Late season success?
 

How many of you guys have had good luck during the late season, particularly after gun season? If so, elaborate,what tactics did you use?

RE: Late season success?
 

Well it hasn't been a good late season so far..Im just simply not seeing as many deer! I like to get out in the woods a couple of hrs before sundown...I try to find a heavily used trail that is leading to a food source, you should see good movement a half hour before sundown!

RE: Late season success?
 

I had an alright hunt the other day in the snow, atleast seeing deer. After gun seasonsightings went down majorly.I mainly got out because I wanted to do some scouting in the snow.... didn't see anything during the morning, and then peeked over a ridge and spotted 5 does/fawns bedded down. One had me pegged, and the rest of the story is obvious. As far as success on alate season kill. Not yet, but Im not quitin. good luck

RE: Late season success?
 

I have the same problem, just not seeing the deer.

RE: Late season success?
 

me too im ready for turkey season:D

RE: Late season success?
 

I took my biggest buck of the season and a mature doe late season. My secret is to get my butt off of the couch and go..can't kill anything layin around and scratchin where it itches.

RE: Late season success?
 

In the nothern latitudes it is all about food sources. Find them and you will have deer all over concentrated around the food. I took a young hunter out last week (gun hunt but still relavent example) in a major funnel back behind unpicked corn and soybean fields and I had the two greatest hunts of my life for total deer #s. We saw about 40 the first night and 29 the next. We saw bucks too but none he wanted to shoot.

RE: Late season success?
 

The colder the better with snow on the ground is the best. I key in on the food sources, works for me! Good luck!

RE: Late season success?
 

I would take late season over early season if I had to choose. Especially in IL, I have had some great late season hunts. Mornings usually not very good for me.I like evenings and mid day hunts during full or new moon periods. When it is extremely cold like now, early afternoons have been good, so I would try to be settled in around 1.

My buddy killed a nice buck (150ish) in IL Sat evening. It was the third time he had seen that buck since second shotgun season.

RE: Late season success?
 

I wish I had a place that produced a tenth of the action you guys talk about for late season. :(

RE: Late season success?
 

You know what? HC is exactly right!! I'm sitting here reading these post's thinking how cold (24F) it is, and how windy it is(15-25mph), and telling myself I'll go out tomorrow when it'll be much better conditions. I'm outof here. I'm going to take my CB (please, no crap:D:D) and kill mea doe (need the meat). That's all that's open until after Christmas anyway. I'll let you know what I see after I get back.;)

RE: Late season success?
 

Like they said, food food food...

I put out some corn and my trail cam and got these pics, looks like the Does need a little thinning out. ihad put the corn out @ about 2:30 pm that same day.

RE: Late season success?
 

During the late season I have always had better success in the afternoons. Since food sources around here are so hard to find, I try to key in on bedding areas. I want to be as close as I can to those so that when the deer leak out and start their movement to feed, I am right there to shoot. If I am too far away, I risk not seeing the deer during daylight hours. I like to set-up next to where thickets and hardwoods produce an inside edge where the deer feel comfortable moving even when the leaves have dropped. I love hunting the late season because no one else is in the woods.

RE: Late season success?
 

then we got snow early morning of the 16th, best buck to show up was this guy

RE: Late season success?
 

sorry pal, the corn is gone.

RE: Late season success?
 

sorry, kinda got these out of order, theevening after the snow, they sure know how to dig for it

RE: Late season success?
 

Food is right! One thing that I love about late season is that when you find one deer, you find them all...

RE: Late season success?
 

Zmax hunter- What state are you in?

RE: Late season success?
 

OR, In my case, when you don't see one deer, you don't see ANY deer.[&:]

I need to find their food. lol

RE: Late season success?
 

the thick timber i sit in during the rut...i abandon those places for field edges, fencerows, food sources, and bedding areas

seems to work for me, isolate yourself a food source and be in the tree at the right time

RE: Late season success?
 

Tagged this little one a week after our gun season ended.
(but the muzzleloader season runs concurrently with the opening of the late bow season thus the orange)



Found a spot that was in between a couple bedding areas, and a uncut cornfield. Figured the does would come in and the bucks would follow looking for the un-bred ones.

Someone said it before, but that has been my motivator for the last few years, you can't shoot deer sitting at home on the couch......tagged out this year before it got cold, but I did sit out a couple times last year below zero and very windy (had deer in range both nights) so even though it is cold to you, the deer will move in that weather if you can find them ;)

RE: Late season success?
 

This is EXACTLY what I do, for the exact same reasons! I couldn't have described it any better. I did see 2 doe on the way in this afternoon, feeding on the grassy lane that goes through the giant thicket that I hunt. I didn't see anything from my stand though.I also spooked 4 doe feeding on the same lane on the way out this evening.[:@] Oh well, at least I saw some deer for a change!

RE: Late season success?
 

yeah i need help too. i want a deer this year

RE: Late season success?
 

I've had some luck in late season, but not consistently. This afternoon I saw 15 deer feeding in the wheat field...again, with at least one nice buck. But they are playing eeny, meeny, miiny, moe because you never know where they are entering the field from. From my experiences, right now hunting on the ground is just as effective as sitting in a stand.

RE: Late season success?
 

Cougar Mag, you might wanna try a buck decoy. I think any buck that comes out will come check it out. Just make sure the wind is from the decoy to you.

RE: Late season success?
 

I shot a nice doe on 12/13. By far the latest in the season I have scored.
I was about 30 yards off of a clear cut that was/is being logged, the cut trees were laying in piles waiting to be picked up. The loggers were working about 150 yards away. Right at dark, 2 deer came from in the woods I was in and made a b-line right to those tree tops to eat. I made a nice shot on her when the opportunity presented itself.

There were a ton of tracks in the snow all along the edge of the the cut down trees. They will most likely come at dark though..
Good luck!

RE: Late season success?
 

Slammer buck bro congrats

RE: Late season success?
 

I got some good late season advice from Grizzly. He told me to find a late season food source in the woods.. I set up on some berry bushes the deer were hitting and put a doe down yesterday. It was VERY cold, but I think thats why they are hittin the berries so hard. They gotta get up and move/eat every few hours to stay warm when the wind chills are in the negatives