For some hunters, deer season only consists of the time period where they have a tag in their pocket and are able to shoot a deer. For other hunters, including myself, deer season lasts all year long. No, we’re not shooting deer out of season or without a tag …… we are simply thinking of deer hunting, researching, scouting, preparing and putting a plan together 12 months a year. For me, the next deer season starts immediately after I’m tagged out for the year.
After Tagging Out
After tagging out, I still like to get afield and help my family members and buddies fill their tags. During this time frame, I’m taking note of the weather conditions, where the deer are, what they are feeding on, what stage the rut is in and how the deer are reacting to the hunting pressure. I keep track of all this information as it helps out the crew I’m afield with, plus, I may need this information in future seasons when I’m the one still holding a tag late into the season.
The time frame immediately after the last day of deer season is prime off season scouting time. During the first few days after hunting season, the deer will still be on red alert like they are when hunting season is open. Any deer you encounter will provide valuable insights into potential late season deer behavior, including where they bed, travel and feed. Then, a few days after the season has ended and the hunters have left the deer woods, the deer will settle down and move into daytime feeding patterns to bulk up for the winter. It is during this time frame, that you can check out the surviving deer herd and assess which bucks have survived the hunting season and maybe even spot some bucks that you never even knew were in the area. All of these sightings will give you a great idea of what caliber deer you should have in your hunting area next year.
During this post season scouting time frame, expand the areas where you normally are looking for deer as doing so may help you find potential new hunting areas. If you do find a potential new area, start tracking down the landowners immediately and begin developing a relationship with them that may allow you access to the new area next fall.
Butcher Time
Another thing to do after you have tagged out, is to process your deer. Home butchering is very rewarding. It saves you money and allows you to trim off any damaged meat, fat and silver skin. Home butchering also allows you to package your meat in serving size potions that suit your needs.
While butchering your deer, take note of the deer’s skeletal structure and visualize where the vitals sit within the deer’s body. This knowledge will help you figure out where to hold your rifle scope cross hairs or bow pin, when a deer is facing you, quartering away or angling towards you. With this knowledge, you can be confident to make the proper hold and to ensure a lethal shot on any angles or situations you may encounter.
During the butchering process, you can also examine where you shot the deer and where your bullet or arrow entered the animal and potentially exited. Doing so helps you see if your projectile was effective, caused too much damage, split or broke. This information helps you to decide if you want to keep shooting that same bullet/arrow head or if you want to change to a different weight or style for the next season.
Shed Hunting
Not only is shed hunting a great way to find and hold some antlers off the bucks in your area, it is also a good time to learn more about the area you hunt. During the winter time when snow is covering the ground, you can see the trails that the deer use. Walking these trails will produce sheds and over the years, while walking these trails I have found bedding and staging areas that I never noticed during the hunting season.
Another primetime to hunt for sheds is in the spring immediately after the snow melts and the trees have not leafed out and the grass hasn’t started to grow. I really like this time of year as the weather is often warm and the countryside looks identical to how it did just prior to the snow falling. As a result, it’s possible to see deer trails, scrape lines and rubs just like they were in the fall which can show you prime areas within your hunting area to hunt in coming seasons.
Networking and Map Reading
Studying topographical and aerial maps while sitting in the comfort of your house can really help you learn the lay of the land in the areas where you hunt. Being able to see the big picture helps you see saddles, ridges, water sources and funnels. With this knowledge you can confirm your blinds or tree stands are in the right areas or start making plans to move them to better or more strategic locations that you may not have previously seen from ground level. You can also figure out other approach routes for different wind directions and maybe even a more direct route to get a deer back to the truck once harvested.
Sometimes looking at maps allows you to see other nearby areas that could be prime locations to add to where you hunt. Also, it may show you areas where you need to find out who owns the land and try to secure permission on those properties.
Talking with people about where they grew up and where they live or lived can often result in some new leads to good hunting areas. On many occasions, someone I’ve met or spoken to will tell me to call their friends or family who live close to my hunting area and after a quick phone call, I’ve secured some great hunting areas. Talking with fellow hunters throughout the offseason allows you to learn new tactics, new areas and maybe even find another hunting partner. When talking with other hunters, build relationships by offering them information or help instead of just taking details from them.
Secure Permission and Access to hunting land
Obtaining permission during the hunting season can often prove unsuccessful. Many times, the landowners are busy harvesting crops or moving livestock and don’t have time talk with you. Others may want time to learn about you, where you’re from, what kind of person you are and won’t give you immediate permission on the spot.
The best time to confirm permission on your current hunting lands is in the days after tagging out. Let the landowner know you were successful and show them pictures of the deer you harvested. Confirm with them that you would like to hunt there again next year and touch base periodically throughout the year.
In terms of permission on potential new hunting areas, take the steps to introduce yourself to the landowners far in advance of the season. If possible, try to meet the landowners face to face. If that’s not possible, call or text them. Take time to learn about the landowners, their families and their operations. Tell the landowner who you are, where you’re from and give them your contact information. Some may grant permission right away while others may take some time to think about it. Some may just say no to you.
If you get denied permission, don’t get mad or angry at them. Instead, thank them for their time and over the next few months or even years periodically stop by to say hello, see how they’re doing and if they need any help while you’re in the area. It is often one of these subsequent visits that they may change their minds and grant you permission.
Once you have permission on any land, take time prior to the hunting season to review the area with the landowner either by touring their land with them or reviewing the area while looking at a map with them. Confirm with them their rules regarding the land, days to hunt, vehicle usage, where livestock may be, what crops are planted/harvested and if they have any other specific rules or instructions they want to follow while you are hunting on their land.
Pre Season Scouting
Prior to the season opening, getting out to your hunting area and doing some boots on the ground scouting will help increase your chances of success come fall. During your early summer scouting excursions, don’t really focus on seeing deer. If you do see some, it’s a bonus, especially a buck in velvet or a doe with fawns!
Instead, your scouting effort should be used to familiarize yourself with your hunting area and to learn more about the area for the coming season so you can predict where the deer will be during the hunting season. To help you predict where the deer will be feeding during the fall hunting season, drive the roads and trails around your hunting area and look for potential fall food sources. Don’t just look for cereal crops, check out the area for alfalfa and hay fields. As well, keep track of any old grain bins or bale yards you see as deer will often investigate these locations during cold spells.
While travelling the area, keep in mind that farmers rotate cereal crops on annual basis and even periodically take land out of production. Therefore, just because the deer were feeding on oats in a particular field last season doesn’t guarantee there will be any deer in that same field this year. However, if you find a nearby oats field, chances are that’s where the deer will be feeding this season.
My experiences have shown me that deer, especially in colder weather like to live close to their food sources. So, once you find potential food sources, then it’s time to concentrate on scouting the area for prime staging and bedding areas close to the potential feeding areas. You can do this by glassing the surrounding area and looking for heavy blocks of cover where you think deer would bed. While glassing, look for ravines, draws and low spots which deer would use to travel through to get to the feeding area. Don’t just limit your search to areas you can see from the potential food source. Drive around the feeding area and expand your search to see if you find any other prime areas.
While out scouting, look for areas on your hunting land or surrounding properties that may have changed for the better or the worse. A new dug out in a pasture may prove to be a great early season hunting area. Whereas a new farm yard in a prime bedding area or the elimination of a brushy fence line may mean the deer will no longer travel the same areas as they have done in past seasons which will impact your hunting during the fall. Regardless of what you find, finding the changes in June or July will allow you to adapt strategies and hunting locations for fall. Whereas finding a change the day or two before a hunt could prove to be a major setback for your hunting season.
During the late summer and early fall time frame, you definitely want to change your scouting missions to be deer finding missions. On these trips, look for deer, deer sign and assess the population of the deer in your hunting area. It is during these scouting trips that you want to set out and monitor trail cameras to help you see deer in your area when you’re not there. Seeing a trophy buck in advance of the season opener is exciting and gives you an opportunity to pattern that deer and set a goal for the caliber of buck you will target once the season opens.
Practice Shooting
Deer hunting often comes down to one single shot. If you make that shot, you’re happy and will have a freezer full of venison. If you miss you might not get another opportunity. The only way to become a good shot is to practice. The more you shoot your rifle, bow or crossbow, the better shot you will become. While practicing at the range, try shooting from different positions so you can make those shots should you be faced with one while hunting. As well, practice shooting at longer distances, so you can extend your effective shooting range.
All too often I hear of fellow hunters missing shots due their gun or bow sights being off after they assumed they were still sighted in from last season. We owe it the animals we hunt that our bullets and arrows hit where they are supposed to and don’t miss or worse yet, wound our targets. If time doesn’t allow you a lot of shooting practice, at a bare minimum, take time to go to the range prior to the season to ensure your rifle is bang on at where you want it to be hitting or that your bow sight pins haven’t been bumped off or changed during the offseason.
Shooting practice doesn’t just make you a better shot. The more time you spend holding, operating and shooting your firearm or archery equipment, the more familiar and comfortable you will become. This comfort and familiarity will help you when a when a big buck steps out in front of you and buck fever kicks in. Your odds of getting an arrow on the rest and finding the exact spot to hold your release will be higher as it will come automatically to you. If shooting a rifle, you will be able to push your clip in without fumbling and know exactly where the safety switch is located.
If you’re not already an all-season deer hunter, try incorporating a few of the ideas above to make your next deer hunt more fun and successful.
