Where would you find deer now, late season?

[Northcountryman]

Mike said something in the other thread I started that really resonated, that after the opener, youre not gonna find/see der in open areas any longer and basically, are much harder to encounter.  everyone knows this, so how do you guys adapt/modify your strategy to have success now late season? All the places Im hunting now still have sign, maybe not as much, but still there, indicating deer are frequenting those areas, but probbaly only at night.  so where do you find them now during shooting hours?

[Fletch]

I'll be brief as there are a lot better hunters than me on here... But it depends on what ground you are hunting. If it's private, light pressured land with food attractions....crops etc you want to be between bedding and the food. Play the wind right.

If your hunting heavy pressured land and public. Get deeper and thicker. If your seeing sign you got a start. Like you said that is probably night movement. So you need to figure out where from and where to. In these places still hunting might gain you a lot of knowledge.

[G-Man]

Deer have to eat and what they eat is a factor of temperature,  corn, soybean, acorn, nuts are all cold weather foods.  Grasses ,clovers, alfalfa are warm weather.  

Where the deer are will be the thickest most undisturbed cover adjacent to these food sources.  

now that gun is over  in 3 or 4 days they will  start to return to normal patterns if left undisturbed,  this is the basis to the 3 to 5 day skip stand hunting rule.  It's also the reason  I believe the holiday hunt mid week maybe the best time to hunt.  Also the reason for shortening the season and making it split. 

[Nytracker]

Prey for cold . Deer get up and feed more often trying to keep warm. South facing slopes  playing the wind Normal late season. 

This is far from normal weather . I would get into the deepest darkest thickets between bedding and feeding spots that have close cover.. deer seem to be on browse and greens at the moment. Down here there is still alot of standing corn but I havent seen much deer sign around the field edges .

[wolc123]

There are a few in my basement freezer.

[Shoots100]

As was advised in a post before, still hunting is the way to go.

Work the wind and if you have another person to hunt with, doing some drives will be productive too.

Switch between being the driver and stander, and having radios helps a lot.

Moving around breaks up the monotony of sitting in a tree all day and you get to scout new areas.

[Northcountryman]

Can you still hunt effectively with muzzleloader though?

[suburbanfarmer]

1 minute ago, Northcountryman said:

Can you still hunt effectively with muzzleloader though?

No different than carrying a rifle..just single shot

[BowmanMike]

1 hour ago, Northcountryman said:

Can you still hunt effectively with muzzleloader though?

Don't be afraid of bumping deer,at least that is info for you. I still hunt with the bow and got a few deer that way...

[Versatile_Hunter]

13 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

Can you still hunt effectively with muzzleloader though?

 

[Jeremy K]

I've never had any prime food sources to hunt so my game plan all season(s) long is to get between food and bedding ,hopefully the wind is in your favor for the typical direction of travel.

[Grouse]

17 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

Mike said something in the other thread I started that really resonated, that after the opener, youre not gonna find/see der in open areas any longer and basically, are much harder to encounter.  everyone knows this, so how do you guys adapt/modify your strategy to have success now late season? All the places Im hunting now still have sign, maybe not as much, but still there, indicating deer are frequenting those areas, but probbaly only at night.  so where do you find them now during shooting hours?

The deer are where the hunting pressure isn't.  If they got through the season unmolested in a certain area, that's where they are now.  I have plenty by me because there is very little hunting pressure in this area.  I didn't even bother to fill my second doe tag, because I have enough meat already and still have the ML season ahead of me.  The deer are all wary though.  They get that way this time of year, even if they haven't seen a hunter.  Are there any good bucks around?  Yes, but probably nocturnal by now, but you never know when one will decide to move during the day.  If you see sign from a good buck in an area, he's probably nocturnal, but nice weather, a cold front, new snow, or any number of reasons may get him moving in day light.  Find the right area and put in the time.  That's real hunting.

[phade]

Be mindful of the weather as that drives food availability and tolerance to get to it in daylight. 

No snowpack and frigid temps has deer spread out still in our area. We have plots that typically have destination type drawing power this time of year and that is not happening right now. Deer appear to be more spread out still eating and foraging on browse, nuts, etc.

They're still readily available as compared to a hard snowpack and high calorie burning cold weather.

[suburbanfarmer]

Its crazy how warm it is still. Scary to think how long winter will stay or how dry the spring/summer will be.

[Nomad]

Tonight I’m betting on the stand closest to my truck ,as it’s my turn to cook dinner and I’m picking the stand with the shortest walk out .

 

[ApexerER]

Where ever I'm not....

[Trial153]

Since yesterday afternoon my cams have exploded. Today has been nuts with the amount of pictures I am getting. Anyone that thinks the regular season doesn’t put an undue amount of pressure on our herd is off their rocker.

I would start looking for deer on any concentration of food that’s available and hunt the fringes of adjoining cover to it.

[left field]

2 hours ago, ApexerER said:

Where ever I'm not....

You and I could drive them all towards the other guys. At least I would feel useful. 

[coonhunter]

I agree with the people who say the deer are where the hunters aren't. I have three spots that I can take someone late in rifle season, or the late season, and have a real good chance of getting a shot at a buck. And, I have a few little briar and brush patches for someone that can hit a moving deer in an open field. These are all spots that people either overlook, it appears too wet, or it is too much work to get into. These are all on state land or farm land that is heavily hunted.

All my deer hunting is done within a 20 mile circle from where I grew up. I have learned and found these spots from hunting the same lands for 40 years. Most of them I learned just by watching other hunters. People are creatures of habit and deer hunters are even worse. They hunt the same one or two stands, park in the same spot, and walk in the same way every time. The groups that put on drives do the same patches and sections, and they park in the same spots and walk the same paths over and over. And, a lot of deer are killed by these people, but the deer quickly learn to avoid these spots soon after the season starts.

One spot I found going to my hound treed. Like everyone else, I didn't think you could get into this old beaver swamp. Well, I walked right to my dog over a little sliver of dry land. That has been one of my  go to spots in the end of rifle season. It is in very heavily hunted state land, but even the Amish don't go in there. I'll be honest and tell you that I have never seen a real big buck in there, but whoever I take in there can get a rack buck as long as they are patient enough to wait for a clear shot.

All I can say is be aware of your scent and wind direction. Take the time to see what the neighbors are doing, or if you are on state lands, watch where the cars are and where the groups do drives. Look for really thick areas, wet areas with cover, or a steep hill to walk up. It is truly amazing how many deer will pack into these areas.