In a spot on public land I have never hunted I saw deer on my way out of the WMA. It was about 6 p.m. and they were standing in this field, but obviously I do not know what time they actually came out. I was surprised to see this as the field is near one of the WMA parking areas and figured those woods were highly pressured.

Although I have scouted out and hunted many areas with fresh sign, I am just not seeing any deer this late season. Since I know that some deer are seeking out this field early in the evening, I think it may be my best shot at getting a doe before the season closes in two days (and tomorrow the wind should be perfect for it). The biggest problem is the size of this field. It is nearly 3/4 of a mile long and 300 ft wide. Not all that wide but super long. I see my choices as:

1) Climb up a tree that gives as much of a view of the field as possible. If deer come out to the field one may be within range.
Pros - least intrusive, increases range
Cons - deer may not enter the field until after legal shooting hours, could result in deer out of range

2) Scout the edge of the woods to find the most heavily traveled routes to the field and climb a tree inside the woods.
Pros - better educated guess as to where the deer will be and would see deer that didn't enter field until nightfall
Cons - very intrusive, lot of ground to cover and quietly scout with climber on back without alerting deer

3) Forget the climber (too noisy for late season deer) and still hunt the edge until you find a likely spot!

4) Just hunt the areas you've already scouted and hope the deer show up!