Tips for Late Deer Hunting Season

As October passes and November rolls around, hunters begin to feel the agitated pressure of fulfilling their deer tag. The ultimatum slowly sinks in: “Hunt now or wait until next year.” Avid hunters refuse to give up and spend every spare waking moment in search for the perfect buck to add to their much needed (and dwindling) winter meat supplies.

Towards the end of the season, those final few days before deer comes to a close, offers a fantastic opportunity for hunters to find mature bucks. Some states allow baiting. If this is permissible in an area, during deep winter freezes, it will definitely attract bucks from all around. A salt lick, cracked corn, veggies … those few items go far in the wilderness when precious foraging grasses are minimal and likely covered in a thick blanket of snow.

Here are three last-minute hunting tactics that can pay off big in late deer hunting season:

1. Hunting the Beds – As food sources dwindle, some areas find bucks frequent them more during daylight hours than at night. If there is an area a hunter believes is a buck bedding meadow, hunters are advised to hunt early mornings and late evenings. Typically, deer frequent some bedding areas around mid-morning, especially during late season.
2. Get Going! – As the last few days of deer hunting season approach, hunters become more desperate. No longer are they simply scouting areas, but they’re looking for a buck to haul home for a valuable food source. When deer are hard on foot, trudging through snow, hunters can risk more movement, allowing them to get closer for a definite kill shot.
3. The Move and Stick Technique – This passive-aggressive technique is perfect if there are a few more days left in the season and the hunter isn’t panicking quite yet. When an acceptable buck is located, but a shot is not possible, a hunter can mark that specific area and come back there every morning and evening until the deer returns. Typically late-season deer stay in the same patterns once they locate reliable food sources. Hunters can learn from these patterns and use them to their advantages.

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