late season deer cold weather help

[azsearch]

I decided to go hunting during the Wisconsin late season anterless only, to try to fill my tag.

My question is how do the deer move after a snowstorm that should hit right before the season and how will the almost sub zero temperatures influence the deer movement.

It snowed after the season (1'')and i went to look for tracks in the snow for an idea where to sit for this season and there has been nothing since the end of the season (this was 2 days ago)? its like all the deer have left, its private land with almost no pressure on it

[Musky Buck]

Wow azsearch, sounds like our muzzy weekend in MN. 421 acre farm that wasn't pressured during bow or rifle with 200 acres of standing corn and the rest river bottom we saw 0 and never saw a track, 4 of us covered it like a blanket. So the answer is how do they move well when there are 0 deer I guess they don't move very well ?.?.? I think typically the deer are nocturnal and if they are finding easily enough food during the night without having to search for it they'll wait until complete darkness, the further off the road the better chance, but good luck finding one to shoot during shooting hours without making a drive at this time of year. Good luck.

[willyfahey]

I was out and about muzzy hunting last weekend and couldn't find a track or active trail near my fall hunting stands. I started seeing tracks near a clear cut and followed them to a thick black spruce swamp. When I got inside, wow did I find tracks. I think you'll find them in these types of areas. There was no wind which made it feal a lot warmer then it actually was. I made a go of it and jumped a grouse which caused a nice size deer to jump out of their bed and take off. I didn't see a rack or anything but I know where I'll be tomorrow.

[sodajerk]

After the pressure of the gun seasons and with the onset of cold weather, the deer hold tight near food and water sources. They want to burn as little energy as possible to keep fat on their bones for what may be leaner times ahead before the spring thaw. Gone are the carefree days of September and October with the warm days and juicy green alfalfa to munch on.

If you look hard and can't find any deer sign where you're hunting the deer may simply not be there. They're probably nearby and holding in a small area compared to their much larger ranges earlier in the fall. If they're on land you don't have, and can't get, permission to hunt, you may have to find other land.

If that's the case, the easiest and quickest solution may be to drive to any public land in the area and see if there are any tracks/trails crossing the road or sign of deer feeding near there.

Still hunting may be a better tactic than stand hunting, too. Get on a trail with the freshest tracks you can find and follow them, move super slowly (about 100-300 yards per hour depending on terrain and cover, moving slower in thicker cover) and see if you can't cross paths with something.

Late season hunting is tough, so good luck to anyone out pounding the ground yet.

[Cooter]

I managed to find an area in WI that had a bunch of deer this weekend, they certainly were moving late in the day - nothing in the mornings.

[RumRiverRat]

One of the farms we hunt in WI was loaded with deer.

They moved late in the day.

We concentrated on a bedding area that had a corn field on one side and a creek on the other.

4 of us shot 5 deer between 4:00 and 4:30 on Saturday.