Post gun season blues

[Autumnarcher]

The MI general firearm season is over, and while archery is open in December, its a tough tough battle. The season runs concurrently with muzzleloader season Dec 2-18, then later firearm doe season Dec 19-Jan 1. At least that the deal in the part of the state I hunt.

The early season was slow enough, and now its dead! The deer are either very nocturnal, or holding to cover so thick bowhunting in it is impossible. Or both.
If you do see any, they are so jumpy its insane.
Any suggestions?

[YORNOC]

Same here. Tough hunting for sure.

[Hood]

It's tough hunting for sure. I try to find a food source next to a thick bedding area, then hope they come out just as light is fading. I have taken several this way. Good luck!

[Liquid Amber]

You could move to north Louisiana.  We only share the woods with firearms from mid October to mid January.  You also have to pay more to hunt during this period with a bow than with a gun.  

[doctari]

I was in my tree stand for three hours yesterday in a snow squall. Wet and cold from the wind, toughed it out but seen nothing. I will be back this evening, the forcast is sunshine and in the 30s. I will take all the days I can, It is a long wait until next October. I really love to hunt whitetails with my bow and my own homemade arrows. Hunting is very tough here in December.  

[mcgroundstalker]

I know how you feel... The early archery season is a lot more fun. Guess the number of firearm hunters get the deer all spooked. Can't get within 100 yards of 'em now.

Maybe we'll get some snow here in NY for the late bow season. I dig wearing Predator Fall Grey that time of year.

... mike ...

[b.glass]

I hear ya. It's been raining on my days off and when I go back to work it stops. When I do get out I don't see anything.

[BCWV]

Same here.

 Constant firearms pressure from the week of Thanksgiving through December in WV except for the week before Christmas. Then on again the last week of the year.

 The deer are very spooky, of course I would be too!

[RM81]

With the wet weather last week, gun season kills in Ohio were down this year.

What have you heard about MI?

Hunt the food source if you can.  They have to eat sometime.

[Zradix]

Normally about now... about a week after...they start to settle down a bit.

Course with the flood of inline muzzle loaders there are a few more hunters out there.

Just keep at it.
More to brag about later

[Mark 507]

Same here, very slow since the orange army invaded!

[wildwood]

Well at least you can hunt, our season here in Calif. has been over for a couple of months. Which makes me wonder how the folks north of here in Oregon have done with their late season archery hunt?

[Altiman94]

It gets pretty tough post-gun season here in IA as well.  After the shotgunners have pushed them all over the country side the deer get pretty skittish.  If we get enough COLD and SNOW it will put them on a regular pattern looking for food.

[xtrema312]

Same every year for the most part, but this year was odd I think with spooky deer and mostly nocturnal activity all of early bow season.  I have stayed out of one of my best spots on the farm the end of bow and during gun just to try and have a spot where they can settle down in.  I also have not been in one of my little spots near town since gun started.  They typically don't come in there much after the rut, but some years they pack in to hide out.  I hope one of those spots pan out for a last doe for the year.  I think I will let them set a little longer and maybe wait until next weekend.  

I would love to bow hunt more, but My dad didn’t get a deer this year and now fell on the ice and messed up his shoulder so maybe I will get out the smoke pole or shotgun in the late antlerless season to up the odds and try for one for him.

What we need is some tracking snow to see what is going on.  That would help narrow things down a little when I get back in the woods.

[Zradix]

Originally posted by xtrema312:
.....
What we need is some tracking snow to see what is going on.  That would help narrow things down a little when I get back in the woods.

THAT WOULD BE A NICE BIT OF HELP!

[SS Snuffer]

Same thing here in Minnesota. Its like they went underground. -2 degs. this morning. I love to hunt but I'm gettin to old for this!
But its sooooo loooong till Sept. again.

[Jeff Roark]

man it was a rough late season for me last year. I didn't see a single hair after our rifle season.

This year I'm taking a different approach to my late season hunting. I've found some pine thickets on the end of two points and I set up 2 feeders within close range of them. I'm going to try baiting until the end of our season as bad as I hate to have to do it, but I want another deer in the freezer and if last years late season was any indication how it usually is, I'm changing my tactics.

[b.glass]

There are tracks 15 yds from my stand that I just put up but I don't want to hunt in the rain. I don't know if they are tracks made in the daylight or not.

[Ray Lyon]

John,

Here's a few things to try/keep in mind:

1) Try to have late season areas scouted out after this season is winding down. Find out where deer are bedding in the thick stuff and then back track to food source. If the same food source next December, then set up on trails at the edge of the bedding area, but not too close.  You've got to sneak in to that spot whether it's morning (get there one hour early) or evening.  Don't over hunt the spot or deer will pattern you. I know this doesn't help for this year, but this is tip one. If food source is different, then look for sign leading from the same bedding area (usually they've picked that area for a reason) to the new food source.  
2) Hunt middle of the day.  As the weather get's cold, the deer will move when it's warmest out. This is also when most hunters are out of the woods and deer will get used to that.  Best to find a food source close to bedding and in cover for this time of day.  Perhaps some acorns close to thick stuff.  Consider having stands (or at least trees or natural ground) blind set up in advance of December. As noted above, deer will be super alert to any human presence.  
3) Play slow bump of long narrow habitat with your son.  Set up inside one end a little ways from the edge of thick cover that has a trail and have the other start upwind and move SLOWLY through the cover. Just trying to nudge deer sneaking past the waiting hunter.  This is a good tactic to tell you about point number one above. Note the areas you bumped deer from and then this is area to consider for late season normal tactics listed in one above.

4) Try hunting from the ground.  I find you can slip in and out of an area easier than climbing a tree.  The woods are more open and deer can see us getting out of and into trees from a lot farther distance with no leaf cover.

Good luck.

[Autumnarcher]

Hunting food sources is out, the field next door is(was) beans that have been gone for 7 weeks now. The corn across the road is down, although they will feed on spillage, the two pieces of woods on the property I hunt where they might hold up efore crossing the road after dark are so thick you can't get in or out without making so much noise to push them out. If you do get in there, you shot better be less that 2 ft, becaues thats about as far as you might shoot without hitting brush. Its nasty stuff.

I got permission on another farm today, its really big. Only a light problem with it, there are about 35 other people hunting it. He lets pretty much anyone hunt it. WOrth looking into, but not any high expectations. Not surewhen I'll get a chance to meet up with the owner so he can show me the boundaries, but even if I get a couple late outings, it will be worth looking at anyway.