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Late Season Advice

Discussion in 'Bowhunting Talk' started by WIYouthBowhunter, Nov 22, 2013.

  1. WIYouthBowhunter

    WIYouthBowhunter Weekend Warrior

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    Well with gun season starting in a couple of hours, I thought I'd start getting ready for late season bowhunting. I hunt a little woods where the deer typically hide in standing corn and move through the woods to eat. By the time gun season is over, the corn will be off. What can I do to hold a couple of deer for the late season?


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  2. JakeD

    JakeD Grizzled Veteran

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    Hope that the pressure from surrounding properties push the deer there. If you don't have any sort of bedding for the deer though, it will be tough to hold them there. In the late season they will be seeking security from all the pressure, and they will need a good food source. If you don't have either one it could be a tough late season for you.
     
  3. grnhd

    grnhd Die Hard Bowhunter

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    Is it legal to feed in your state? That will go a long way to holding deer.
     
  4. MGH_PA

    MGH_PA Moderator

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    This.

    Late season food sources are a big part of it. We're the only property in a 500 acre contiguous area that has solid late season food sourced beyond browse. I have 8+ different non resident bucks on cam last jan-feb in our brassicas. Not to mention all of the does. We draw them from all over because we have a secure attractive food source.

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    Last edited: Nov 23, 2013
  5. dnoodles

    dnoodles Legendary Woodsman

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    to answer your question, baiting is legal in some Wisconsin counties; illegal in others (CWD concerns.) I'm not sure which applies to the OP. Feeding (planted food plots) is legal statewide.

    By the OPs question, I am guessing he can't bait as food availability is obviously step 1 in late season hunting. I think just saying "food availability" is oversimplification. It implies hanging your stand over a brassica plot or a pile of carrots and hunkering down to wait.

    Use the snow to tell you new traffic patterns. You can kill a deer on his way to/from food just as easily as when they're actually feeding. Deer re-establish travel patterns fairly quickly once gun season (and the rut) is over provided they aren't pressured too much. Something to keep in mind, deer tend to change bedding areas closer to reliable food sources once the weather gets bad. These new bedding areas are often obvious and more accessible to hunters, as deer get a little careless (or desperate.) How often have you been driving down the road in mid December and look over and see 4-5 deer bedded down on the sunny side of a little berm after a fresh snow?

    Don't be afraid to put a little Mohican Sneak on once there's snow on the ground. Play the wind right, and you can get into bow range easier than you might think.

    Lastly, I personally think that for late season, hunting the evenings is typically more productive than the mornings, unless it's the first morning after a weather system moves through.

    You can also check out this month's NRA American Hunter magazine for a pretty decent and easy to read article on late-season bowhunting by Bill Weinke.
     
  6. Chago

    Chago Die Hard Bowhunter

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    Ya as others have mentioned. Ford source food source food source. I have a brassica food plot. But I also throw corn and apples out when it's snowy like it is up here now. Once they are done rutting they will be hungry and want to keep piling up the fat layer before the dead winter comes.

    But don't necessarily hunt the actual place where the food is. They may only get there at last light. Get on their trail to the food that's your best bet. Normally they will be less weary on the trail and will come before dark.

    I have one spot that acts like a staging area in the bush about 50 yards from the beginning of my plot. They will stay there before coming out on plot at dark. I have a stand in there.
     
  7. WIYouthBowhunter

    WIYouthBowhunter Weekend Warrior

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    Thanks guys! My plan is to scout after rifle season, find a good trail in the snow, start baiting, and set up a ground blind. Food plots will be going in next year so that should help in the future.


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