The Late Season...Grind Time

December and January are the late season of hunting. In Wisconsin the general bowseason ends the first Sunday of January with a growing number of counties (35 in 2025) offering an extended season that goes through January 31.

Bowhunting in January will test your sanity and patience. If you are out in January with the bow it likely means you are still trying to fill the freezer, don’t like ice fishing or haven’t used your buck tag yet. I have found myself out in jaws of January the previous three seasons trying to fill my Buck Tag and freezer. When you are out there in 10 degree weather a fork begins to feel like a wall-hanger.

Challenges

Source Moneyball

The Deer Herd

• The deer herd is near its lowest number having gone through the three months of hunting and the pregnant does are 4-5 months from dropping their fawns.

• Less deer and even less dumb deer makes sightings less frequent and limits your opportunities.

Strength in Numbers

• Both does and bucks tend to group up during this time of year. The Rut is over and the competition for females is over and deer are focused on just food and safety.

• Bucks may return to their bachelor groups and does into larger groups for additional safety.

• While the idea of seeing more deer at once is exciting, it makes shot execution much more difficult. If you have 6 doe walk in you have to manage 12 ears and eyes and 6 noses. Movement and noise control becomes critical especially if you are in a tree that no longer has leaf coverage.

  • Finding a cluster of trees close together is a good way to conceal yourself without leaf coverage.

Shorter Days and Longer Nights

• Days are at their shortest with First light coming around 6:30am and last light before 5pm, meaning that you have less time to hunt and the deer have more time to graze at night.  

• Daylight movement is significantly reduced.

• Your best opportunities are going to be in the evening as they look

• Mornings you may be able to pattern them successfully but it feels like they are likely going to be returning to their beds before shooting light as daylight comes later.

The author exploring hunting in sub-zero temps

Bitter Cold

• In Wisconsin January is likely to offer single digits and subzero temps with windchill.

• Cold is great for increasing deer movement but in bitter cold it is likely going to reduce your willingness and ability to move.

• Be Smart, Be Safe…if it is bitter cold your exposure can increase your risk for hypothermia and frost bite.

  • Make sure you are layering apprioritately and limiting the amount of exposed skin. Heavy neck gaiters, bibs, good gloves, handwarmers and warm boots are a necessity.

• I would caution about going deep into a property in the bitter cold, your energy will become zapped much quicker especially if you are trudging through snow. Going too far into a property will increase your risk and in a dire condition delay help from arriving.

• Hands become blocks, I personally do not have great extremity blood flow. I find my hands require frequent warming up or become blocks making setting up your saddle, operating your bow and regular movements more difficult.

PROs

Although I spent the first half of the article potentially deterring you, there are a number of Pros about the late season hunt.

The Game becomes Simpler

• This time of year are focused on just two things, food and security. Breeding/the Rut are past and bucks are thinking with just their head and their stomachs at this point, taking out some wildcard behavior the Rut can bring.

• Food sources are more limited during this time of year which reduces the amount of locations deer will be interested in when they get out of their beds.

• Find the remaining food sources, understand where the likely bedding locations are and try to get in between the two.

Less Competition and More Access

• There will be less people hunting and general foot traffic for the reasons listed above. It is a great time to try a spot you have been deterred from due to pressure.

• If you are seeking permission to hunt a private parcel, landowners are likely to be more open to letting you hunt during this time as they may completed their season and are not as worried about you disrupting the property.

• Parts of the property that may be too thick or too wet to access during September thru November can open up in December and January. Creeks that may have been too high begin to subside or become frozen allowing additional access (be safe/be smart while crossing).

Snow

Hanging out in a tree with snow on the ground is a top 3 coffee location

• I love hunting with snow on the ground. The contrast of the white backdrop and deer becomes much clearer allowing you to see them more easier.

• Ticks and mosquitos aren’t hanging around anymore so one less thing to worry about.

• Quiet, the snow creates a noise dampener eliminating a lot of the white noise of the woods. It is both peaceful and allows you to deer movement more clearly.

• Tracking, if you are successful it will make a blood trail significantly easier as you can utilize the contrast of the snow with the fresh tracks to recover your harvest.

Last Game of the Season, Can’t Hold Anything Back

• If you get aggressive during this timeframe you do not have to worry about it disrupting the rest of the season. Former Sanctuaries become fair game.

• If you have been interested in “Still Hunting” this is a great time to try it during the middle of the day and trying to get close to a bedding areas to get into bow range.

• That Stand/Spot you have been saving for ideal conditions becomes a more viable goto option.

Lessons Applied

Last season I did have one a late season hunt come together using some lessons learned. It remains one of my favorite hunts as it came together almost exactly as I had planned it, giving me some confidence that I was starting to connect the dots.

My setup on the edge of the island facing the bedding area

During the gun season I had watched a number of deer come out of a bedding area from the east of the woods from a large marsh and gather in an wooded island area. After driving around to try and understand the why, I saw that the neighboring property still had a large plot of corn still standing, one of the few spots still left with food. It was a part of the property that had to be access via a creek crossing and a mile from the truck. With gun season over and the freezer still with some space to fill, I waited until the forecast showed a east wind so I could access the island without my scent blowing into the bedding area. I got in early around 1pm and found a nice tripod of trees which could conceal my movement with the absence of leaves. Got my saddle up and waited.

Around 3pm, I saw two does working the tree line leading to the island and edging the northern edge. When the larger doe got to 30 yards I drew and with adrenaline pumping sent the first arrow right over her back (“Shit”). The does retreated 30 yards but unable to identify where the noise came from started wandering back and with a couple deep breathes I reknocked my bow and was able to deliver a clean shot right behind her shoulder and watched her tip over 40 yards later.

I understood the situation, got between the beds and food, had a good wind direction, went to part of the property I wouldn’t use earlier in the season and found good coverage. It was a good day and a great memory.

Worth the Wait

Summary

December and January can be difficult to hunt and often tougher to find the motivation to hunt. Deer patterns have changed and there are less of them. Find the food, be more aggressive and remember you still have time on the clock to fill that tag.