The Mid-Gun-Season Blues: When Times Get Tough

Morning Hunts I believe your chances are best during this period when you hunt a morning stand back in the timber. When the pressure is on, an old deer feels most comfortable cruising around or pushing a doe on a hardwood ridge or in a cedar draw or creek bottom. By that time, he should have gone completely nocturnal, but deep woods give him a false sense of security. A buck believes he’s hidden in the trees, but he’s not if you’re posted there. Set up early, and look for a good deer ghosting around at dawn. Then keep hanging tough. Each day into midseason, you’ll hear fewer gunshots and see fewer hunters stomping around the woods. Most of the die-hards who, like you, haven’t tagged out will hunt a couple of hours in morning and afternoon. At midday, things will settle down, and some deer will get up and move. You might still nail a good buck between 9 a.m. and noon.