How much confidence to you guys have bow hunting after the guns are done? I have spent some time out, but never really hit it hard. I plan on doing some heavy scouting and sitting a few nights here and there and I was just wondering if there was a good plan to use other than just hunt food areas??
I am going to give it a try next week between the two gun seasons as I am still on vacation. This will be a spot where you can not gun hunt so it might be a little better that an area where the guns have been going off but I think they will still be on edge.
Yeah i always wondered the same thing. I always have tried shooting my deer before the war begins with the guns. I have not had much luck after the gun season. But most of the land I hunt gets shot up good during slug season
It all depends on your spot. IMO If you have a bedding grounds then you will have more luck. Deer are aware more after gun season and bow hunting gets alittle more trickyer. A doe can be a tuff thing to kill. If they know where your stand is they will look right up at you. With the slightest noise they will bolt. I like to hunt the late season I have a very good spot for it.
I am thinking of doing some still hunting after gun season, hoping there is snow on the ground to catch a good track.
The first buck I shot with my bow was a couple weeks befor season was going to close Janurary 10th. This buck was tending a doe right behind her about 40 yrds. They crossed the creek to my side and stood below a bluff, the buck hiding the doe in the rocks and behind a deadfall. He was looking around for another buck and im sure he didn’t sense me. I got the 35 yrd shot off the top of the bluff and hit him. They still look hard for does all of December and thats when everybody else has gotten thier deer or gone home. December and when theres some snow on the ground is a good time then I can hang them in my garage to cure befor processing.
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How much confidence to you guys have bow hunting after the guns are done?
A TON…….,..
Find the food source you will find deer. Pray for snow and cold temps and it will even get better. Besides the rut, late season is my favorite time of year to hunt. I can not wait, hopefully I lose all this bad JUJU here in the next week or so when I head to Florida and come back with a bow a blazin. 
The reason I am able to pass up a lot of nice bucks with the bow and gun is because I know the big boys will be on the hoof late in the year. Like Lip said, find some food and hope for very cold snowy weather. You will find the deer and you will be suprised how much rutting is still going on in mid December.
Late season can be awesome if you have good food sources on your property. Bucks can be easily patterned once again.
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you will be suprised how much rutting is still going on in mid December.
Some days it will be nothing and the next, the woods are saturated with Testosterone, chases, and fighting every where. Just remember just because the majority of the does have been breed the bucks are still looking and can be quite unfriendly all the way into the end of January when they start dropping their antlers. Even on days where the testosterone is low those bucks are looking to replenish what they lost during the rut before the hard part of winter sets in and covers most of the food. So they will be up on their feet earlier then usual looking for the food. Just be on the right path between bedding and food. I honestly probably see more brusiers during late season then I usually do during the rut and the whole rest of theseason combined. It is just most of the time they are out of bow range, but you see ’em and it keeps you coming back for more of the chess game and enables you to sit in the bitter coniditons knowing the chances you will see a tanker are high. 
Hence, why some people are so high on Muzzle loading. If we get early snow and cold ML can be fantastic. The bow season last even a few more weeks past that in most states.
Regarding hunting a food source, what food do you guys hunt? Or do you find what the deer are preferring, then hunt it? I have a spot where the corn has not been harvested yet 
Last year around the early season antlerless time, they harvested the corn and i had a stand right on a corner of a cornfield w/ a good crossing coming from the fence, but never saw a deer come to the field during the day 
Are my chances greater now since the corn is still up, gun season is over, etc?? 
Pro tour it depends. Sometimes it’s beans, sometimes it’s standing corn fields, sometimes its picked corn fields sometimes food plots. Do a lil scouting during the last hour around your area where you hunt and it will be easy to see they have a preference.
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Pro tour it depends. Sometimes it’s beans, sometimes it’s standing corn fields, sometimes its picked corn fields sometimes food plots. Do a lil scouting during the last hour around your area where you hunt and it will be easy to see they have a preference.
What do you do if most of the deer in your area move away to the wintering area, Ripper??? 
I have the first week of December off just for muzzleloader season. Around my area no one seems to be picking their corn. Most farmers are gonna let it sit for the winter… moisture is way to high to harvest. Where do we look then when you have a 200 acre cornfield looking at you???? 
Down here when the corns still unpicked its a good spot. Find the areas where they are entering and leaving the corn for water or food. Corn fields are good cover so just find the water and food sources. Walk the perimeter and look for scrapes and rubs on trees that border the field. Deer walk all over in the corn but they have areas where they congragate and spend most of thier time there, look for those areas. Theres a reason why thier in that area so try and find what the reason is, water, food, security. Corn is a good bedding area keeping them out of the wind and makes them feel secure. Id hunt a cornfield in a second where they travel too and from it. Put up a trailcam if you can and see what enters and leaves it.
Dan that does not really apply now here in SE MN because the first gun season has taken place and the second gun season opens this weekend. Once the slugs starts flying most of the mature deer are not going to come out of the corn until after dark.
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the second gun season opens this weekend. Once the slugs starts flying most of the mature deer are not going to come out of the corn until after dark.
Second gun season?!?!!?
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Second gun season?!?!!?
In SE MN we have Two Firearms Seasons (A)** Nov 8-14
Firearm Option Late Southeast (B)** Nov 22-30
THAT SUCKS!!! 
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THAT SUCKS!!!
Not at all!
I’ve been hunting 2nd season in zone 3 for many years. Great time of the year to harvest a big buck!
Ya it is Gary, we have a short 5 day shotgun season, then a two day break then the second 9 day season starts. I’ve always hunted the second season because theres more time to hunt and no pressure. I’ve since put down the shotgun for deer and now hunt the second blackpowder season that goes until the end at Januray 10th. I didn’t get to hunt much last year because of work, distance and gas prices but hunted from my tree stand just like I bowhunt.
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