When it comes to wrapping your tag around a late season giant, your success can rely greatly on your ability to find the best food source available in your area. As I discussed in my last column, security cover also plays a huge role in late season strategies, but you can bet that the cover a mature animal picks for his winter hideout will be related somehow to food. Here in Ohio, Old Man Winter has finally showed up, and the brutally cold temperatures are here to stay for a while. After a long bow season and the rigors of the rut, you can rest assured that any mature bucks that have survived to this point are not the same creatures they were in October, It’s all about survival now, and in order for that to happen, they have to have great cover and food!
[Read more…] about Hunting Late Season Food Sources
Monster Minute Blog
Tips for Hunting Late Season
If you haven’t filled your archery tag yet don’t worry, some of the best hunting of the year is still to come! My favorite time of the season to shoot a mature deer is definitely October, but my second favorite is late season. I know the rut is a great time to kill a big one, but it seems like it’s more luck than anything else. It’s almost impossible to predict or pattern anything in November. That’s a different story during the early and late seasons when deer are on a strict feeding pattern. You have the element of surprise on your side early on in September and October, but during the latter part of the season when the snow starts to fly and the temperatures begin to plummet, deer have to feed to survive making them vulnerable and patternable once again.
[Read more…] about Tips for Hunting Late Season
Keying on Security Cover for Late Season Success
When it comes to chasing giant whitetails during the late season, it’s all about security cover! By the time snow starts to fly in December, the deer have been pressured by bow and gun hunters for 2-3 months and you can bet any buck still living will be holed up in the best cover available! Food and the secondary rut will play a part in late season success, but this week we will be talking about hunting pressure and where the big ones go to survive the late season!
[Read more…] about Keying on Security Cover for Late Season Success
Hunting “Red October”
There’s a special time coming, a time when conditions are perfect for harvesting a giant whitetail buck, I call it “Red October”. In the past few weeks I talked about hunting the Opener and the October Lull, both have there own unique characteristics and offer the hunter an opportunity to tag a good deer, but I believe they pale in comparison to the last 10 days of October! I have had without a doubt, my best luck at shooting Monster Bucks during this period, including all 3 of my 200” deer, and I believe there’s solid reasoning behind it which we will discuss.
[Read more…] about Hunting “Red October”
Figuring Out the “October Lull”
The October Lull…..sounds a little depressing doesn’t it! Not nearly as popular a word with whitetail hunters as something like “The Rut”! Probably because it is just that, a lull in activity that happens somewhere between the first week of October and ends a week or so before Halloween. But what’s really happening during this time, are deer not moving because of hunting pressure or the warm temperatures that seem to linger longer into hunting season every year, maybe? It’s definitely a tough time to hunt when you compare it to say, mid-november, when deer are going crazy and bucks are on the move non stop. I’ll tel you one thing though, after spending 30 years chasing deer with a stick and string, I’ve learned a thing or two about hunting big bucks in October and the October Lull is not the time to be sitting at home watching dvr’d episodes of Lee and Tiffany!
[Read more…] about Figuring Out the “October Lull”
My Favorite Month of the Year for Giant Whitetails!
If I had to pick my favorite month to hunt “Monster Bucks” it would have to be October! Yeah, you heard right, October, not November. I have had my best luck in October and harvested all of my biggest bucks including all 3 of my 200” deer prior to Halloween. There are a few good reasons for my success during the early season, and I’m going to break them down for you and I’m also going to separate this special month into 3 individual phases over the next few weeks and take a close look at them all. I like to break down the month into: The Opener ( obviously the beginning ), The Lull ( basically after the first week and up to the 20th give or take), and Red October or the last 10 days of the month. During this period here in the midwest, there are a lot of changes going on, almost on a daily basis, with both deer and their habitat. Each phase takes a little different approach and there can be some last minute changes that have to be made in your set ups, but above all else you have to be as sneaky, scent free, and as careful as you possibly can not to blow your cover with a big buck! October can be a great time to kill a monster, but it may be the most difficult too.
[Read more…] about My Favorite Month of the Year for Giant Whitetails!
Understanding “The Change” for Whitetails
Who out there has an eyeball on a big buck already? Trail cam pics? Video? Or have you burned a hole through him with your spotting scope? Is he predictable, doing the same thing every night? Have you had your eye on him all summer, watching him waltz into the local soybean field like he owned it, with such regularity that you could set your watch by his movements? What’s going to happen when he sheds his velvet? The time is drawing near, and there’s a change about to take place. A change that will happen and you better be prepared for it! I see it happen every year and hear the horror stories from guys like you and me that can’t wait for opening day to get here because it’s going to be a slam dunk, then as quick as it gets here, he’s gone! What happened and where did he go?
[Read more…] about Understanding “The Change” for Whitetails
Patience, the Name of the Game for Trophy Bucks.
When it comes to hunting Monster Bucks, especially early in the season, patience is the name of the game! They say patience is a virtue, but in this situation it might be better explained that in order to make the best of a difficult situation, we have to understand the circumstances and deal with them accordingly. I believe that when it comes to chasing these big Dominant Bucks, you have to hunt them hard during the rut, but you have to hunt smart early on.
[Read more…] about Patience, the Name of the Game for Trophy Bucks.