Cold Weather and Late Season Bow Hunting Strategies

Bow hunting seasons in most areas last for months, as opposed to the days or weeks allotted for hunting with firearms. As a result, bow hunters have the opportunity to target deer when the weather is relatively warm and when it's cold, and before and after the rut. While late-season hunting can be challenging, hunters who employ the proper strategies can find success.

  1. Hunter Near Food

    • Once the rut is over, late-season deer are primarily concerned with food. They know they have to add body fat and weight to make it through the winter, so they feed heavily in preparation. Locate areas where deer feed. These can include food plots planted specifically to provide deer with food, agricultural fields and places where they can find natural foods such as acorns. Deer tend to feed early and late in the day, so be sure you are in your stand or blind and ready to shoot as the sun comes up and as it goes down.

    Travel Routes

    • If you hunt for several days over a food source and never see any deer -- but see signs such as droppings and fresh footprints -- it is a good bet the deer feed under the cover of darkness. Mature bucks often follow this routine, though all deer may, especially when they are still feeling the pressure of the firearms deer season. If that is the case, locate the trails deer use to get to their food. Follow the trails and try to locate the areas the deer bed. Deer beds are oval-shaped and often located on high ground. Set a tree stand or ground blind near the trail and arrive at your stand an hour or two before the sun rises, and an hour or two before the sun sets. By doing so, you may be able to intersect the animal as it moves to or comes from its feeding area.

    Windy-Day Corn

    • Stalking deer can be difficult late in the season. Not only are deer weary from the firearms hunt, but the ground often is noisy. Still, hunters who have access to corn fields can stalk deer successfully, especially on windy days that mask your movement. Walk slowly through the corn, stopping before each row. Poke just your head into the row and look both directions for deer. They may be standing or lying down, since fields make good rest areas. If you spot a deer, pull your head back. Bring your bow and arrow up to the shooting position and be ready to fire once you step into the row.

    Drives

    • Deer drives involve several hunters walking through a defined area, and another hunter or two positioned in a spot where deer likely will run when spooked. Place the shooters on deer trails or in funnels -- like a necked-down area between two ponds or lakes, for example. The drivers should also carry their bows and walk slowly, in a zigzag fashion. If the drivers are sufficiently quiet, they may get a shot at a deer. However, their main purpose is to push deer toward the shooters.