'Tis The Season

I hope you've had a happy holiday season, and a happy hunting season too! Many of us take advatage of the time off during the holidays to do some hunting or ice fishing, and lately the weather has been pretty agreeable. We're facing a few storm systems moving in for New Year's Eve and when you combine a storm system's low barometric pressure with low hunting pressure, this spells late season success! Many deer are finally returning to areas they were chased from during shotgun season. Deer know areas that are pressured, and they are very sensitive to hunter activity this time of year, so it's very important to play the winds and be careful getting into and out of your hunting spots. Pressure often wont keep them from coming to the same fields night after night, but it can push them into late movement or nocturnal movement. Switching topics to the weather pressure, a large low pressure system is stirring up the atmosphere bringing in southerly winds, fog/drizzle/mist ahead of a sharp cold front that will slam Iowa on Friday. Hunting should be excellent in the days preceeding and following this storm. But most game will likely be hunkered down during the worst conditions on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Good luck!

Tough Conditions

The weather is cold and snowy, and deer are being pressured by hunters - making hunting conditions pretty tough. I walked through a few corn fields the other day, taking advantage of the fresh snowfall to determine how many deer were using the fields and at what time. Our last snow ended early Thursday morning (2am central Iowa) and several of the tracks were partially covered in snow indicating that deer were using the field, but they were coming in late at night! Deer are feeling the need to feed, but hunting pressure has pushed many animals nocturnal. It doesn't take much hunting pressure to turn a deer to the darkside, and night-time activity can leave very deceptive tracks and sign in food sources. You will see the sign, set up on the trails, and see nothing. The trick is to be mobile, and don't be afraid to get aggressive. Make a move closer to the bedding areas and thick cover, setting up stalks and drives. If you're a stand hunter, and deer are staying out of range, plan a stalk on deer that you see. Between the harsh weather and hunting pressure, the end of shotgun season can be pretty frustrating. But if you use the conditions to your advantage, you can put the odds in your favor on the final days of shotgun season.

A Near Miss Might Help Hunters Score Big

Lately, clouds have been streaming in sending signals from Mother Nature that another storm is brewing. This winter storm will be a near miss for central Iowa depositing most of the snow in NE IA. It appears this storm will take nearly the same track as the one 2 weeks ago (opening day of shotgun 1), and that is a great thing for hunting in central Iowa the next few days. Wednesday afternoon, light freezing drizzle or snow showers will develop between 3pm and sunset. I don't think the precip. will be heavy enough to keep the deer bedded down. In fact, according to my journal some of the best feeding activity happens on the eve of a winter storm system with clouds and an easterly wind. Light accumulations are likely in central Iowa, but 3-6 inches will fall from Mason City through Waterloo and down to Davenport. Thursday and Friday the low moves out and another cold, Canadian high pressure will settle in. This system will gradually clear the clouds, reinforce the cold with a northerly flow, and drive the deer to their favorite fields. Weather conditions will kick start the feeding activity early on, so sneak up to those food sources, play the wind right and you could score big on a near miss from Mother Nature. Bundle up and happy hunting!

Snowy Second Shotgun

Well, I'll be first to admit the latest winter storm's fury was much stronger than anticipated. But our new found blanket of white is a gift to shot gunners. Snow makes it very easy to scout recent activity and really highlights the dark deer in the timber. Snow also makes it easy to track, whether it's cutting a big buck's track or going to recover your trophy. The winds and bitter cold today will make conditions hard to hunt, but the reward will be worth it. Saturday's low pressure and blizzard conditions kept both hunters and deer hunkered down, especially in the afternoon. Now an arctic high pressure will be building in, slowly backing the winds down and making perfect conditions for late season tactics. Hunt the food sources and the thick small pockets of cover. Hunting pressure can push deer off of your property and onto your neighbors. If you're not seeing the activity you want, be mobile and go scout fresh tracks in a food source. Deer drives are working quite well, especially if you find some sanctuary where they are holed up. This evening and the next few days will be great to go hunting. Activity will be good Sunday evening and excellent Monday and Tuesday afternoons! This weather will test your gear but good luck, dress warmly and enjoy the snow!

Shaky Start to Shotgun 2

What a perfect end to the first shotgun season in Iowa! This is on the eve of another major winter storm, and a storm of 50,000 shotgunners ready for the season opener. Unfortunately, our next storm system will be opening the door to the arctic on opening day. We'll start off with a little freezing rain or sleet north of highway 30 early Saturday morning. Temperatures in central Iowa will likely hover just above freezing, so expect some cold rain showers, drizzle, and fog with a south wind before noon. Around 7-8am, the arctic front plows through with strong northwesterly winds. There will likely be a brief mix of freezing rain or sleet before we go to all snow showers. Light accumulations of a dusting to one inch are possible in central Iowa, with northern and northeast Iowa getting blizzard conditions. Temperatures will plunge to the teens by sunset, winds will gust over 35mph, that means wind chills of 10 to 15 below zero! This arctic chill will have a choke hold on Iowa for awhile, so get ready for the cold weather gear and late-season style hunting. Saturday morning movement should be good with the storm still approaching, but once the winds turn to the NW, the deer will likely hole up in the thick cover. Sunday morning will be brutally cold and windy, but Sunday evening the deer should hit the fields pretty hard as the bitter-cold puts them in survival mode. Dress warmly, and good luck!

Cold High Pressure = Happy Hunters

According to the Iowa DNR, about 70,000 hunters are expected over the five day (December 4-8) first season. Another 50,000 should be pursuing whitetails in the nine day (December 11-19) second season. Deer patterns are noticably disrupted in many locations that see hunting pressure. Even if your honey hole doesn't see too much hunting traffic, expect odd deer behavior such as lower daylight activity, or sporadic waves of activity. The weather end of things couldn't be better; high pressure = happy hunters. Flurries aside, we have high pressure settling into the area and that will work to clear the sky and keep the winds reasonably low. Throw into the mix, bitterly cold numbers that we don't normally see until January, and you have the recipe for some great hunting. Deer are struggling to stay bedded down with conditions this cold, the instinct to feed and keep warm will usher them to the fields. If you play the wind right, fields and food plots with lower hunting pressure become deer magnets this time of year. Good luck, and enjoy this stretch. It looks like a big storm will crash the party by the weekend. 2nd season shotgunners, get ready for some plowable snow (especially south of I-80) on Saturday followed by the type of cold that could make a polar bear shiver...

Cold Shotgun Opener

A big snowstorm is clobbering the northeastern 1/3 of Iowa with half a foot or better blanketing the Iowa countryside in fresh,white powder. This is going to make shotgunning excellent once the storm blows out of here Saturday afternoon for our friends to the northeast. For most of central Iowa, an inch or less is expected and in/around Des Moines, I actually don't expect much over a dusting. It will be cold though! Northerly breezes 12-20mph early Saturday morning will make the 20's fell more like single digits! Low barometric pressure will be rising but I think the cold will have a lot of deer hunkered down or coming back from food sources early. Outside of random spurts of activity from the deer drives, I think morning and midday movement will be slow with some pretty harsh conditions for hunter and deer alike. But the evening is looking fantastic! High pressure will get closer, our sky will clear up and the cold winds will back down a bit NW at 10-15mph. Deer will be flocking to food sources in the evening! Sunday looks even better, with bitter cold morning lows in the the single digits and low teens, clear sky and Canadian high pressure. Highs will top only in the 20s with a light northwesterly. Sunday will be an excellent day for shotgunners across Iowa!

High Pressure Before The Hunting Pressure

We are entering the calm before the shotgun season storm, and bowhunters know the next few days are a must hunt! If hours of stand time this season have left you still holding your tag and dissapointed, keep your spirits up. Time may not be on your side, but the weather will be! Deer are settling back down into more patternable behavior after the November Antlerless season, and this cold weather has them feeling the need to feed. Another key factor, the last storm system has departed. High pressure is moving into Iowa, clearing the sky, and relaxing the winds. Wednesday afternoon is shaping up to be perfect hunting weather and a great way to start December! With the exception of occasional clouds and a few Thursday flurries, we will see quiet and chilly weather through the end of the week. The moon might also become a factor. Current moonphase is a waning crescent, so lunar light wont be significant. But the moon will be rising in the early morning hours, and setting mid-late afternoon and I think this will accentuate deer activity. Post-rut can be a tough time to hunt, but this stretch of weather will be as good as it gets. And shotgunners, this is the perfect time to get out and scout your areas for sign and sightings so you can get the jump on a big buck.