Ahhh, Late Season Hunting

Hunting the end of deer season is an entirely different game and a challenge many sportsmen thoroughly enjoy. So let’s take stock of the situation and see if we can stack the deck in the hunter’s favor.

Ah, Late Season... How beautiful and difficult to hunt in!

Late season Whitetail are as wary a quarry as hunters could want. Pressured by shot gunners and pushed out of their early season sanctuaries, the herd has been split up and shuffled around. Breeding is no longer priority -survival is. Weather becomes a dominant factor this time of year and our weather changed radically this month. A mid-December blizzard plunged Iowa into tundra-like territory, transforming the landscape into a beautifully harsh landscape. Under frigid conditions and deep snow, deer have recognized two major proponents to survival: security cover and food.

Hunting a food source can be the single most effective way to take a late season trophy as cold temperatures send deer to the fields. Some of the best hunting conditions unfold right before a major storm such as the blizzard earlier this month. Feeding activity started as early as 1-2pm ahead of that storm as the deer stocked up on food to help. Bitter cold can also increase the deer activity as herds feed to burn calories to keep warm.

Big deer often find safety in numbers. Last week I observed a very large and mature buck surrounded by 20 or so does. He had waited until the does were in the field for several minutes before emerging from the woods. This big buck then walked right to the middle of the herd, found a spot, and dug through the snow to get to some browse. For the next hour, he moved a total of 50 yards from that spot before shooting light ended. It looked to me like he was using the herd as a shield, relying on their senses to determine any danger. I didn’t want to make a move because of all the eyes and ears -getting to him undetected seemed quite unlikely.

When late season rolls around, deer abandon patterns easily. Read the trails and the sign and adapt to the new locations they feel safe.  Once you’ve found a good ambush point, try to use the winds and cover to keep concealed because it only takes one or two times bumping deer for them to adapt and avoid your area.

Brrrrrrr... Good gear is a must to outlast a Winter Whitetail.

Keep tabs on the blog for the rest of the season and I’ll be posting my hunts with pictures.  I’ve got an archery tag and a few front loader tags to fill yet and I can’t wait to get out there and share my struggles and hopefully successes. Enjoy the cold and have a happy New Year. Good luck and get outside!

Blizzard Blankets Iowa in White

Well the fierce winds are over and the blinding snow has stopped. But the cold is only beginning after a major blizzard struck the Midwest dropping over a foot of snow and carrying 60mph winds.

This cold is excellent news for ice anglers and late season hunters.

Now that we've got a blanket of white, Arctic air will continue to pour in over our newly acquired white welcome mat. In fact, two major storms in the next week will reinforce the cold air and invite even more down from Canada. This will set the stage for some of the coldest air central Iowa has seen in nearly two years.

As a late season hunter, I am ecstatic! I dream of deep, fresh snow and bitter cold for many reasons. There's just something about the torture test of playing freeze out while waiting for deer to appear over a food source. And the peace of being out there in my own personal snow globe can be consuming. It's also about the smile I get after cutting a big buck's fresh track in the white powder, or setting my sights on a good deer.

Hard water chasers are also adding up the inches of ice, and with overnight lows approaching -10F in northern Iowa this week, I'm expecting happy Christmas anglers. Please remember not to fish on shelf ice. Shelf ice will develop when a lake or river freezes and then the water level drops. These conditions are extremely unsafe and likely to develop shortly after the new year.

Have a merry and safe Christmas!

-Chris

Back to Back Weekend Storms

Late season hunters know, there are few things that heat deer activity up better than cold weather and a winter storm approaching! Unfortunately, cold has been relatively scarce this Fall, but we do have a strong storm moving in to end 2nd Season. Here are some of the reasons foul weather in the forecast can help you fill your tags.

I wish there were more of this during shotgun season!

Let's start with a little weather 101 that every hunter needs to know. North American storm systems are local "low pressures" and when they push into a region, the power of the storm lifts air up into the sky. This creates clouds and can lead to rain, storms, snow and wind. When a storm moves in the barometric pressure falls. If you don't have a barometer - they're cheap, go get one. Otherwise, look for that big red "L" we show you on the weather maps. One's that move in from the west and southwest seem to have a bigger impact on deer movement before a storm.

In Iowa, low pressure systems can bring radical changes in weather ranging from tornadoes to blizzards. Inclimate weather threatens not only people's survival, but the wildlife too. While some animals are more sensitive to changing weather systems, most wildlife changes their patterns when a storm is coming. Birds hit the feeders harder. Squirrels scavenge furiously for nuts. And heavy horned bucks get out of bed to feed in the daylight.

A falling barometer puts deer on the hoof! One of my best hunting memories comes from a few years ago as I sat over a cut cornfield on the day before 1st Season. The clouds had been steadily thickening, the winds picked up from the east and the temperature was falling. Several inches of snow were in the forecast and the first flakes were sticking to my bow and turning the ground white. The first deer I saw was nearly an hour earlier than every other day I hunted that week. And a field that I'd normally see 10 deer on, suddenly was teaming with nearly 50.

Sometimes, I don't know who's a better forecaster: me or the herd of deer! It ended up snowing much more than expected as temps crashed colder than expected. It seems the animals instinctively know when the weather is changing and the ones who prepare are the ones who survive the storm.

Food sources and travel corridors to food sources are key ambush spots for a successful hunt before a storm. Once the storms hit, deer often hunker down until the worst is over. Stalking through a bedding area or setting up on a funnel or pinch point near a bedding area is key here. Deer sightings diminish rapidly when heavy precipitation hits, but they'll often move around if there are any breaks in the weather.

If there's one good thing about rain on Saturday - deer drives can be quite effective in seeing deer when the weather's foul.

Good luck and hunt safely on the final weekend of shotgun season 2012!

Cooler Weather Helps Second Season Shotgunners

After record-breaking warmth during the first season, an arctic cold front and our first snow blasted in for the second leg of Iowa's gun season.

Hunting in snow is fantastic, and this year I couldn't pass up the opportunity. There is something purely magical about being out there as the flakes are falling. Whether it's the sight of deer appearing out of the fog and snow or cutting a tell-tale track in the powder, snow is a great thing for hunters. It was for the guys I hunted with on Sunday and we were able to harvest this nice ten pointer.

Unfortunately, it didn't last and we're expecting warmer weather ahead. Given our pattern so far this fall these cold surges of air wont last until we can get some more permanent snow pack on the ground.

On a positive note, the upcoming warm weather will be comfortable to hunt in, but it will make the hunting a bit tougher. Pressured deer wont want to budge from security cover and Mother Nature wont be forcing them out to feed by sending in brutal cold.

We will be facing another storm system for the finale to Iowa's shotgun season. Unfortunately for hunters, this one could be all rain... That would make for a cold, cold soaking Saturday afield.

I'll keep tracking it.

Win Some Walkie Talkies

How would you like to win a pair of Motorola Walkie Talkies?!

Wanna win these?

ABC5 has teamed up with Motorola for another hand-held radio giveaway! I will be field testing these puppies out and I'll give you a full report in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I want you to have a chance to win these.

Write me a weather story with how weather impacted your hunting or fishing trip and these could be yours!

Every outdoorsman's got a weather story, and I want to hear yours! All you have to do is e-mail me a hunting or fishing story where weather was the deciding factor in your hunting/fishing success and or failure. I'll publish the top stories right here on the Outdoors Weather Guide and the best story's author will win a pair of walkie talkies. Depending upon how fast ya'll can write, I hope to give these away by Christmas (they'd make one heckuva stocking-stuffer). Submit your email to cconoan@myabc5.com with the subject title "Contest."

I also encourage everyone to become a member and comment on the posts below. I embrace compliments, generally deflect criticism and look forward to hearing your thoughts on any topics I discuss.

-Chris

Warm Start to Shotgun

Well, Shotgun season is in our sights and the forecast is looking WARM.

Temps are expected to be above average the first week in December.

There is a little uncertainty built in to the forecast as a storm system may be organizing (or disorganizing) over Iowa. If it holds together, we'll see more clouds and a chance of showers with temps still 10 degrees above average... if it falls apart, it will do so at the hands of a strengthening low in Montana. This storm system would pull in an extremely warm southerly flow in the atmosphere, and the woods would really heat up. Some indications are we could see some 60s the first week of December which is not the news many shot gunners were hoping for. But this warm change fits our fall pattern well, so I guess we should expect it.

So far this Fall has been exceptionally warm. Nearly 70% of afternoon highs in the month of November above average in central Iowa. Many cities set high temperature records just before Veteran's Day. We've also seen the opposite weather with two major surges of Arctic air.

The pattern in the atmosphere has been swinging like a pendulum from cold to hot and back again every 10 to 15 days. We'll see a blast of cold air. Then the chilly air warms into mild air. Finally, near record warmth precedes the temperature cliff and another icy cold air mass blasts in. With only a few exceptions this pattern has held, just rinse and repeat.

It will probably warm up for first week of December and we'll likely have a cold blast the week afterwards. We will see a storm track change at some point as Winter wears nearer. Storms will start moving in from the west and scooting east rather than swooping in from the southwest and racing north-northeast. This change in track will boost our chances of snow and cold. Until then, expect more mild and dry weather... and hey, it may not be such a bad thing. Who hasn't wanted to go deer hunting in December wearing shorts and short-sleeves?

I still wish it would snow. Good luck!

Hunting Weather Archers Can Be Thankful For

Thanksgiving is a time to pause and reflect on what we're thankful for. What better place to do this, than in a tree stand with a bow in your hand?

I'm thankful for opportunities to hunt with friends and family.

Heather and I did just that and we were blessed with a wonderful of display of deer rutting behavior. Here's a quick rundown from our Thanksgiving hunt.

Through the darkness, the green glow from the truck thermometer read 56. The average high is in the 40s, so I was slightly pessimistic about seeing much deer movement with the unseasonable heat. Our plan was to sit in a travel corridor between where three large corn fields come together and suspected deer bedding. We snuck in as the first blue/green glow hit the horizon.

Despite the abnormal warmth, a herd of ten deer waltzed through the valley beneath us shortly before sunrise. The first 4 does were quite skittish as they ran past, pausing only long enough for me to give the biggest one a Montec buzz-cut (I later recovered my clean arrow and discovered the tuft of white chest fur a few feet away). The rest of the herd was much more relaxed as they passed by.

At 7:35 spike and a forkhorn paid little attention to my grunt call as they walked by at 45 yards. Moments later a yearling doe blitzed up the hill, tail cocked sideways and mouth agape. Right behind her was a very impressive 8-pt buck. Heather still has her buck tag, so I grunted in hopes to lure him away from the hot doe as she angled away. That plan failed, but it did incite him to put on an impressive territorial display of impromptu scraping and rubbing. After thrashing a bush, I noticed two other young bucks were shadowing the doe as well. He grunted, snort wheezed and devastated random pockets of unsuspecting forest understory to prove he was the king. The smaller bucks kept their distance from the mature eight as the whole crowd passed by within 50 yards. Since I could gauge his reaction, I tickled my rattling antler tips together to see if he could come over to us an break up the sparring. He turned and looked, circled twice like he was going to approach, but in the end decided to stay with his petite new girlfriend. What a display!?

Winter winds blew in much colder temps on Black Friday.

Now the howling winds of change have descended from the Arctic, blasting cold into Iowa on Friday. Once the winds relax, Arctic high pressure is one of the best ingredients to a good late November hunt.

Black Friday's temperature change.

The cold weather will have some herds settling into a need-to-feed pattern, drawing deer to major food sources making them a cold weather hot spot. We hunted a morning travel corridor between the fields and their bedding -a simple strategy that works. Evening sits over food sources work well now, as does will come for food and bucks will come for food and does.

Expect cold nights and mild days... average weather to end November.

The doe we saw in heat on Nov. 22nd was only half the size of the buck tending her. Based on her skinny neck and long legs but short stature, I think she was a yearling. This could be secondary rut behavior as unbred does cycle back into estrous and younger deer enter estrous for the first time. With a more seasonable cold weather pattern shaping up this week, Iowa bowhunters will have one last week of great weather to get the job done before shot gunners take to the woods. This week's highs in the 30s, 40s and a few 50s plus lows in the 20s/30s will give central Iowa hunters something to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving.
-Chris

What Goes Up, Must Come Down

We've seen one of the most comfortable Novembers in recent memory with only one brief preview of wintry weather back on Veteran's Day. But that is about to change.

My cousin and I enjoying a 50 degree hunt with no wind!

This year's weather has been exceptional. Des Moines has broken the all-time records for most number of days with temps above 60 degrees (231 days Jan 1^st through November 19^th). Not only did we have extreme heat nearly the entire months of March and July, but the moderate warmth has still been simmering in drought-stricken Iowa.  

So far this November 2012,  75% of the afternoons have been above normal. With all this heat, the entire Midwest and Plains states have maintained warm soils that act like persistent heaters. Without any frost or snow on the ground, the warmth steadily overwhelms Arctic intrusions. And just like a bail of barbed wire that wants to return to its rolled up shape, we've been returning to our mild/dry pattern.

Average 4" soil temps should be 5 to 8 degrees cooler

At some point, Arctic air will return, and if there’s any moisture around we’re talking snow. The classic scenario would be for a storm system to draw warmth and moisture into the Midwest. This energy would then feed the storm allowing it to grow large enough to reach out to the arctic and pull down that bitter cold air. When such a storm blends the two, we’ve got a snowstorm!

A large storm is brewing. This is a computer model forecast for Nov. 28th.

This wintry scenario could be playing out during the week before Shotgun 1! Unseasonable warmth will settle in Thanksgiving week, Black Friday will be cold and windy, and then we’ll see rebounding temps this weekend- the warm before the storm. This storm will likely push into the Midwest and could take a track bringing rain, wind and eventually snow to Iowa. We’ll have to keep an eye on this one as a northern track would spell rain first, then just cold. A track too far south could have this storm missing us entirely and we would see just the cold. This storm system is slated for November 27^th and 28^th and that's a long ways out, so the forecast is sure to change on the exact track of that storm. One thing's for sure, it will get colder after it passes.

For now let’s just enjoy the comfortable air while it's here. And bowhunters can enjoy a cold finish to the first leg of the archery season which should enhance the post-rut bed-to-feed pattern! While we're at it, lets keep dreaming of a fresh blanket of snow telling shot gunners exactly where the best spots to hunt will be…  It could happen, and I’ll be tracking it...

Cold Surge Will Help Rut Hunters

The entire Midwest has just seen a radical change in our weather pattern! Record high temperatures fell off a cliff when Arctic air blasted down from Canada. If you haven't had any luck seeing big mature deer lately, this cold surge might be just what the deer doctor ordered.

The 24 hour temperature shift behind the front is 40 degrees colder.

Warm temperatures are a major rut suppressor. Anyone whose seen a rutting buck knows their bodies are already under enough stress. They relentlessly travel, seeking and chasing does, challenging and defending rights to breed, and breeding. It's a lot of work! When you add high temps into the equations it slows a rutting buck down like we would if we were working outside in a Heat Advisory.

Veteran's Day Temperatures Tumbled in Des Moines, Iowa.

Mature deer lose a significant percentage of their body mass from constantly burning calories. When the temperatures are warm, a rutting buck simply has to cut down his movement especially during the hottest part of the day (1-4pm). From my experience it seems 50F is a good baseline temperature between seeing good deer movement and poor movement. When the mercury climbs above 50, deer movement begins to become more limited. When the mercury falls, especially below freezing, deer movement picks up.

Temperatures for November 10th through November 16th.

There are a lot of other factors too. Human pressure trumps temperatures and can easily be the best way to turn a buck nocturnal. Hunters predictably traveling to their one hunting spot can easily turn a shot at a trophy shoulder mount and deer sticks into a nocturnal trail camera model. Deer encounter and sense human pressure which can send them into survival mode and tarnish your hopes for tagging that deer. Being mobile and interactively scouting with your bow works quite well during this phase of the rut. Not to mention the thrill of taking one from the ground is hard to match!

Buck to doe ratios can also become a substantial rut suppressor. If competition is low because the numbers of does to bucks is lopsided in favor of the females, visible rut activity may be significantly reduced in your area.

The Rutting Full Moon was October 29th, 2012.

Moon phase, farmer/land-use pressures and other environmental factors like habitat degradation or major weather systems with heavy snow or rain all can influence deer patterns and overall activity levels.

This cold surge has removed temperature concerns from the equation! The Whitetail rut has been active for a few weeks now and peak breeding has likely already passed in your area or will this week. Get out and do some hunting in this cold weather if you can, post-rut is on the horizon.

Good luck!

Success Times Two

It happens. Each year sportsmen sacrifice precious field time in exchange for other priorities. This year is the first year I’ve let life get in the way of hunting.  I shot my hunting season in the foot when I was blessed with the opportunity to purchase a fixer-upper house. So began my painful repression of outdoor passions in exchange for that dreaded responsibility.  Here is my tale of precious few hunts, a nearly disastrous day a-field followed by success times two.

My 2012 Archery Buck

Let’s start with the backstory because I know you were dying to know the useless details. The house I purchased literally consumed all of my free-time ordinarily reserved for pursuit of outdoor passions. I still wasn't quite aware of how bad it was until October 1^strolled around and it became glaringly obvious my archery season was in serious peril. Apparently, this is called “Life” which I find ironic because all this responsibility seems to stand directly in the way of “living.”

I love hunting around Halloween.

I scavenged a few spare moments to hunt here and there but, I desperately needed things to go right when I had time to go. Halloween week’s cool weather and rutting full moon waning had me really excited to see some solid activity and I decided to hunt Halloween afternoon and sit all day Thursday November 3rd...

Well, Heather and I got tricked on our Halloween hunt. We set up a blind in a cornfield and within an hour we got cowed. Apparently, the herd thought we were dropping off an ugly lookin' hay bale and they actually fed off the blind eating a few of the fabric leaves. We stuck it out and they stuck around until sunset. Despite sporting the best cover scent ever (smelly cow) all we ended up seeing was a nice tall buck on a distant ridge, a few small bucks running some does on another distant ridge and a coyote at 60 yards. I thought about beef for dinner, but settled for tag soup at least for Halloween.

Heather's Face is Priceless!

Three major east-west trails converge within 50 yards of this tree.

Thursday rolled around and the weather was incredible but my luck was not. The morning wind was light and variable allowing a wary doe to wind me. She stayed just outside my effective bow range for the better part of an hour loudly declaring my presence. With the morning spot blown, I decided to set up a new hang-on in a travel corridor on top of a hill. While setting up the tree stand, the hinged flip-up seat flopped down on my hand smashing and shearing off the end of my finger. Had I instinctively let go of the tree to address my injury the 20 foot fall would have been devastating. With half the day remaining on my only all-day opportunity at a rutting buck I bandaged my finger in a napkin I found in my truck and went back out to sit. 

The first hour went fine until I noticed two trucks in field on the neighboring property and saw hunters getting out and walking right into the neck of timber I expected deer to come from. Stubbornly, I sat it out -finger throbbing.

Those "Turkeys" on the ridge are trespassing teens.

At 5:30 my bad luck continued when three trespassing kids (approximately 12 to 16 years old) walked toward me toting what appeared to be a matt-black 12 ga. shotgun and a .22 caliber rifle. I had been hearing shots in the valley below for about 1/2 hour and optimistically I passed it off as target practice, but when these kids walked by in black hooded sweatshirts and sunglasses at just 60 yards I knew they were looking for their "targets". They never saw me, walked away and I decided to sit quietly in the tree and take this picture. I could only hope the deer were used to this type of thing.

Surprisingly just 20 minutes after all that ruckus, 12 deer (8 does and 4 bucks) began crossing into the property I was on. One of the bucks was this old looking deer with a weird curly 'q' antler tip and trotting mouth agape from doe-to-doe. The good times came to an end when I missed a doe at 30 yards right at last light. Thursday was just not my day.

Old rutting buck gets the pass.

Friday I worked on the house all day and had a very productive day painting and recoating drywall mud. At 4pm I got to a good stopping point and decided to reward myself with a last minute hunt. By 5pm I was in my stand near a creek intersection in what I would consider both a travel corridor and a transition area. Deer once again waited until sunset before they started popping up in the field in front of me.  A moment later I heard some commotion off to my right. 80 yards away a doe jumped into the field with her tail sideways. 

My only east-wind stand in a travel corridor/transition area.

She looked spooky and trotted out in front of me about a hundred yards away. With bedding behind me and food out in front, I felt there was no reason this deer had to walk by me, so I decided to make a reason. Hoping for a buck behind her, I grabbed the grunt tube and let out one soft “gggrrrrrruuuunt.” The doe stopped and stared in my direction and then began steadily walking straight to my tree. She stopped at 15 yards, looked around, turned broadside and took a few steps along a trail right in front of me. I thanked God for the opportunity, drew and shot. Thwack. She ran 25 yards, stopped and fell over.

My 2012 Archery Doe

I couldn’t believe how fast and well that all happened! But before I could celebrate I looked back into the field where she came and a nice nine point was walking, nose down in her exact tracks. His rack stood proud and symmetrical and his neck was huge so I decided I’d take a shot if I had the opportunity. He stopped at 100 yards right where she did and began looking around. I grabbed the grunt tube and let out another soft “gggrrrruuunt.” He immediately jerked in my direction. I froze and we stared at each other for perhaps 30 seconds until he decided to walk straight in.

I quickly put away the grunt tube, knocked another arrow and repositioned my feet. At 15 yards he stopped and looked around. I could tell he was not as big as others I have seen in the area, but he was still outside the ears and a magnificent animal to watch. He was also in bow range. He turned broadside and took a few steps down the trail the doe had taken less than a minute earlier. I came to full draw, but he stopped with his vitals behind a very poorly placed, trimmed branch sticking out from the tree. He put his nose down to the tracks and I became concerned as he began quartering away. He was moving off of her trail and starting to head down the trail I used to come in. So I took a step to my right, leaned right, stood as tall as I could and placed the shot. Thwack. I was aghast at how much arrow was sticking out as he ran for a few seconds. He stopped and turned as they often do right before they disappear into the woods forever. But instead of running, he just fell over. Two deer in about two minutes less than 40 yards from my stand-I have never had hunting work out quite so well!

My buck, a nice typical 9-point.

Although field dressing was a bit of a chore with only one good hand, I was truly thankful for the challenge. Hauling the deer was also not much fun as the truck was parked 400 yards uphill from the stand. I believe a game-hauler may be on the Christmas list alongside line-man’s harness.

Almost... There..... One... More.... Step....

I am blessed to have had such a successful season and such wonderful people to share it with! Although, now I have no excuses not to work on the house ;-) Good luck this season and thanks for reading!

-Chris

Success Times Two