Don’t give up on deer hunting in the final days of the season
Late-season bucks, including trophy bucks, are still available for hunters willing to put in the effort, but tactical changes are required once the transition from rut to post-rut occurs.
Without the rut advantage, where bucks sometimes compromise their normally high-level survival instincts for reproduction, hunters must adapt to changed patterns in this last-chance quest for deer.
Adapt to their world
Darrell Madden from Semora, NC, is a member of the Redhead Prostaff Team at Bass Pro Shops and he’s passionate about late-season hunting. Madden said that while big bucks are still a possibility, consistently successful hunting requires more diligence.
“First, the behavior of bucks and does has changed,” he said. “I include does because I know some hunters now target them to put meat in the freezer. The key for either is to hunt where deer are now, not where they were earlier in the season.”
Madden said he loves to target trophy bucks in the rut, and having more does available in his hunting area helps attract bucks. And now is a good time to harvest does.
“Harvesting does in late-season is an ideal time to crop excess does to keep the balance you want on your property, and to put meat in the freezer,” he said.
Madden said hunting pressure throughout the season ensures deer are now on high alert for any hunter intrusion into their world. Hunters must employ stealth, use well-hidden stand locations, and play the wind properly for last-chance success.
“The foliage is gone from hardwoods, and the trees that helped hide a hunter earlier are barren of leafy cover now,” he said. “The deer stands that produced bucks in the rut may no longer be the best option if they’re visible from the deer’s perspective. Also, deer location patterns change, and deer often migrate to different habitats in post-rut.”
Madden said a good example for late-season is to hunt an open edge line. Backing the stand off the edge of the tree line, moving it to a location inside the tree line, is a good option to camouflage the stand. Large pines or hardwoods adjacent to dense cover, such as a cutover in years 3 to 8 of regeneration, also provides an excellent late-season deer stand location.
“Another option is using a climbing stand, specifically the type where the hunter is behind the tree trunk when positioned,” Madden said. “The tree shields the body, but the hunter can look around either side of the tree, reducing their visibility. Head movement must be limited and slow, but it’s a good option. And climbing high in this type stand provides better visibility into clearcut areas where the leafy cover is now off most scrub trees.”
Ground blinds are effective during the late season, especially around open edges adjacent to cutover areas, or within the cutover with lanes cut through the dense growth. Even though the greenery is gone except for small pines, the thick, gnarly cover, blended with the cover provided these small pines, provides an excellent opportunity to have a well-hidden ground blind setup.
“Employing the maze of dense cover to conceal the blind, but ensure an open line of sight, allows you to see down an open lane to a bait station, or significant trail, crossing the open lane,” he said.
Open fields with food sources along the wooded edge lines, or those adjacent to cutover areas, are also good options, and can be successfully hunted from a ground blind.
Fresh Food is a Great Draw
More than breeding season has ended by the time late-season arrives in the deer woods. Natural food sources have also diminished significantly.
Tyler Chappell from Gray Court, SC, is a professional guide and wildlife manager. Chappell (864-419-1462) and business partner Andy Shaw operate Solid Stand Property Management company. They specialize in designing and implementing management plans to transform properties into elite hunting areas.
Chappell said food is an important attraction for deer this time of year.
“The late season, and through the remainder of winter, is a tough time for deer in terms of available natural food sources,” he said. “Having a food source, or multiple sources, for deer is crucial late-season. One of the top foods used by hunters is corn, and that’s a good option. Bait stations have proven to work, but it’s crucial to set up bait stations where deer are already active.”
Chappell said food plots require work, but they provide an edge over hunters on adjacent lands who don’t put in the effort.
“I’ve found it effective to plant food plots in the interior of my property, or properties we develop for other hunters,” he said. “I’ll do the work because I don’t want a big buck that has lived on my property all fall to leave in search of better food sources in late-season.”
Plan your route
Madden said getting to and from your hunting stand at any time of the season is important, but late-season stealth is crucial.
“One reason is that we’ve lost the advantage of vegetative cover we had earlier in the season to help us get to our stand and out of the area at hunt’s end without alerting deer,” he said. “When setting up stands specifically for late-season hunting, I map out a route to and from the stand that keeps me visually hidden and considers the prevailing winds for this time of year.”
Madden said a lot of deer movement in the late season occurs during low light, so hunters should get to the stand well before dark if they are hunting in the afternoon.
“Spending extra time in a deer stand when trying to get the crosshairs on a big late-season buck is time well spent,” he said. “And you may get to watch does or smaller bucks as well. If you’re seeking meat for the freezer, big does are often feeding well before dark.”
If the buck you’re targeting doesn’t arrive in the evening, you may still have multiple does or small bucks feeding in the area, he said. This situation amplifies the need for secure egress out of the area. Getting out without alerting deer enhances your odds of seeing the targeted buck on your next trip to that stand.
Madden said secure ingress to the stand is important for morning hunts.
“Getting into the stand undetected in the morning is applicable anytime, but crucial in late-season,” Madden said. “During late-season, deer may be at your food-source contact point long before shooting light. I get in the stand extremely early and have the cover of darkness to help me.”
It’s essential for multiple reasons.
“As the sky begins to lighten, the first thing I hope to see in the scope is the fuzzy blobs of deer feeding at the contact point,” he said. “If I were arriving at that time, the odds are high they’d see or hear me, and the hunt would be over before I enter the stand.”
If deer are unaware of your presence, the odds are higher that they’ll feed long enough for you to have a clear vision of target opportunities.
“The buck on my hit list will be among the first to leave as it gets light,” he said. “This is when quality optics are worth every dollar spent. And it’s true for late evening hunting because low light is when the bucks usually move. And when hunting mornings, that move is from the food source into heavy cover.
“I’ve shot some quality bucks in low light periods because I have quality optics that improve vision in low light,” Madden said. “It’s a much-discussed topic, but it is the truth. Get the best scope you can afford, and you’ll see more low-light bucks, especially in late-season.”
Finally, Madden said to dress warmly on cold late-season mornings because cold weather tends to keep deer more active.
“Shivering in the stand is not what you want when that big buck is in your crosshairs,” he said.
Take the advice of these late-season hunting pros and develop a plan of last chance hunting strategy for your hunting property, and your late-season hunting success will improve.
Provide late-season access to food
Deer habitat preference patterns often change significantly in late season, Tyler Chappell said. “As long as access to water and food exists, they’ll live in thick cover,” he said. “Corn works best when placed in the right areas. Keeping corn at a spot continuously is important (where legal) because I want deer to always have food available, and that’s a temptation that’s difficult for deer to turn down during late season. A hunter’s job in keeping corn available comes with a need to keep human scent and intrusion to a minimum. Drive in and dump it off the back of the truck or 4-wheeler if possible.”
Another tactic is having food plots with late-season greenery, and planting crops that grow well in your soil type. This provides succulent green growth that’s almost irresistible to deer, Chappell said. The question is whether they arrive during shooting time.
“Providing deer the option of greenery from late-season plantings such as wheat, rye, turnips, or any local greenery that grows well in your soil is effective,” he said. “Add a corn bait station in the same general area, in or close to the food plot, and you’ve provided two excellent attractors for deer.”
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