Crunch Time...

What started out as an endless string of weekends covering more than a quarter of the calendar, has dwindled down to the final three. Long gone are the "chilly" evening sits where a hoodie would be warm enough. Today's high temperature struggled to get out of the teens, factor in the wind, and we are talking serious cold temperatures encountered during late season. By this time of year, the deer have smartened up. They have been chased, bumped, driven, and shot at for the last four months. The only reason they need to leave the safety of their bedding area is to feed. Extremely cold temperatures get the deer on their feet earlier in search of food. Seems like an easy equation for a late season whitetail, Food + Cold = Deer. Well things in the woods are rarely that elementary, I throw in a variable x for weather condition, such as post front, high pressure, wind direction, ect. For those of you who still remember Algebra 101, the revised equation would read F + C(x) = D. Time to sharpen your pencil and figure this one out.

This doe knows where she can get a free meal.

Food is the easy part to figure out. If you have been in tune with your deer herd all season, you know what is left, and where it is. Food sources are less abundant this time of year, so deer tend to congregate around remaining feeding areas with regularity. It may be a cut cornfield, a food plot full of sugar beets, or a timed feeder. The deer know where to go, so should you.

Right Temp, Wrong Pressure

Cold is good, the colder the better. The deer will get on their feet earlier to feed the lower the mercury drops. Unfortunately it needs to be the right cold, that's the "x" factor. Last night I had the food source and cold temperature in my favor. The problem was I found myself in the middle of a front passing through, with snow falling and a swirling NNE wind. To go along with the winds, was a falling barometer in the 29" range. My experience told me it would be a long sit, but with limited time to fill tags, I put in my time in, in vain. My friend several states away was telling me that he was seeing deer all over, feeding in places he had not seen before. That's because he was on the other side of the front, cold temperatures around 13 degrees, with a rising barometer into the 30"'s. That "x" variable of pressure is very important in the late season. Deer will feed before, and after a storm, but if I had my choice, it would be to hunt post storm with rising pressure.

Now that I have the whitetails figured out, will I wait to hunt the perfect equation for the late season? Not exactly. Limited time to hunt makes any available time to sit in the woods a good time. If I do not have all of the F + C(x) ingredients in my favor I could still harvest a deer. If I plan on taking a day off of work to hunt, I will make sure that all the components are in place. Remember, this is crunch time, not couch time. The sofa will be there for you all winter long, now's the time to get after those whitetails one last time!

View from the blind on a snowy evening.

  

   

Prepping for the Final Push

Mired in one of the least productive seasons I can remember, this year's 2 week break for Christmas came at the perfect time. I am usually against any regulation that keeps me out of the woods, but I welcome the closure this year. Between the unseasonable weather, a hectic work schedule, and one regrettable missed opportunity, the whitetails have gotten the best of me. On the bright side, the camaraderie and experiences shared with my hunting buddies are second to none. However, sometimes you need to put an animal in the back of the truck to validate yourself as a hunter.

The first two weeks of December saw a slight up tick in deer activity. The temperatures were still above normal, but by the weekends they cooled down slightly. I think there was a few yearling does that came into estrous late for that "second rut", but nothing that brought in any quality bucks. Honestly, I have not seen a shooter buck since the first week in October. Friends that I hunt with have not seen any respectable bucks since mid October, and out of all of us, only one buck has been harvested this year. That buck, a true stud, was shot during the so called "October lull" on a day in the mid 70's. By the time the season reopens on December 26th, all rutting activity should be finished. I expect the deer to be on a feeding pattern, and with the mild temps, there is still ample soft mass and forage available.

I moved some of my trail camera locations to find out what deer are still around my properties. I set up some corn piles between bedding areas to see if I can get a picture of either G2 or The 9, but neither have shown up yet. I have seen more bucks reverting back to bachelor groups, another sign that the rut is all but over. I did notice a monster rub, fresh as can be, on a tree in someones front yard about 500 yards from my stand so who knows?  

The forecast for Christmas is a record breaking 71 degrees here in Southeastern Pennsylvania. So when I head back into the woods the following Saturday, I may be in a camo T-shirt. The extended forecast does call for more seasonable temperatures for mid to late January. That's a good thing for sure. The whitetail season here runs until January 23. That will leave me with 4 weeks to fill 4 tags, a steep challenge, but possible. There is little left in the way of prep that can salvage this season, so it's time for Lady Luck to make here annual appearance.