Deer are often much more visible during late-season. Wintry settings allow for easy long-range scouting and observation.

It had been a long autumn--antelope in August, elk in September and whitetails in October and November. Now, as I trudged through the icy-cold December woods, I seriously questioned my resolve, and sanity. With a whitetail tag still in my pocket, I wondered if I could "stay hooked" during this time of the bow season when it seemed that everything was against me. The firearm season was past; many bucks had been laid to rest and the ones that had survived were much more wary. Most of the breeding was over and daytime movement was minimal. Cold winds were blowing through a desolate and lonely landscape. Could I really hope for success, or was I just going through the motions?

The western Oklahoma plains were an unusual place for me to be in December because traditionally I'd be found in an Illinois or Kansas woodlot. But this year was different. My November hunts had been very good to me, and my midwestern tags were filled. As a matter of fact, with a couple of trophies already under my belt, I wondered why I put myself through the rigors of winter hunting. But when you've got the fire inside, well, you know what that means.

Cold Bucks, Bad Luck
Crunching through the ankle-deep snow, I slowly made my way to the old cottonwood tree. Staring up at my tree stand, I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself for the long, cold vigil ahead. Climbing upward, I carefully placed each foot on the steps, oversized boots making the task a challenge. Brushing snow from the rungs of the platform, I strapped in, climbed aboard and folded down the seat, quickly planting my rear-end there.

Reaching into my backpack, I pulled out some extra clothes and sock hat, hoping to conserve the warmth that I'd created on my hike and climb. Engrossed in my efforts, the distant movement nearly escaped my attention. Freezing in mid-motion, my eyes became riveted to the forms of two deer that were running across the nearby alfalfa field. Even at 150 yards it was immediately clear to me that I had a situation on my hands, one of the deer was a whopper buck and the doe that he was chasing was quickly headed straight toward my location!

Ill-prepared archers in bulky clothing have given plenty of deer the opportunity to live through the late-season. Make sure to practice in the clothing that you will be hunting in to see if anything interferes with your shooting form or accuracy.

Hurriedly throwing my extra apparel on a nearby limb, I grabbed my bow, knocked an arrow and clipped my release on the string. This accomplished, I quickly glanced back toward the fast-approaching deer, once again realizing that they were most-certainly headed directly for my hide. Pulling my bowstring back to my face, I prepared for a moment that would become forever frozen in my memory.

Even though it was late-December, it was clear that the yearling doe was in full estrus, and the monster buck had no intention of letting her get away. Following her with all caution thrown to the wind, the monarch was quite a sight lunging after the much-smaller female. Watching the fast-approaching show around the side of my peepsight, my heart raced with adrenaline. In seconds, the small doe was trotting past my location, 20 yards to my left. Swinging my top sight pin onto the middle of the buck's ribcage as he followed, I snapped off a shot. In a millisecond, I knew that I'd blown it. The arrow had deflected off a small, unseen limb.

Grabbing another arrow, I quickly reloaded as the two deer stopped only a short distance away. Glancing around my tree, I spotted the big buck coming up behind the small doe, head outstretched, lip curled. Clearly oblivious to any disturbance, the big guy had one thing on his mind. It was at this point, that I saw the proportions of the buck's headgear--a certain B&C contender! In a state of meltdown, yanking my bowstring back, I quickly leaned out from my tree stand and "let'er fly" once again.