Mature Whitetail Success: Hunting Deer Late in the Season

​By: Ryan Nordahl Owner: Epic Whitetail Habitat, LLC Email: [email protected]

Most hunters consider late season deer hunting to be one of the most challenging times to hunt whitetail deer, but if you know how to tackle the challenges that come with late season mature whitetail success, you can turn these challenges into opportunities to kill some big bucks yet this fall/winter. This is exactly why I’ve written the following article to help you make the most of your chances at mature whitetail success when hunting deer later in the season. Be sure to keep reading below!

The Rut Is Over, Now What?

Bow hunting late in the season for mature whitetails can be incredibly rewarding. Despite the rut being over, many hunters find success in harvesting big bucks during the late season. As the days get shorter and temperatures drop, mature whitetail deer begin to enter their winter patterns. Understanding how deer behave and adjust their habits during this time of year can greatly increase your odds of success.
First and foremost, it’s important to know where to focus your hunting efforts during the late season. Mature whitetail bucks often move to more remote areas of their home range, away from areas they may frequent during the pre-rut and rut. As the breeding season ends, bucks begin to focus on replenishing their energy reserves that were depleted during the rut. The most successful bow hunters will focus on areas near food sources such as acorns, crop fields, and other nut-bearing or fruit trees. During the late season, these are prime spots for bow hunters to intercept mature bucks as they feed during the day.
Scouting is an important component of late season bow hunting success. Try to identify key bedding areas, travel routes, and food sources that could attract mature whitetail deer. Using trail cameras can be an effective way to scout these areas and gain insight into where the mature bucks are located and when they are active.

Another important consideration when hunting late season whitetails is weather. During cold snaps, whitetail deer often become less active during the day, making them more difficult to hunt. To have success hunting late season whitetails, you must be willing to adjust your strategy based on conditions and stay in the field as much as possible.
Overall, with a little preparation and dedication, bow hunting for mature whitetails during the late season can be extremely rewarding. By understanding the behavior of deer during this time of year, you can increase your chances of success and harvest a trophy buck before the season ends!

Hunt Areas with Food

Late season deer hunting can be a productive option for harvesting mature whitetails. Consider looking for food sources such as soybeans, corn and rye/wheat fields that are typically harvested or left standing at this time of year. These fields will provide an abundance of food sources for deer, which makes them more likely to enter your hunting area.
 
If you're bow hunting, late season is a great opportunity to hunt mature whitetails! These deer can actually have greater tendencies to repeat certain patterns than in the early stages of the hunting season. And with extremely cold temperatures and rising barometric pressure, the need for a all but physically drained buck to "stoke the fire" becomes increasingly urgent, giving you the possible opportunity needed to kill him.

Where To Set Up 

During the late season, many hunters love to sit over a food source that they know deer will be hitting late in the afternoon. And although this can definitely be an effective strategy to bring down a mature buck, to increase your odds of catching him off guard during legal shooting hours it may be more effective to try to intercept him in a travel corridor between his known bedding area and his preferred food source. And having mock scrapes in his travel corridor may just give you the split second time you need to draw your bow and give you a great shot opportunity.

But the late season can have it's drawbacks when it comes to hunter concealment. The chances of you being "sky-lined" in a barren landscape increases significantly. Strategically placed box blinds, ground blinds, and well hidden tree stands are very important during the late season.

In a hardwoods setting, look for trees not only still holding their leaves, but also provide multiple tree trunks and/or branches to break up your human outline even more. Maybe you don't even have to hunt that high if you so choose to hunt from an open hang-on type or ladder stand. Some of the best setups for late season may only need to be 6 to 8 feet off of the ground, considering the cover around the stand. If at all possible, look for stand locations amongst a dark evergreen backdrop. But be aware that a thick stand of evergreens could mean thermal cover for deer this time of year. So study the area you are going to hunt well in advance of your planned hunt. This can be accomplished either in the preceding months leading up to the hunting season or trail camera intel. and if you have the means of using cellular trail cameras, like those of the Tactacam Reveals, even better.

But do not jeopardize knowing wind direction and understanding how the thermals can impact your hunt. Again, no matter the time of the season, you must do everything you can to conceal your presence from the deer on your property. All deer must never know of your presence during the hunting season. and this especially critical during the late season.

Wrapping Up 

As stated in the beginning, the late season can be even more predictable than in the early stages of the hunting season. But always take into consideration how the deer have been pressured and how the deer have been conditioned to an over abundance of human pressure throughout the hunting season up to this point. Deer this time of year are very easily spooked. so be aware of you surroundings and how you are moving through the area you are hunting and while on stand. But most importantly, above all else, take it all in and just have FUN!