Steve Carney
Guest WriterThe whitetail gun seasons have come and gone and the final phase of the bow hunting season kicks in shortly as we head into early December. The gun season, food sources, and available cover has changed the habits and rituals of the remaining deer and the late season archer must adapt to score in the final weeks.
The firearms season has probably the biggest impact on the deer herd as December comes into play. The gun season has forced the deer into a nocturnal mode, meaning that they enter their feeding areas and bedding areas usually in the cover of darkness or after legal bow hours. You have to key in on the days that are exceptions to that rule such as impending weather changes such as snow storms or wind storms that make the deer deviate from their usual routines. These animals are so tuned into the weather changes that they sense the fronts and change their feeding intensities to counteract the weather impact.
The archer who is ìon the ballî will schedule his hunting to take advantage of the deer movements and key in just before the weather change or just after...both ideal times in December.
Snow is also the archerís friend in the month of December. Snow cover allows the hunter to scout exactly where the deer are resting during the day and actively feeding at night. Fresh tracks in the snow do not lie. Some of the most intense scouting I do is just after a snowstorm. You can rule out a ton of land mass just by observing freshly made tracks and avoiding areas that show no sign of tracks.
Because of the severity of the weather and hunting changes in late Fall, the tree stands that you placed in September usually are useless in December. What once were outstanding locations are now void of activity.
I pretty much avoid my early stands and hunt almost exclusively out of ground blinds because they allow me instant flexibility. If I see some fresh activity in the snow, I can quickly set up my ground blind and take advantage of the situation. No messy stands to hang with the added noise and no need to make noise trimming branches.
Choosing to hunt whitetail deer by bow in December is about as challenging as it gets in the great outdoors. For those that have the meddle, the results are incredibly rewarding. The ëfair weatherí hunters are all home watching football while the hard core bow hunter works his craft until the final day on New Yearís Eve.
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