Immediately following a strong cold front is one of the best times to be in the Southern deer woods during the latter part of the season. (Photo by Bob Robb)
December 15, 2022
By Bob Robb
An old mentor once told me, "When the deer are on their feet, you need to stay put and let them come to you. But when the deer are bedded, that's when you should be going to them." This seemingly simplistic advice has become the cornerstone of my late-season deer strategies.
The advice to stay in the stand when the deer are moving and feeding is logical, but most hunters don't follow the second part of the equation—to go on the offensive and seek out bedded deer. However, this advice is never truer than during the late season when the deer are hunkered down in thick cover, waiting out a weather front.
'BAD' WEATHER What seems like really bad weather in the Southern states is nothing like the blowing snow and sleet storms that can ravage the nation's northern tier. However, it's all relative. Big changes in barometric pressure bring changes in weather—and in deer movement—regardless of latitude.
In the South, a cold front most often moves in from the northwest, and with it comes changes in temperature, significant rainfall and/or a thunderstorm and even ice and light snow in some areas.
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A day or two before the cold front hits, winds will generally blow from the south-southwest, bringing a light rise in the ambient air temperature and wind speed, an increase in the relative humidity and a falling barometer. After it passes and the rains begin to wane, air temperature will drop—sometimes as much as 10 to 15 degrees or more—the winds often change direction, blowing out of the north-northwest and the barometer begins to rise. It is on both sides of this weather front that deer activity will visibly increase.
AFTER A RAIN Back in the 1980s, I began hunting with Alabama's Larry Norton, a world turkey-calling champion who is also an outstanding woodsman and whitetail hunter. In those days, I thought that creeping through the woods while hunting whitetails was one of life's greatest sins, something that would destroy the hunting potential in a particular patch of woods. Larry proved me wrong.
We were hunting the late season, and a big weather front had moved through, bringing winds and rains that had subsided just hours before. That afternoon, Larry walked me to a tree stand.
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"What are you going to do?" I asked.
"Go kill a buck," he said. "You wait here. I’ll be back in a bit." I had some deer move through my spot, but nothing exciting. Larry returned two hours later. "C'mon," he said. "I need some help."
That help was dragging a really good buck out of the creek bottom where Larry had stalked and killed him. "Deer like to move after a heavy rainstorm," Larry said. "As soon as the rain begins to slack off, deer will come out of the thickets and begin to move. With the ground soft and quiet, it's the perfect time to get the wind right and slowly and carefully slip through the thickets and find a buck that's never been disturbed there."
Patience is a virtue when still-hunting. Take just a step or two at a time, then stop and scan your surroundings for a flick of an ear or tail before proceeding. (Photo courtesy of Thompson/Center) STAY OR MOVE? Norton firmly believes there is both a time to sneak around the woods and a time to sit and be patient.
"When a cold front moves through, often the mornings are clear, calm and frosty, making the ground too noisy to be able to move quietly," he says. "But the combination of calmer winds, a rising barometer and colder temperatures will have deer up and moving, so you definitely want to be on a stand located near a preferred food source back in the woods or in a funnel located between a bedding thicket and that food source."
One example of this was the morning I shot a very nice 8-point buck with my compound in central Georgia. A front had moved through and the thermometer had dropped to the upper 30s. I sat in a stand on a hardwood ridgeline located near a trio of big white oaks. These trees were the focal point, located where three well-used deer trails came up out of the bottoms where deer were bedding. The morning thermals kept my scent cone above the treetops, and I arrowed the larger of two bucks that strolled up out of those bottoms an hour after first light. Norton believes temperature extremes also affect deer.
"Extreme cold can force deer to sit tight and wait for it to warm up a bit. The same is true if the temperatures become unseasonably hot, with the deer waiting for it to cool down before they move."
Norton likes to sit in an evening stand near food and water when it is unseasonably hot. But during cold weather, if the ground is quiet enough and the wind is steady, he really likes to still-hunt with a rifle. It takes loads of patience, but it can be a really good way to fill a tag.
"Also, sometimes these late-season weather fronts can bring really strong winds," Norton says. "When the barometric pressure begins to rise rapidly, get ready—the winds following a really strong cold front can gust 20 miles an hour or even more briskly. Deer hate these big winds and will often hunker down until it blows over and calms back down. This can also be a really good time to still-hunt the thick cover in swamps, aging clear cuts and brushed-over areas where the deer seek shelter and solitude."
THE CREEP Norton says that his mindset when still-hunting is the same as when he is sitting on stand. That is, patience is everything. He believes you must move as slowly as possible, taking a step or two with your head up and remaining hyper-focused on what's around you.
Once you've taken that step, stop and use your binocular to pick the terrain apart. He cautions to keep in mind that you are looking for a "piece" of a deer, not an entire deer. They are often bedded, and you might only catch a glimpse of an ear or an eye or the flick of a tail.
Norton cautions that when you move, look down at where your next step will be placed. Stepping on a stick or into dry leaves or stumbling over a root wad will create noise and either alert or spook deer ahead.
While creeping along, Norton constantly checks the wind direction. Often, he doesn't have it directly in his face, but instead prefers to have it quartering to him. If the wind becomes squirrely and shifting, he’ll abandon his stalk, back off and return another day when the wind is more in his favor. Forcing forward in an unfavorable wind is never a good idea; it blows deer out of the area, often never to return.
PREFERRED COVER Norton looks for certain preferred cover when creeping, as deer relate to various terrain in predictable manners. It is this predictability that will help you pick your approach.
"I like to still-hunt inside the thick edges of fields where the brushy canopy shades out direct sunlight. These are places where the tastiest acorns fall and cold-weather plants like clover grow well," he says. "You can often find deer feeding under and in that thick stuff that will never know you’re there if you execute a good spot and stalk."
When stalking during midday hours, Norton likes ridges or travel corridors under the cover of thick trees, where deer can move without being exposed to direct sunlight. Deer that bed during the day usually pick a place where they can browse without moving too far, and you can sometimes catch them with their guard down in these places.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS When hunting on foot, Norton carries minimal gear. He opts for a small daypack or fanny pack with just the essentials to minimize weight. Norton wears soft-soled rubber boots in order to be nimble, scent-free and, of course, quiet during his stalk.
His clothing choices are predicated on stealth, too. Outer camo clothing material should be soft and capable of remaining quiet when it rubs up against trees and brush. If stalking during rut activity, Norton will carry a grunt tube and doe bleat call.
"Sometimes I'll sneak along, get to spot that just feels right and hunker down and do some calling," he says. "It's a lot like turkey hunting that way, and every now and then you'll get a deer to come investigate."
At the end of the day, however, success comes primarily from taking your time.
"When stalking, keep in mind you're still-hunting, not driving deer. You're not going to cover a whole lot of ground in a morning or afternoon if you do it right," says Norton. "I feel like I have been successful if I sneak through the woods and do not disturb any deer. That way I am not blowing out deer I expect to see from my treestands another time."
