Late season tactics

[mnbowmanmark]

What is the best late season tips that everyone has being December is now here what areas should I be looking for?

[BassBoysLLP]

What is the best late season tips that everyone has being December is now here what areas should I be looking for?

If your hunting heavily pressured public land, I'd say you need to hunt the most remote pieces. For less pressured public, bedding close to the best food sources.

[Southern Man]

What is the best late season tips that everyone has being December is now here what areas should I be looking for?

For less pressured public, bedding close to the best food sources.

Yea, when the woods calms down and the weather gets cold, they'll get hungry. And from what I've seen down here, they'll bed close to food.

I've also seen in late December / early January that the bucks that left the area before the rut will return to the areas they liked in the early season. But that's here. Things might be a bit different way up there where you are.

[BassBoysLLP]

If your hunting a really good food pattern, I'd refrain from hunting on top of the food source. You'll be covered with does early and there is a good chance one of them will blow the hunt before the buck shows up. Early in the late season when there is still a chance for some "second rut" activity, I prefer to hunt a simple travel pattern off the food source that takes advantage of travel from doe and buck bedding. As we get closer to the new year, I often find that doe groups bed really close to the food in the late season, while the bucks still bed a bit farther back. If possible, try to hunt a travel pattern behind the doe bedding that takes advantage of the buck bedding. Access doesn't always allow this approach, but its easier to beat one nose than many noses.

[MN Legacy]

From what I've seen is that food is really important like corn,soybeans,and sugar beets will pull deer from miles away.

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[Dewey]

I find even when bitter cold the mature bucks will still bed deep into security cover and will still travel over a mile to a good food source while the inmature deer will bed much closer. This time of the year I like to take a few days to backtrack to these spots and record them for future late season hunts. After a month of intense hunting pressure mature bucks will be focussed on security now more than any other time of the year. If you want to have any chance of seeing any movement in daylight you need to be close to these security beds.

[Darion]

Some good tips , thanks.

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[mnbowmanmark]

Thanks great info.

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[robert richer]

My experience in deer seem to move more early in day than late in the day....

[backstraps]

What is the best late season tips that everyone has being December is now here what areas should I be looking for?

For less pressured public, bedding close to the best food sources.

Yea, when the woods calms down and the weather gets cold, they'll get hungry. And from what I've seen down here, they'll bed close to food.

I've also seen in late December / early January that the bucks that left the area before the rut will return to the areas they liked in the early season. But that's here. Things might be a bit different way up there where you are.

I have to agree with bedding habits here as well. Its almost like the deer are trying to conserve energy during the colder last few weeks of season here.

[ptac06]

One of the decisions that have stumped me, when it comes to late season food source hunting is where to set up for your evening hunt when you got food on top and on bottom. I had some great luck in hill country WI earlier in late oct...but the corn on top had not been picked while the fields on the bottom had. I saw good bucks funneling down to the bottoms in the evenings most nights. I live in MN and dont have the luxury to scout over there as much as I'd prefer, so any suggestions?

[dan]

One of the decisions that have stumped me, when it comes to late season food source hunting is where to set up for your evening hunt when you got food on top and on bottom. I had some great luck in hill country WI earlier in late oct...but the corn on top had not been picked while the fields on the bottom had. I saw good bucks funneling down to the bottoms in the evenings most nights. I live in MN and dont have the luxury to scout over there as much as I'd prefer, so any suggestions?

Walk the food source till you find big tracks and set up... If they are not on the side you hunt, hunt the other side the next day.

[ptac06]

One of the decisions that have stumped me, when it comes to late season food source hunting is where to set up for your evening hunt when you got food on top and on bottom. I had some great luck in hill country WI earlier in late oct...but the corn on top had not been picked while the fields on the bottom had. I saw good bucks funneling down to the bottoms in the evenings most nights. I live in MN and dont have the luxury to scout over there as much as I'd prefer, so any suggestions?

Walk the food source till you find big tracks and set up... If they are not on the side you hunt, hunt the other side the next day.

Makes sense, thanks Dan.
Would you still apply leeward hillside tactics during this cold spell? Or South facing slopes?

[dan]

One of the decisions that have stumped me, when it comes to late season food source hunting is where to set up for your evening hunt when you got food on top and on bottom. I had some great luck in hill country WI earlier in late oct...but the corn on top had not been picked while the fields on the bottom had. I saw good bucks funneling down to the bottoms in the evenings most nights. I live in MN and dont have the luxury to scout over there as much as I'd prefer, so any suggestions?

Walk the food source till you find big tracks and set up... If they are not on the side you hunt, hunt the other side the next day.

Makes sense, thanks Dan.
Would you still apply leeward hillside tactics during this cold spell? Or South facing slopes?

Both... But generally those bitter cold days that get the deer bedding on south slopes are north winds...

This time of the year you really need to do some scouting and the snow makes it real easy to determine buck travel and bedding by tracks in snow...

Its feast or famine in winter in the North. You either have the deer, or you don't, they move towards good food sources. The colder the better, when it gets below zero a lot of the time bucks will be out really ealry feeding... I have seen places where a good brassica plot has more action in late December than the whole property during rut or early season...

[ptac06]

One of the decisions that have stumped me, when it comes to late season food source hunting is where to set up for your evening hunt when you got food on top and on bottom. I had some great luck in hill country WI earlier in late oct...but the corn on top had not been picked while the fields on the bottom had. I saw good bucks funneling down to the bottoms in the evenings most nights. I live in MN and dont have the luxury to scout over there as much as I'd prefer, so any suggestions?

Walk the food source till you find big tracks and set up... If they are not on the side you hunt, hunt the other side the next day.

Makes sense, thanks Dan.
Would you still apply leeward hillside tactics during this cold spell? Or South facing slopes?

Both... But generally those bitter cold days that get the deer bedding on south slopes are north winds...

This time of the year you really need to do some scouting and the snow makes it real easy to determine buck travel and bedding by tracks in snow...

Its feast or famine in winter in the North. You either have the deer, or you don't, they move towards good food sources. The colder the better, when it gets below zero a lot of the time bucks will be out really ealry feeding... I have seen places where a good brassica plot has more action in late December than the whole property during rut or early season...

Thanks for the reply Dan, looks like my next opportune time should be around xmas...I'll hit the top fields first and then the bottoms. During late oct most of the bucks funneled down to the fields below along a creek, thats where most active scrapes were found too. Possibly bc the corn on top wasnt out yet and the bottom was huh? Anyways thanks again