Late Season Bow Hunting

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UTGrad

UTGrad

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2007
Messages
15,212
City & State/Province
Cookeville, TN
If I lay a couple down with the rifle I might convert back to bow for the remainder of the season.

Anyone got any tips on where to set up for late season deer?
 
If the deer aren't pressured real hard you can get next to green fields etc.... But public land or other pressured areas you can try hunting edges of bedding areas , travel corridors , and mid day hunting . Sometimes they get accustomed to the pressure and start moving in the middle of the day . Good luck , I'm going out with the bow in the morning .
 
Only broke out a gun two afternoons in the last five years. Killed both times but it's just not the same as bow hunting.
 
I like hunting trails and funnels heading to food plots with my bow in the late season. I always try to get 2 or 3 does since the rut is over. It can be tough, no leaves on the trees and they are pressured. It is fun though.
 
There's some excellent advice here! In my neck of the woods (mid-TN) late season deer hunting is usually pretty dismal! You're lucky to even see a deer! So late season deer hunting when temps are often in the teens and you have to wear what amounts to sleeping bag thickness clothing makes for some challenging bowhunting for sure!

This is when those late season winter food plots can REALLY pay off!
 
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I like to hunt smaller WMA's that tend to be Bow only, so I tend to hunt with the bow all season by default.
 
I often carry both weapons with me. I keep the bow in hand and the rifle hanging on a hook. I would much rather get a bow shot than resort to the rifle. I don't plan on stacking them up like cord wood anyway.
 
Have been bow hunting the entire year for the last few years. I hunt close to thick cover. In opens woods very difficult to hide movements. But the challenge is well worth it
 
This is my first yr of only bow hunting and it is tougher than I thought. Every kill is a memory though. Only killed eight so far but can vividly remember each one
 
DEERDOWN said:
This is my first yr of only bow hunting and it is tougher than I thought. Every kill is a memory though. Only killed eight so far but can vividly remember each one
Click to expand...

Wow, how many did you kill before :D
 
UTGrad said:
DEERDOWN said:
This is my first yr of only bow hunting and it is tougher than I thought. Every kill is a memory though. Only killed eight so far but can vividly remember each one
Click to expand...

Wow, how many did you kill before :D
Click to expand...
yeah no kidding lol

I'm at 7 this year and 3 were with a rifle
 
I'm bow hunting tomorrow. I haven't been in the woods with a bow since the last weekend of bow season. I'm pumped.

I've got new 65 lb limbs and pulling 59 lbs shooting a cool 281 fps. Ready to try it out!
 
It sucks.Got cold Thanksgiving week and still havent warmed up.

And the wind is still blowing,hard,everyday.

But i keep going. :grin:
 
I've come to the conclusion after today's hunt that I have to deploy more permanent stands in my arsenal. Climber is a real pain when it's cold and wearing bulky clothing. I need more lock on stands to slip in and slip out.
 
deerhunter10 said:
I hardly ever use a climber once it gets cold it does suck sometimes. Get a comfortable loc on or you'll regret it.
Click to expand...

Amen. Shedding clothes, adding clothes, hauling in, hauling out, making noise, sticking out like a sore thumb, etc, etc

A good ladder or lock on would have been great!
 
UTGrad said:
I've come to the conclusion after today's hunt that I have to deploy more permanent stands in my arsenal. Climber is a real pain when it's cold and wearing bulky clothing. I need more lock on stands to slip in and slip out.
Click to expand...

I agree friend.Didnt think i would ever say it but yesterdays afternoon slop through a wheat field and back bout did me in.Maybe ladder stands.May give in to hunting in natural ground blinds but i swear i aint never going to hunt out of a "tent."
 
UTGrad said:
I've come to the conclusion after today's hunt that I have to deploy more permanent stands in my arsenal. Climber is a real pain when it's cold and wearing bulky clothing. I need more lock on stands to slip in and slip out.
Click to expand...
depends on the tree too. I still climb in the cold when I need to hunt an area that needs the view from up off the ground.

Last two times I hunted a lock on stand in a public honey hole, I had the gun and the bow because I killed two with the gun there on Black Friday and both were less than 20 yard shots. So as soon as I bring the bow (and rifle in case mr buck is outside of 20 yards) I didn't see a single deer on either trip. Go figure
 
Yep the ladder stands are nice to have. I noticed on the property I hunt, that I would always take my climber to the same general spots yr after yr. So I put a couple ladder stands up in those same areas. It was great being able to go in and out and not make a lot of noise.

Until I started noticing I wasn't seeing any deer from them. Doing a little scouting one day, I noticed the deer had evidently learned where my stands were...and had altered their route to skirt the outskirts of the stand. This led me to move the stands and since then, I've had to do so a few more times. Once you kill a few or get busted from the stand, you might be like me and start noticing you are seeing fewer and fewer deer. I still have my ladder stands up on the places I hunt...but seems like I end up using my climber when I wanna actually kill a deer. lol I've actually got a blue 5 gallon bucket that I've probably killed more deer off of than I have any of my stands.
 

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