Bowhunting after the orange army.

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isitseasonyet?
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Bowhunting after the orange army.

Unread postby isitseasonyet? » Mon Nov 16, 2015 12:06 pm

Well with that the MN rifle season ends and I still have my tag. This season I have seen more big bucks than ever but havent been able to seal the deal. I figure since many of you guys are already tagged out you have plenty of time and imput to offer. :wink: I know that I'm gonna have to work hard to get it done and probably relearn what the deer are doing. How do you fellas go about hunting after the orange army cleans out the woods? Any imput would be appreciated, and if you don't know atleast wish me good luck!

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Re: Bowhunting after the orange army.

Unread postby olivertractor » Mon Nov 16, 2015 12:11 pm

Food food food close to cover

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Re: Bowhunting after the orange army.

Unread postby superseal » Mon Nov 16, 2015 12:33 pm

Hunt where the orange army isn't....sounds pretty logical. I hunt a few small woodlots in farming country. They seem to heat up and hold more deer after gun season opens. If I haven't over hunted them early season these woodlots can be a sanctuary during gun season.

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Re: Bowhunting after the orange army.

Unread postby Bowhunter4life » Mon Nov 16, 2015 1:14 pm

Food is a big thing but I believe guys get to hung up on that cause that's all you hear on tv and read in books come late season. If your hunting pressured land which it sounds like you are I would not worry too much about food or at least not worry about hunting it. That's not where your gonna find the big bucks. Hunting after all the pressure means finding those little remote areas or overlooked areas that others have not invaded. For me it often means going in deeper on the public. If you have a property that has say some area blocked off by water and is extremely hard to get to, that's where you will find them.

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Re: Bowhunting after the orange army.

Unread postby James » Mon Nov 16, 2015 1:43 pm

Bowhunter4life wrote:Food is a big thing but I believe guys get to hung up on that cause that's all you hear on tv and read in books come late season. If your hunting pressured land which it sounds like you are I would not worry too much about food or at least not worry about hunting it. That's not where your gonna find the big bucks. Hunting after all the pressure means finding those little remote areas or overlooked areas that others have not invaded. For me it often means going in deeper on the public. If you have a property that has say some area blocked off by water and is extremely hard to get to, that's where you will find them.

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Bingo. Take your craziest remote spot that you hike into. I think guys over exaggerate distances because the terrain feels like it (most tracts aren't big enough), but let's be generous and say it's a 3 mile hike to a remote stand. So that buck from his bed has to do the same hike you did, except he isn't carrying gear and his body is made for it. So if it took you 1-2 hours it could take him less. Not a big deal to make that round trip every night for food.

I hunt spots like this in a public marsh all of the time. The most remote bucks me and my buddies have shot always have corn in their stomachs. Even when it is miles away.

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Re: Bowhunting after the orange army.

Unread postby Lockdown » Mon Nov 16, 2015 1:56 pm

James wrote:
Bowhunter4life wrote:Food is a big thing but I believe guys get to hung up on that cause that's all you hear on tv and read in books come late season. If your hunting pressured land which it sounds like you are I would not worry too much about food or at least not worry about hunting it. That's not where your gonna find the big bucks. Hunting after all the pressure means finding those little remote areas or overlooked areas that others have not invaded. For me it often means going in deeper on the public. If you have a property that has say some area blocked off by water and is extremely hard to get to, that's where you will find them.

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Bingo. Take your craziest remote spot that you hike into. I think guys over exaggerate distances because the terrain feels like it (most tracts aren't big enough), but let's be generous and say it's a 3 mile hike to a remote stand. So that buck from his bed has to do the same hike you did, except he isn't carrying gear and his body is made for it. So if it took you 1-2 hours it could take him less. Not a big deal to make that round trip every night for food.

I hunt spots like this in a public marsh all of the time. The most remote bucks me and my buddies have shot always have corn in their stomachs. Even when it is miles away.

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Solid advice from both of these guys.

Not all that long ago I used to think that it was game over after shotgun season. Definitely not the case! Around here we see a fair amount of muzzleloading pressure, so that factors in. Once that is over, I have noticed that the more snow we get, the more the deer seem to forget about the onslaught that just occurred. Same goes for cold temperatures.

Before I forget to mention it, don't be afraid to knock on doors after the gun seasons. Some people will let you in, especially if they are the weekend warrior type.

If you have any bedding located, I would be racing out after every snowfall and trying to pick up big tracks and go from there. IMHO bucks are more predictable in the late late season than any other time during the season. Bed to food, food to bed, repeat.

The guys that mentioned food are right... you need to find a good food source. That is a MUST. However, don't hunt over it. Follow big tracks back to their beds if you can. Just like always, hunt the bedding not the food.

Also, I've had way better luck in the evenings. Not to mention December mornings can be brutally cold.
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Re: Bowhunting after the orange army.

Unread postby olivertractor » Mon Nov 16, 2015 2:20 pm

Lockdown wrote:
James wrote:
Bowhunter4life wrote:Food is a big thing but I believe guys get to hung up on that cause that's all you hear on tv and read in books come late season. If your hunting pressured land which it sounds like you are I would not worry too much about food or at least not worry about hunting it. That's not where your gonna find the big bucks. Hunting after all the pressure means finding those little remote areas or overlooked areas that others have not invaded. For me it often means going in deeper on the public. If you have a property that has say some area blocked off by water and is extremely hard to get to, that's where you will find them.

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Bingo. Take your craziest remote spot that you hike into. I think guys over exaggerate distances because the terrain feels like it (most tracts aren't big enough), but let's be generous and say it's a 3 mile hike to a remote stand. So that buck from his bed has to do the same hike you did, except he isn't carrying gear and his body is made for it. So if it took you 1-2 hours it could take him less. Not a big deal to make that round trip every night for food.

I hunt spots like this in a public marsh all of the time. The most remote bucks me and my buddies have shot always have corn in their stomachs. Even when it is miles away.

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image


Solid advice from both of these guys.

Not all that long ago I used to think that it was game over after shotgun season. Definitely not the case! Around here we see a fair amount of muzzleloading pressure, so that factors in. Once that is over, I have noticed that the more snow we get, the more the deer seem to forget about the onslaught that just occurred. Same goes for cold temperatures.

Before I forget to mention it, don't be afraid to knock on doors after the gun seasons. Some people will let you in, especially if they are the weekend warrior type.

If you have any bedding located, I would be racing out after every snowfall and trying to pick up big tracks and go from there. IMHO bucks are more predictable in the late late season than any other time during the season. Bed to food, food to bed, repeat.

The guys that mentioned food are right... you need to find a good food source. That is a MUST. However, don't hunt over it. Follow big tracks back to their beds if you can. Just like always, hunt the bedding not the food.

Also, I've had way better luck in the evenings. Not to mention December mornings can be brutally cold.

Yep if food is somewhat unpressured with cover close than you're in the money, high pressure definitely extends travel time to food. Suppose nw mn is more field/ag so definitely gonna be more travel to food if pressured

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Re: Bowhunting after the orange army.

Unread postby bowhunter15 » Tue Nov 17, 2015 5:45 pm

For what it's worth, the best late season pattern I ever got on was a morning one in a marsh. I only figured it out because I walked in to hunt a spot 1.5 miles in for a morning hunt, then found tracks on top of mine 1 mile in when I left. For three consecutive years I would have deer walk through that spot .75 to 1 hour after sunrise. They would feed on corn over a mile away, then walk through treeless cattails to get back to the timbered bedding. It took them so long to get from food to bedding, that daylight activity was a given. Never even had to worry about setting up quietly because the deer were so far off. I saw one of the bigger public land bucks I've seen during daylight in that area. He busted me drawing back. But man it sucked waking up at 3:30am to go out in the bitter cold. One morning I shot a doe going through there on Jan 3rd. It was 3 degrees that morning. Gutted it as quick as I could but I still had a couple numb fingertips for the next few days. The bonus was that deer drag really easily on ice.

Generally what I've learned from both my experiences and listening to others is that the later in the season you get, even right up until closing, the better it gets. The colder and deeper the snow, the better. Obviously we don't have much for snow in MN right now, but as December wears on it should get better. Like others said food is key. Once we get some snow I'd just scout as many food sources as possible to check for activity. Then use a combination of maps, prior scouting, backtracking, and assumptions to get close to the bedding to hunt.


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