Late season bow hunting tips and tricks?

This will be the first season where I will be taking the bow back into the woods after gun season and couldn’t be more excited. It happens to be my absolute favorite weapon to hunt with and I was wondering mostly about the mechanics of drawing back and releasing in the extreme cold? I have seen the forecast, I know Kooty and the wildlife will benefit from this delayed beginning to winter, but a guy can dream about some nice hunting weather . I was hoping to see what some of you have done in the past to stay warm and be able to remain confident while hanging out in a tree this december. I am thinking of taking a couple of pounds out of my bow and adjusting my pins but not sure if it would be helpful. Any other ideas out there?

If you can, practice with all the gear on you plan to wear. I also wear an arm guard late in the year so my bulky coat sleeves don’t hit the bow string. Probably wouldn’t hurt to draw the bow back a few times while in the stand also just to keep you both limber.

I wear a chest strap to keep my clothes out of the string. I would guess just clipping your bino system together would do the same thing. realtree makes a arm sock that works very nice. Practicing with your clothes on and in the cold is a must. My pins change in extreme cold… not sure if its because of the cold or my anchor point changes due to clothes…. good luck

I personally shoot 58 lbs year round. With the bows now days I don’t see any reason to shoot anymore. As far as what to wear I normally only sit the last 1.5-2 hours as that seems to be the most productive and I can sneak into my late season spots pretty easily so unless it’s super cold (like negative temps) I wear my normal gear. I do have a Realtree arm sock to keep my sleeve tight but I wear that every time so it’s nothing different. It is exciting seeing the deer pile onto a food source in the snow.

As far as getting out. I keep a coyote howl downloaded on my phone that seems to clear the field so I can get out of there without spooking the deer myself

Excellent question and post Todders!

I like to let my bow sit out in the cold for a while and then pull it back to check for any creaks or noises. Sounds always seems to magnify on my bow equipment the colder it gets.

In colder weather, thicker gloves are needed to stay warm. With that, your release fits a little bit differently and it can also affect your anchor point. As others already mentioned above, practice with your cold gear on.

If you’re hunting in a treestand, another thing I like to do especially when there’s snow on the ground is to carry out a scent free towel so I can stand on it. In cold weather, some treestands can be loud when you crunch the ice underneath your boots against the metal or aluminum stand. The towel quiets the treestand down and helps eliminate snow from falling to the ground putting deer on alert.

Some great tips here ….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNnU2ZkXJhE

Quote:

---

As far as getting out. I keep a coyote howl downloaded on my phone that seems to clear the field so I can get out of there without spooking the deer myself

---

I just step on all the candy wrappers on the floor, seems to clear out the field for me.

A few more are hand warmers between 2 layers of socks, a neck gator(a must) and hand muff with warmers, this way you can wear standard weather gloves! I always have warmer mitts for going in and out. This is the first time in a LONG time I haven’t actually froze before I got my deer.

Thanks guys, there are some wise and valuable tips shared above ! I will be picking up an arm gaurd and bringing a towel for sure. Some of my stands are noisy when it is warm out . I struggle to find daylight hours to practice with my bow throughout the week around this time of year … do you think they will look at me funny at the bow shop when I walk through there like an oompa lumpa in a heater body suit? Now all I need is to drop 10-20 degrees off the forecast and add a few inches of snow
Thanks again!

Some great suggestions, many of which I also employ I am a big fan of the arm sleeve in late season. I wear one jacket year round, and layer under. As a graduate student I dont have the highest income and much of my extra goes into my food plots/plot equipment/land rent/more stands/ect. I make sure all my layers other than my base layer has a zipper. Ill walk into a sit with all my scent free washed layers unzipped with no hat to ensure I never sweat on the way in. Ill wait for my body to cool before I start zipping in. Hooded zipper sweat shirts eliminated my need for neck gator and I never wear gloves so pockets are a must. Carry extra scent free spray bottle between my lower back and tucked in sweat shirts so solution doesnt freeze. If I do sweat, I pour in hand and wipe skin down. Clear out all debris down to bare dirt inside of ground blinds prior to season to eliminate the noise from frozen grass/debris. Scent free towels over ground blind chairs/footing. Get in stand early after snow/sleet and brush down all surfaces of stand and rake bottom of boots on stand to clear boot treads. Figure out what motion will and wont squeek and make note early in late season. Once deer start filing towards me, I wont move weight on stand unless absolutely forced to as cold weather seems to make stands squeek. I leave my bow in its case in an unheated garage starting around november. I will practice using many layers and make sure I am not brushing against anything. I will also practice drawing in multiple standing, sitting potisions when I shoot as cold temps seem to make muscles tighten up; I want to know what each position will feel like when I havent moved for a while. I have a friend in ND who uses the coyote howl regularily and has great sucess in moving deer out after a hunt, but I havent had the brass to try it with my frequent late season sits. I have sat up to nearly 2 hours after dark for a plot to clear in order to preserve thier pattern unobstructed. I really feel that late season food patterns are nearly as good as rut activity for encountering a mature buck. I like to make as little noice, scent, and knowledge of my presence possible while in the stand (which is the goal every time, but yields no time for failure nor time to let ground rest). Late season may only yeild one chance during shooting light at best, the key is finding bedding and food while slipping inbetween MULTIPLE times without the deer ever knowing you were there.

In the extreme north, here in the U.P…. Logging operations on public /state land bring in lots of deer and great late season opportunities.
I have shot some nice deer from ground blinds off trails in the snow leading to the cut tops from the nearest bedding area… I LOVE late season!