RE: bowhuntin after rifle season? late season hunts...any tips?
In late season, the bucks will be drained from the rut and the pressure from the gunners. Their bodily resources and fat reserveswill be depleted, prompting them to feed early and often, so hunt the food sources. If your state allows baiting, try that. If not, it's just as easy to find their food source and sit over that.
From my experience, bucks in the winter will return to a very predictable feedingpattern, as they did in August/September. If you can get on a big buck before he sheds his rack, you'll stand a really good shot at taking him. Also, the colder winter temps will keep airborne water vapor levels at a minimum, so your scent won't be as much of a factor.
Like somebody mentioned earlier, it's not easy, because the deer will be really perceptive to human pressure and presence, after having just survived rifle season. It's cold, so the sits are miserable. The positives are that the deer will be predictable, pressure will be almost nonexistent, the leaves are off, it's cold and crispy. You'll also have some does in estrus, which is enough to get the bucks on their feet.
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