Bitter Cold Bucks
May 2000

One of my favorite things to do in the spring is to look for shed antlers. Not only am I able to find new areas where deer hang out in the winter it also gives me the opportunity to find funnels to their feeding and bedding areas for the following season.

One of my most productive times for taking large white tails is in the bitter cold months of December and January. I think this time of the year is even better than the pre-rut or the main rut because the deer are easier to pattern and they are stressed because of the cold and snow. Abundant feed is hard to find during these months. Also, when the temperatures drop well below zero, I very rarely find other hunters willing to put up with the elements. It's like being in a whole different world and the sub-zero days of winter have a beauty all of their own. The deer are now in herds of anywhere from five to thirty animals or more. There are still several does in these groups that have not been bred and the bucks will follow them.

By using a pair of my Nikon Optics and good observation points I can watch the deer's feeding patterns and I'll know what funnels and trails they are using to get to their feeding and bedding areas. On the days that it's so cold that your optics freeze to your eyebrows, that's when I've had the best success in locating mature bucks. In this way I can watch the deer's movements without disturbing them. It only takes one or two times being caught by one member of the herd, and you've blown it! You may as well start scouting a new area. After I've located a buck in a particular area, I'll figure out the best location to try and harvest him. Nine times out of ten the location won't be from a tree. That's why being confident in ground hunting situations is important to me in order to be successful. I was using these tactics and had located an extremely large buck. The main trail, which the herd was using, was coming across two open fields divided by a fence. Next to the fence there was a pile of brush. I'd watched the large buck follow the does into the feeding areas by using this trail.

The following afternoon I left at about 12:30 PM to get to that brush pile. The reason I started out so early was that I could walk slowly in the deep snow and not sweat which would cause me to freeze up later in the evening. It also gave me the advantage so that the deer could not see or hear me while getting to my location. The brush pile was within 25 yards of the trail so I had washed my clothes in Scent Killer Clothing Wash by Wildlife Research Center to help keep my human odor down.

The bitter cold wind was just about unbearable that day. It was causing my eyes to tear up and as the tears rolled down my face, they were freezing to my skin. From my breath, my mustache was also turning to pure ice. Shortly after arriving in my stand, I was drawing my bow back to make sure there were no squeaks, and the string was instantly freezing to my mustache. It was a little painful to let my bow back down. While sitting in the brush pile, I was mentally and physically cold until I saw the first group of does coming down the trail to cross the fence line in front of me at about 4:15 PM. At that point I couldn't tell you whether it was 30 below or 50 above as I anticipated the arrival of the large Minnesota buck. Several times as the does passed by, they looked in my direction, but I was confident that I was totally invisible to them wearing my white camo in the brush pile.

A second group of deer was starting to enter the opening. As I watched them, two smaller bucks appeared; then a third one, who wasn't hesitating. He trotted right down the trail, jumped the fence, and went past me into the feeding area. When I turned my head back around I couldn't believe it-there he was entering the field and cautiously coming down the trail! It's the large buck I saw the day before. My heart started pounding right out of my chest. I had to take my eyes and mind off his enormous rack! The three bucks watched as the first one entered the feeding area and started feeding. Then one by one the bucks followed the trail to the fence line where they jumped over it at about 25 yards from me. The two smaller bucks went first-then came the large buck. Seconds seemed like hours as I was hiding my face behind my bow. I let the buck pass in front of me. When he was to a point where he couldn't see my movement, I drew my Diamond bow by BowTech and brought my pin up the back side of his front leg to the center of his body and released the Carbon Express arrow tipped with a 150 grain, two-blade Thunderhead.

As the arrow passed through him, he jumped straight up into the air, and then ran about 30 yards. I could see the steam escaping from where the arrow had passed through the buck's vitals. He stood there looking around as if he was confused to what had just happened and then he collapsed. All the other deer were standing around wondering why the buck was acting so strangely. Several deer walked toward him and stared at him. I couldn't wait any longer. I had to get out of my brush blind and see if he was all that I thought he was. Standing next to him, I couldn't believe my eyes. What a dandy! I believe they could have heard me "ya-hooing" well into the next county.

These wintertime tactics have worked for me time and time again. Using a pair of Nikon Optics and having a good vantage point, you could put the buck of your dreams at a real disadvantage