How to find doe late season ?

[Denisboyko22]

I've been so focused on only hunting buck beds I've ignored doe bedding all year and I'm looking to get another deer for the freezer and everywhere where doe should be they're not I've gone 4 hunts without seeing a single deer , does gun effect it that much? Where and what time of day has been best for doe hunting ? Just need some tips , I have a few overlooked areas I haven't hunted yet along a interstate , thinking that might be my best bet if they didnt get driven during gun

[mauser06]

Here it's largely a food source hunt....which varies depending on the year and weather etc.



Don't know how gun season is in your area. Here, I've seen them back to normal patterns a couple days after the opener. Just depends how hard the pressure was and how long it lasted.


Cover can also be important if weather is rough. Cold, wet, windy etc. I will find them in sheltered areas out of the weather.


It can be feast or famine here depending on food and weather. If the weather is rough and winter has set in, I've seen them here up....can go a long ways with not seeing much and round the hill is 10-20-30 deer. Same with bucks. I've seen them with larger groups and I've seen them back in bachelor groups.


In season scouting can be critical to get on the deer. Find the food and bedding.

[Denisboyko22]

Here it's largely a food source hunt....which varies depending on the year and weather etc.



Don't know how gun season is in your area. Here, I've seen them back to normal patterns a couple days after the opener. Just depends how hard the pressure was and how long it lasted.


Cover can also be important if weather is rough. Cold, wet, windy etc. I will find them in sheltered areas out of the weather.


It can be feast or famine here depending on food and weather. If the weather is rough and winter has set in, I've seen them here up....can go a long ways with not seeing much and round the hill is 10-20-30 deer. Same with bucks. I've seen them with larger groups and I've seen them back in bachelor groups.


In season scouting can be critical to get on the deer. Find the food and bedding.

I think the pressure was just too much around here I couldn't believe how many came for gun and did drives and just regular hunters compared to only a few bow hunters , I might have to move to a different area I'm thinking I tried following heavy doe trails back to bedding but I never get on them , yesterday I walked about 10 miles doing that , this long gun season for doe has really screwed up hunting in area I'm thinking

[live2hunt]

Find the food. Food sources in thick cover such as acorns or locust pods. The woody buds on brush can also be a good food source while providing cover. Look until you find a food source with fresh tracks and scat near it. Just hard sometimes because they will often be bedded close to the best food. If you find a good spot they might feed all day long. If they are still skittish the last half hour is when you need to be in the stand.

[Edcyclopedia]

Food & cover...

[DaveT1963]

Food & cover...

- doesn't get any more clear than that.

Find food, find where they can have security - hunt in between those to places (preferably closer to the security if they are pressured)

[strutnrut716]

Find the food and also wait a few days for things to settle down. They usually will come back after the humans leave, but probably the last hour of the day...IMO..

[Jonny]

I’d check out those overlooked areas. I hunt up in that area a little bit, not as much as I should. There is some really good public that doesn’t get hit at all or very little. Just need to open your search up a little.

[NorthStar]

This may be obvious but it wasn't to me until I figured it out on my own one day, but you want to find the food that you know they are eating this time of year. For example, I wouldn't assume that an area holds deer just because there is still standing corn there. I would drive around some of your hunting grounds the last hour of daylight and look for where deer are feeding. This is easy to do where I live because all of the ag fields are cut and there is a snow background. I can even see deer bedded in the woods next to some of these fields when driving around.

If you don't have the time to drive around looking for deer, then you are going to have to guess where the deer are feeding in the evening and look for fresh sign to confirm your suspicions while walking in.

[Denisboyko22]

Believe it or not it's been 2 days since gun ended for doe and I went out today had 5 deer just out of range and saw a total of 20 small bucks/doe this includes checking the field across the street after dark but the deer are back to walking alittle , woods were very quiet with no pressure and deer came out for once !I deer we're out and walking at about 4:05 today going straight to food