Good Deer Hunting Information To Tie You Over To The Start Of The Hunting Season

© By Othmar Vohringer

Here in British Columbia the hunting season started on the 1st of September but most everywhere else in North America it is still a few days of waiting and anticipating. To shorten the waiting period and to provide you with a few additional tips that might prove helpful I provide you here with a selection of great articles and information of all things deer hunting.

With the weather only getting colder each day as the hunting season goes on these “7 Rules for hunting cold fronts” provide valuable information that will benefit you ones the freeze is on.
Outdoor Life, 7 Rules for hunting cold fronts by Mark Kenyon

There are still a number of hunters who think that calling deer is a waste of time. The facts are, however, that under the right conditions and with the right set up deer calling can be just the ticket you need to lure that big elusive buck in. Alan Clemons tells you how in his article “Don’t be afraid of grunting for your bucks”.
Deer and Deer Hunting, Don’t be afraid of grunting for your bucks by Alan Clemons

For the hunters that do not fully understand how important scouting is and what knowledge can be gained from it in selecting the perfect deer ambush. Here is one of my own articles that was published in the Western Sportsman magazine last year.
Mapping out deer hunting success

Hunting from a treestand is without question the best way to ambush whitetail deer. However, for safety, comfort and ease of set up it is important to choose the right treestand for you and the environment you hunt. My article “Treestand hunting essentials” explains how to choose the perfect treestand model that is right for you personally and the habitat you hunt.
Treestand hunting essentials

I hope that these tips help you out and wish you the best of luck in the upcoming hunting season.

If you like you can share your 2014 hunting stories with the readers of Whitetail Deer Passion.

Late Season Buck Hunting Tactics

© By Othmar Vohringer

It is early December and in most regions, other than in some Canadian provinces, the rut is winding down to the post rutting stages. With most does breed bucks change their behaviour once again. With the breeding frenzy over and food sources limited bucks concentrate their efforts on gaining back the weight they lost during the rut. Now the buck’s main activity consists of sleeping and feeding to gain the necessary strength to make it through the harsh winter. Many hunters, me included, believe that the post-rut is one of the best times to kill a monster buck. Why?

During the rut bucks chase does day and night and there is no predictable way to determine where they will turn up next. After the rut is over bucks stay in one core area where they can find sufficient cover and food in close proximity. As an additional bonus bucks become more tolerant of each other and it is quite common that several bucks share one core area. But make no mistake late season bucks are no easy pushovers. Even at that time of year bucks are still weary. The bucks that survived the early and rut hunting seasons are skittish and have little tolerance for human intrusion in their core area.

While many big bucks have been taken by stalking them I don’t regard this as the most effective late-season hunting tactic. Granted there it is a special experience to track a buck in the snow and getting close enough to it to shoot it. A much more successful late-season buck hunting tactic is to set up a treestand or ground blind. To find a promising stand site some careful scouting is necessary. Look for a thicket, the thicker the better, in close proximity to a food source. If there is snow on the ground it is not hard to find well-worn trails leading out of the thicket to the food source. Hang a stand or set up a ground blind somewhere in between the two locations, possibly not to close to the bedding area (thicket). Make sure the wind is right and that the stand is far enough away from the thicket that the bucks cannot hear you approach the stand when you walk through the crunchy snow.

Post rut hunting tactics

© By Othmar Vohringer

When the rut is over and the guns have fallen silent most hunters hang up their guns and bows until next year. The common opinion is that the post rut doesn’t yield any big bucks because they have been killed during the firearm season. Nothing could be further from the truth. Hunters that brave the cold and take advantage of the late bowhunting season offered in may states and Canadian provinces may yet have the best chance of killing a big buck.

Lets look at the facts of why I think that the late season might yet be the best time for you to go after a mature buck. During the rut bucks travel day and night in search of hot does. It is next to impossible to predict where and when a buck will show himself. Sure the hunter who sticks with the does and sets up stands in likely buck travel corridors, with a helping of luck added, will occasionally have a buck appear near his stand site. Most of these will be young bucks. The mature bucks, those that survived several hunting seasons, often avoid travelling during daylight hours. We refer to these deer as “nocturnal” bucks.

After the rut winds down the joke in on the bucks. Having lost almost a quarter of their body weight and with most of the food depleted a buck’s primary concern is now to eat and sleep in order to regain the lost weight. If the buck fails to regain his weight it is unlikely that he will survive the long cold winter.

Picked corn and bean fields are revisited again where bucks dig with their front hoofs for the last remaining morsels of nutritious corn and beans. Oak trees, wild rose bushes, honeysuckle and winter farm crops are now the main staple foods for the bucks. Often the bucks will choose a bedding area that provides ample cover and shelter close by. The buck that had traveled many miles during the rut in search of receptive does is now confined to a very small territory. How large that territory is depends on the availability of cover and food. The territory can be a square mile or two square miles. The closer food and cover are together the better the buck likes it. In any case buck travel patterns at this time of year become very predictable.

As an additional bonus, in the late season the avid hunter will have the woods mostly all to himself. Once the woods turn back to normal deer begin to relax within a week or two after the gun season closes. In other words, deer will behave more natural again without looking over the shoulder every time they hear something. Bucks will travel more during daytime hours, using the warmer time of the day to conserve energy and rest at night. This is especially the case where temperatures fall into the subzero at night.


There are several tactics that you can employ in the post-rut and late season. I have found that placing a stand somewhere, where that is needs to be established through scouting, along the bed to food corridor can pay off big time.
Right after the rut and the beginning of the post-rut, when bucks are still nocturnal, it is best to set up the stand near his bedding area. Usually bucks leave their beds before nightfall and the closer you’re to his bedding area the better the chances are to catch him out and about. One caution though. If you go close to the bucks bed make absolutely sure you’re not disturbing the buck or let the buck in any other way clue in to your presence. He will be gone in a flash and finding him again will be at best difficult.

Ones you selected a stand site prepare to stay all day. The buck you’re after may come by you at any time of the day. I know form experience that it can become quickly a battle of endurance to sit all day in a stand, especially in the later part of the season when it is freezing cold and the north winds blow hard. If it gets really cold or when the there is fresh snow on the ground I like to walk in search of a big buck.

There is nothing like tracking a big buck down after a fresh snowfall. Walk slowly and stop often to survey the area ahead of you and behind you. Big bucks are known to backtrack in a big circle if they feel that they are followed. During the midday hours and when the sun is out walk along south facing slopes. Bucks often bed down in the wide open on south facing slopes and let the sun warm their body. On windy cold days search along wind sheltered overgrown ravines and gullies for a buck.

There is no reason for a hunter to stay home after the gun season. Especially not if you still have a tag to fill. The season is not over until it is over.

Image by Othmar Vohringer Stock Photography

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors

Tags: Post Rut, Late Season Hunting Tips

Still Hunting

© By Othmar Vohringer

Still hunting as in, are you still out there hunting? And as in, tracking big bucks in the snow.

Looking at the weather map for North America I see lots of snow and cold in most places. This will get the bucks moving in search of food and the last remaining does in heat. The snow will make for good tracking.

This is a good time to try to fill your buck tag if you haven’t already. Never give up until the last hour of the hunting season. Persistence often will make all the difference. Check out my Post-Rut Hunting Tips and let me know how the deep freeze hunting is going for you.

Good luck and dress warm.


Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit


Tags: Late Season Hunting Tactics, Still Hunting, Tracking Big Bucks, Deer Hunting Tips, Post-Rut Tips

Post-Rut tips

© By Othmar Vohringer

A common mistake made by hunters is to think that after the rut most of the big bucks have been shot. Nothing could be further from the truth. The late season can be a very productive time to be out in the woods as the Dave Voorhees buck (photo) proves. He took his monster buck, scoring 170 B&C points, on December 23rd 2006.

As the season winds down so does the rut activity. By mid December most does have been breed and the bucks turn their attention to more important matters. Food! During the rut the bucks have eaten very little, in fact they lost as much as 25% to 30% of their body weight. With the winter arriving and good nutritious food getting scarce the bucks have to eat and they will eat all day long, resting perodically to conserve energy.

As the bucks change their behavior pattern we must change our tactics accordingly. No longer do we hunt rub lines and scrapes. Now is the time to pay attention to the remaining food sources and the trails leading from food sources to bedding areas.

Tip 1:
Crop fields. Although most crops have been harvested the bucks will return to these fields to eat the last remaining morsels left behind by the combine harvesters. White and red oak trees are revisited again and deer dig up the last remaining acorns buried under a layer of snow. You still can use doe in heat scent lures. Lay a scent trail intercepting several deer trails. It might lure a buck to your stand. In December the fawns and does that have not been breed will come in estrus again.

Tip 2:
Now that most of the foliage has gone and the ground cover died off a bucks hideouts become limited to a few remaining thickets. Consider setting up a stand near such a thicket and wait the buck out. If it gets really cold and windy bucks seek wind sheltered south facing areas to bed down during their daytime resting periods. The colder the weather the better the chances are that you will find a buck bedded down in the opened soaking up the warming rays of the sun.

Tip 3:
Right after a snowfall be out in the woods at dawn and hunt all day. This is the perfect time to track a monster buck in the fresh snow. Many a good buck has fallen to this proven tactic. As a welcome side benefit for the hunters is that tracking deer in the snow keeps you on the move and warm.

The god news about late season hunting is that most hunters will stay at home and watch the football games. This means deer will be more relaxed and you often have the woods all to yourself. This is one of the reasons why late season hunting is my favorite time to be out hunting.

Dress for the occasion. Make sure you dress in several layers depending on the temperature and the method of hunting. Sitting for hours motionless in a treestand soon will drive the cold deep into your body if you’re not dressed warm enough. Take a big thermos of chicken soup and some candy bars with you to supply your body with warmth and sugar (energy). That late in the season you have nothing to loose. Plan on hunting all day from dawn to dusk and you might just end your season with a big buck on the ground.

Good luck to you all and report back here how your season went or better yet, take part in The Whitetail Deer Passion Big Buck Contest 2008

Tags: Post Rut Hunting Tips, Late Season Hunting, Tracking Deer, Late Season Hunting Tactics, Trophy Buck Contest

Stalking The Forgotten Art

© By Othmar Vohringer

Before the dawn of modern treestands, hunters successfully stalked deer with rifle and bow. Unfortunately these days many hunters have lost, or never tried, to stalk within shooting range of a deer and those that do try from time to time will have you known that it doesn’t work well.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Michigan’s Benoit family, affectionately known as America’s First Family of Deer Hunting, have dozens of book sized whitetail trophies on the wall and written many books on stalking deer. Treestand hunting has proven to be very successful for a number of reasons. But sometimes it is better to become active and take the hunt to the deer, rather than waiting for the deer to come to us.

The rut is one example where stalking deer can be more successful than sitting in a treestand. During the rut bucks keep on the move all day long and it is hard to predict where they will turn up next. A hunter may sit for many days in a treestand without ever seeing a buck. This is a good time to hunt from the ground and stalk a buck near a doe bedding or feeding area

In the winter, in most of North America, the departures fall to sub zero figures. This makes sitting motionless in a treestand for any stretch of time a battle of endurance and can lead to hypothermia. The cold winter is the perfect time too for hunting on the ground and tracking a deer.

Stalking and tracking a deer is a special challenge for every hunter but by observing and training a few basic skills that are already in all of us we can become successful at hunting bucks at eyelevel. Here are a few of the common mistakes hunters make and how to remedy them. It may be easier that you thought.

The most common problem in tracking or stalking is speed. Most hunters got to fast. If you move more than half mile, depending on the terrain, in an hour you go way to fats. Deer key in on movement and if they see something move that doesn’t look quite right they are gone. Move very slowly, no more than two small steps at a time. Then stand still and observe the area all around you.

Looking for the whole deer. If you can see the whole deer it is likely that the deer can see you too. Look for parts of deer such as the flicker of an ear the glint of an antler or a horizontal line. Lock for everything that could be a deer. That brownish tree stump 50 yards away could be a bedded deer. The odd branch on the bush 60 yards ahead could be an antler. When deer bed or stand still they blend perfectly into their surrounding. A deer trackers best friend is a pair of good quality binoculars. Use binos constantly to look through the thicket and into the trees for any sign that could be part of a deer.

Did you know that deer have very sensitive hearing? To them the usual heavy human footfall sounds thunder. Deer are also paranoid, each unusual sound gets their attention and the human cadence of steps is a dead giveaway to any deer. Part of a successful stalk is to sneak around the woods silently. Before you make a step look briefly on the ground and memorize the branches, twigs and other forrest debries on the ground. Wear a boot with a light sole such as a hiking boots. This lets you feel the ground. If you do make a noise by stepping onto a branch stand absolutely still and watch all around you. A deer that heard the noise might get up. Do as the deer do and look for movements. It also helps to carry a deer or turkey call with you. Should step on a twig or brush against something make a deer or turkey sound.

Deer can see you if you are skylight or stand in the open. Use every bit of advantage you have to stay hidden from full view by staying below a ridgeline, using the vegetation and shadows to advance in your approach. You should wear full camouflage including head, face and on the hands.

Some hunters still-hunt an area as a method of scouting. Still hunting and tracking, like any other hunting method, works best in an area that you have scouted previously. In order to be successful you need to know where the deer are and what they are doing. If you do not know then the risk of “bumping” into deer and scaring them are to big.

I highly recommend to read Big Bucks the Benoit Way. With lots of tips and how to advice this book is considered the deer tracking hunters Bible.

Tags: Deer Hunting Tips, Still Hunting, Spot and Stalk, Treestand, Hunting Method, Whitetail Deer Hunting

Last Chance

The deer hunting season is fast coming to an end. If you have still not tagged out, now may be your last chance to connect with a buck. Despite popular belief the late season might yet be the best time of the year to fulfill your dream of getting a wall hanger.

Hunting a trophy buck is very tough. In the early season deer have plentiful food available and the cover is thick. Under these conditions it is very hard to predict when and where a buck will be; there is just so much food for the deer to choose from.

Then comes the rut. During this time the bucks travel great distances in search of receptive does. At this time a buck can be anywhere, here today gone tomorrow and there is no way to tell where he will turn up next. In addition, the hunting season is in full swing, the woods are full of hunters and the bucks have turned nocturnal making it even more difficult.

But then comes the winter. It’s cold and often there is snow on the ground. Everything changes now. The buck hasn’t eaten much during the rut and may have lost as much as 25% to 30% of his body weight. His sole priority now is to gain all that lost weight back, but there is not much food left for him. In order to regain his weight and make it through the often harsh winter he retreats to a small core area where there is still good cover, shelter and food is close by.

The bucks will do only two things – eat and sleep. To eat as much as he can the buck has to abandon his nocturnal travel pattern and feed all day long between taking naps. This fact plus the fact that the hunter actually can see now for a long ways in the woods makes the bucks vulnerable. But don’t be fooled into believing that it will be easy pickings. Hunting a big mature buck is never easy, but in the late season a hunter has a much better chance of filling his tag than perhaps at any other time during the hunting season. So don’t hang your bow or muzzleloader up yet. Brave the cold and the snow and get out into the woods. The hunting season is not over until it says so in your state or provincial hunting regulations.

I leave you here with a few late season hunting tips that have worked well for me and will do the same for you.

Scouting:
In order to find the buck’s hideout you have got to scout first. Deer seek out the thick stuff; such as young pine growth, cedar or hemlock when possible but also small woodlots with thick undergrowth, overgrown hedgerows and patches of high grass. These structures give the deer a measure of security but also shelter from the harsh elements.

Food:
In the late winter bucks often re-visit harvested agricultural fields where they look for the last morsels of nutritious food. Look under oak trees for acorns that are left over from the fall. Find these few remaining food sources with bedding areas nearby and you’re in business.

Time to hunt:
In the winter when the weather is below freezing, the deer travel later in the morning and earlier in the evening. Most deer movement will be in the morning around 8:00 am and then again around 3:00pm. In very cold weather you will see deer movement all day long with the peak around midday when it is warmer than at other times of the day. Prepare to hunt all day long.

Deer like it warm:
In order to conserve energy and stay warm deer seek the sunny and wind sheltered hillsides where they doze and lounge in the warmth of the sun.

Track’em down:
If there is a fresh layer of snow from the previous night you can track a buck in the snow right to his hideout.

The wind:
Watch the wind and air currents. Deer are still very spooky and will not tolerate any human scent. Hunt in a good crosswind or still better with the wind in your face. Thermals rise uphill in the morning as the air warms up and descend downhill in the afternoon as the air cools off. Bear that in mind when you are in hilly areas and hunt accordingly.

Scent, Calls and Rattling:
Depending on the buck to doe ratio, the late season could still see some minor rut activity. Using scent judiciously can work to bring a buck out of his bed; so can calling and rattling. However, at this time of year the bucks are worn out so keep your calling and rattling friendly and brief.

Treestand or Ground?
It’s really way to cold to sit all day long in a treestand. No matter how many layers you wear after one or two hours of sitting motionless in a treestand you will be very cold. It is better to hunt several stands and then, still-hunt from one location to the next along known deer holding areas. Hunt from a stand only during the peak moving times for about one hour then move to the next stand location. Look for a good sized tree to hang your stand on – one that gives you good background cover since there are no leaves left on the trees. Personally I avoid hunting from treestands in the winter and instead stay on the ground using trees, deadfalls and other structures as natural groundblinds.