Late-season Western deer hunting often draws me into close proximity of ranch homes and land edges. When the season nears its end and the cold weather moves in, Ive found these tips very helpful in locating and tagging that last minute Buck!
Hunt Slopes and Drainages: The Deer tend to gravitate towards winter ranges that lay adjacent to hay and grain fields. Usually these edges have plenty of south-facing hillsides that catch the warm sun along with east and north facing drainages that produce the best forage late in the year.
Find the Hay: As ranchers start stock pilling their hay for the winter herds of Mule deer and elk descend from the high country locating these stockyards for some easy grub. Some of the biggest bucks are spotted and killed every year near these ranchers haystacks.
Hunt Forage: In the later parts of the year mule deer are shrub eaters. They key on highly nutritious plants such as bitter-brush, cliffrose and mahogany. Find stands of these shrubs and you’ll find your December Buck!
Hunt Cover: In areas such as Colorado’s Western Slope – Key on low elevation flats with large, woody shrubbery. Deer tend to hunker under the cover provided, which shed snow, break the wind and create pockets of insulated cover.
Watch Lookouts: Big Bucks love bedding on high ridge tops usually next to heavy cover. Glass high for sky-lined horns as they just may be attached to that mule deer buck you’ve been waiting for.
Seek out Cottonwood Draws: In bitter cold weather, I’ve found still-hunting into cottonwood draws pays off! This is where temperatures can be 20 degrees warmer than on the ridge tops and will hold enormous amounts of deer, who are seeking cover and looking to get out of the wind
