined bedding area. So I can never tell where they come from. It's different day to day.
How do you figure out deer like that in late season?

[RedShaft]

How long do you guys normally sit?
our temps are usually 10deg to 35deg normally.

[Orion]

Haven't done much late season hunting lately, but when I did, it wasn't unusual to sit dark to dark.  Going to have to hunt late season this year if I want to eat venison.  Pretty sure I can't take the cold for all day sits like I used to so it will be a couple of hours in the morning and a couple in the evening, with maybe still hunting and/or scouting mid-day.

Do some scouting first.  Deer usually herd up a bit, particularly the does, after gun hunting seasons over and they make trails to/from bedding/feeding areas. Find some of those and set up accordingly. I generally try to get closer to bedding areas in the morning, hoping to catch them before they come back to bed, and nearer feeding areas in the evening.  Regardless, In my neck of the woods,they often move the first or last half-hour of the day and not much in between unless spooked by small game hunters, dogs, etc.  They move a lot at night, of course.  Good luck.

[FlintNSteel]

I never had much luck in the morning on late season (December) bowhunts.  I generally sleep in, then very quietly scout suspected feeding areas looking for fresh sign.  Then I set up and sit the spot with the best sign and wind direction for about the last three hours of daylight, though all deer I've killed in December have been in the fading minutes of legal shooting time.  In heavily pressured areas, they just don't move, after being pursued for months, until it's nearly dark.

In other areas of the country or even on large parcels of private property, the experience may be completely different.

[oldskool]

I find the deer move more between 9 and 3 when it warms up a little. I look for feeding areas and find a well used trail them and set up on them playing the wind. I have had real good success doing this

[achigan]

Lots of variables. Best time for deer movement is just before a front comes in.
   They will go to food, even at mid-day. Hunt the bedding-to-food trails.                         Early morning can be noisy with the re-freeze of the snow.
   If you can;t sit/stand still, they'll see you, so good cold weather clothing is a must.
   In bitter cold, they'll be out of the wind, on a south facing slope if the sun is out.

[TooManyHobbies]

I actually like the late season, cold crisp mornings. Crunchier the better, especially with snow. Sure, it's noisy going in, but once on stand you can hear the deer walking 100 yards off. See them better against the snow and obviously know where the trails are. Perfect calling conditions IMO. Mostly doe bleats, since the does are grouping up, and lone bucks will respond too. Four hours and I'm usually done. Evenings can be just as good when super cold, then it's usually 2- 2.5 hrs. Unfortunately, our day ends at sunset, not 1/2 hr after like some states. Dec. 7 - 12 (second rut) can be great.

[evgb127]

My strategy this year is to ditch the tree stand and use a pop-up blind as a "shelter" from the elements so I can hunt longer in the cold.  I've never tried it before so I'll have to let you know how it goes.  If I still lived in Erie, I'd just build an igloo...    

[Sawpilot 75]

I usually hunt transition areas in the morning catching them early coming to bed and the evening coming to a good food source. Both sits I will sit from dark-noon for a morning sit and evening from about 1-dark. Temps here in Mid-Ohio can be brutal with the wind. I have found Cabelas Berber fleece to be a good garment to cut the wind as well as the new Sitka Fanatic Berber bibs. A good base layer is the key for me. I like a good Merino wool. A hand mitt with hot hands helps to keep my hands warm. A few years back my wife bought me a Heater Body Suit. That is the best thing I have ever used. I dressed like it was September, carried it on my back to the tree and used my haul line to pull it up then put it on in the stand. The only downfall was slipping it open enough to shoot out of. But it was sure warm on those nasty days.

[Trenton G.]

I hunt a lot late season, but it almost exclusively in the evening. Movement tends to be earlier, but just like any other time of year, they will come in wherever. The toughest part for me, especially with snow on the ground, is not getting caught. I usually look for a really heavy trail. There are a few cornfields around that have a strip of public hardwoods between them and a large swamp. The deer beat some highways through there during the winter. I usually see deer when hunting these trails, just have trouble getting it done.

[Mint]

Hunting Long Island is basically the same as what you are describing in Pa. I set up close to laurels along some well used trails and wait. I hunt both the mornings and evenings since you never know what will come by. The deer have been pressured but by this time the woods are empty.

[Red Beastmaster]

Deer drives!

I have the perfect woodlot behind my house for doing a slow push. It's not hard to get some trad shooting buddies together on a Saturday. We shoot at my range to warm up then head to the woods. We have spots to stand already picked out. Once everyone is in place I take a walk to get things moving. We almost always see deer.

If things go as planned the deer are just walking and looking back for me. Shots have been taken, one nice buck down, but always a whole lot of fun. Sometimes the drive ends with a big fire, hot dogs, more shooting arrows and the bull, and bonding friendships.

When hunting solo I like to still hunt or stand by a tree on a field edge in the evening.

[J. Cook]

I enjoy late season hunting - our season here in NC goes through Jan 2nd, and then there is a February urban bow-only season in my area as well.  Most of my hunting here is in urban plots where deer are not pushed and/or disturbed by the firearms seasons.  So for me, nothing really changes.  Deer movement is roughly the same (although truly urban deer follow much less of a pattern anyhow).  

I grew up, and still spend a lot of my time hunting, in West Virginia.  Late season there is a different story.  Even on private land, the deer have been pushed hard for rifle and then smoke poles.  The deer there in late season are wound tight and always on edge.  You have to hunt a reliable food source, and hunt with an even higher level of caution to movement and shot selection.  

It truly varies based on where you hunt, and deer pressure the months prior to your "late season."

[Paul Shirek]

I have hunted in WI for years and taken a number of deer in December. I find the more harsh the weather the better for deer movement. It sounds like we have a lot of the same issues to deal with as you. I hunt big public land with no fields. All the questions you asked I would say yes to. I find just before dark (barely before) is when deer seem to move best. No need to sit long. Also, I would get on the best deer sign you find and sit there getting is as quietly as possible. You may need to adjust where you sit based on what you experience. For me it is often keep looking and keep trying and eventually it works out. Even if you see deer but not near you, you can adjust next time. Our deer are highly pressured too so I find that later in December works better. If you have snow it can really help. The deeper the better. It will concentrate deer.

[LB_hntr]

Late season is my favorite. Michigan very similar to your pressure. I'm on public land as well right after the gun season.
Mornings are great evening is great!
Hunt just like early season. But go deeper and thicker.
Bedding to feeding travel is best to hunt. Stay closer to bedding rather than feeding as feeding will be later due to snow and brightness.
When you get snow scout from food back to bedding and find intersections and where trails come close together near beddding. Deer also browse midday by bedding.
On cold cold days deer more more mid day to take advantage of warm temps.
Buy a cheap Walmart sleeping bag and bring it to the stand with you. On stand climb into sleeping bag and strap it around your waist like pants. Zip up over your shoulders. When see deer unzip shoulders and let bag hang around your waist.

In winter deer patterns change with available food. Scout and stay on top of it. When snow gets 8" deep or more deer start to yard up in smaller areas and uses only a few trails and don't travel far for bed/feed do constantly scout to keep with changes.

Late season deer are very educated. Watch where you walk (don't leave scent on trails), watch noise and movements.

Important: font hunt same stand spot more than once a week. As soon as you walk there deer will know you are there and avoid it for a bit....they don't like you!
Have multiple spots even around same bedding areas. A shift of 25-50 yards is often all they will do to avoid you. Be prepared to be mobile and constantly changing spots.

Also important: cut the wind 50-50. Meaning give the deer the false illusion that they have the wind in their favor but hunt a spot that the wind is not going to hit them. This time of year they like to use the wind to their advantage due to high predator activity and low energy.
Stay out of windy places if the wind is beating you up it will Rob the deer of heat and they won't use that spot.
On sunny cold days south facing slopes are deer magnets due to sun and shallow snow and easy vegetation access.
Leeward side of hills get most daytime travel due to wind funnel created by wind over top and thermals from below.
Use a sled to carry stands gear to far in places. Sled is quite and saves you from over heating plus gives you a good way to get deer out.
Pay attention to track directions in mud or snow so you know what way to expect deer so you have time to get out of sleeping bag etc.
Look for areas of pine and cedar as they provide good wind blocks and shallow snow

[Tajue17]

deer drives?   Please what is the ratio for wounded and lost vs lethal hits and deer where found..  
some guys here where talking about trying this after watching the guys from Leatherwood outdoors but after seeing our people shoot at moving targets who are confirmed lethal shots from the stand they couldn't hit a 8" pie plate that was tapped to a seat cushion stuffed inside a spare tire rolled slow down a slight hill to save their own lives.

everyone agreed to call it off!  a serious question though for those of you who deer drive with stickbows,, how many lost wounded deer from moving shots and are you grunt stopping the deer??

I did one drive in my life with black powder and the deer where coming thru at me hard,, I had a hard time putting iron sights on them let alone picking a spot for an arrow then leading at release I don't understand how its effective unless the deer is 10' away like on leatherwood outdoors.

[Friend]

Some of my best hunting.

For me, late season is a new beginning.

[highlow]

T17. A bunch of us get together for a Saturday in January and all we do is drive. Can't speak for the rest of the group but I wouldn't take a running shot. If it isn't standing still, it gets a pass. Even standing there is no guarantee it won't be a less than lethal shot, but as you know, that's stickbow hunting. Over the years, we haven't put much of a dent in the whitetail population during late season but we have one hell of a time.

[fnshtr]

Lots of great information in this thread. I'll add a technique I've found to be super effective, and include a precaution.

We often have our first snow accumulation during late season here. It seems that during the first few snows deer begin adapting to it. I buy a few pairs of disposable white tyvek coveralls and either still hunt through thickets during mid-day or take stands on the ground downwind of game trails, morning and/or evenings.

Make sure the white camo is legal and safe in your hunting area. I hunt private land where I'm assured of who, if any, hunters will be there.

What I have found is that white camo seems especially effective during those first few snows of the winter. Of course there is also plenty of commercial snow camo available.

[fnshtr]

We call them "pushes" not "drives", and we don't take running shots. Moving deer toward standers can be very effective.

Even if we can't shoot like Uncle Barry in "Hunting October Whitetails" deer pushes are not unethical.