So this was/is my first season chasing white tail. I shot and lost a doe in the early PA Sep season and came within 40 yds of a beautiful 8 point on nov 6 but couldn't get a clear shot. I saw what i thought to be a good amount of deer for hunting state game lands (sightings on at least half of my 18 hunts). This last week I've seen my hunts turn up empty and my trail cams run dry. i hear this is typical this time of year. I plan to hit the late season hard. I plan to treat it like a new season and start from scratch. But should i abandon my hard hunted rut and problaly gun season sites??? I don't hunt the gun season in my WMU but its a high traffic area. How do you guys approach the late season?
Your best bet for late season is generally to hunt food sources in the afternoon. I consider the month of Dec to be late season. I often see good rut action continue into the last week of Nov. I also have many trail cam pics of big bucks during the 2nd half of Nov which I had never seen before. One of my best bow kills was a rutting buck I got on morning of Nov 25th years ago.
The further into December, the less likely I'll hunt mornings. Instead opting to spend energy on evening sits.
Same as others have said...hunt afternoons near food sources. Cold fronts are your best friend in the late season. Also, keep reminding yourself that it could happen anytime! Some times the mental part of late season is the toughest for me. Good luck!
Food sources anytime in the late season. Hard to get into most food sources in the morning with deer already in them but deer seem to feed at more random times the later in the season it gets.
I find late season to be easier when it comes to locating deer but more difficult because of the conditions. Hunt food sources and specifically hunt high carb food sources that the deer will be using for warmth. While these may be difficult to find on public lands, use google maps to look around for fields near the public lands that the deer may be using for food sources (corn) and find where they are crossing back onto the public grounds to set up your spots. Good luck!
