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January Deer Hunt?

3K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  philski 
#1 ·
I'm 200 miles(4hrs) from my hunt lease in sw Coshocton county. I'm on layoff from work til Feb.2. My gear is just about to get put away. Been huntin pretty hard between Michigan and Ohio from Halloween to Jan.5. Ever the optimist. Do I pack up and give it one more shot? Got cut corn running the length of the bottom. Stands on ridges mainly for rut. What to do? Want a good buck or nothin. When will majority of bucks loose antlers? My plan is to hunt Jan.26-29. Any suggestions besides stay home?


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#3 ·
If it were me and I paid for that lease I'd be out there getting my moneys worth. Even if I didn't pay for it, I'm still hunting haha. Even after deer season ends, that's when I get the yote call out. Can't keep me outta the woods! A four hour drive would be pain to deal with, we went to Virginia one year and hunted with some family on their lease while we were there. It was a 5 and a half hour drive one way and we were in the woods before sun up and didn't leave till dark. It was a long "vacation".
 
#4 ·
I drive down from Mi 5.5 hrs to hunt every weekend and i am hunting public land. As of last weekend all of the big ones on my cams still had their antlers. I did have one small buck walk by without antlers. I love the late season. Nobody there but me. My last 2 bucks have come in Jan and last year was on the last weekend.146"
 
#5 ·
Thanks duxdog you got my blood pumping. Good to hear about your January success. My motivation is low but hate to eat an Ohio tag. There's always that chance if I'm out there. Can you tell me how your hunting at this time of year? Do you hunt morning and evenings? Has your success been evenings hunting trails to food source? Are you. basing your setup on winter trails in the snow? Trying to figure how to go at it. I don't want to spin my wheels in unproductive sets in cold weather. I like a.m. hunts and many of sets are closer to beds which will be tough to get to w/o spookin deer in the p.m. Any tips would be greatly appreciated


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#6 ·
That's a hard call if you are only rack hunting. If you don't have luck on your side you have to have to know where he is bedding and feeding and be able to get to him without bumping him. You may have better luck staying in the truck and finding one around home if your looking for a big one and try to set up on one you know is there. BUT if your property blows your home county away for deer population and habitat its worth the drive. Ive been going southeast 2.5 hrs late season the four years now. I love it. Late season brutal hunting down south can be as fun as full rut hunting around the black swap. next weekend ill be down.
 
#7 ·
It is all about being between the food and the bedding. If you are on a lease i would have apples and or corn down to help. But if you know the food source they gotta eat. Mornings close to the bedding if you can get in and out but that is a gamble. The big guys seem to start moving during legal daytime hrs towards the end of the season when/if the area quiets down but it doesnt take much to mess that up. Good luck. I hope you score.
 
#8 ·
Hunted Saturday. Passed a couple dandy 3 yr olds. Gonna be good ones next year. The big guys are still nocturnal according to my cams but all of the mature bucks still had their antlers as of friday but about half of the younger bucks had dropped. I would post pics but i only have them on the phone, no computer.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the update. I'll be slipping out Tuesday am. Try to get up the ridge in the snow. Setup near the top on the south side. With snow hopping to catch him coming up to bed. It's a crapshoot. But it'll be pretty with the snow. Looks like 4-5" on the ground in s.e. Coshocton county where I'll hunt. Am I the only person crazy enough to still be bow hunting in this stuff?
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the update. I'll be slipping out Tuesday am. Try to get up the ridge in the snow. Setup near the top on the south side. With snow hopping to catch him coming up to bed. It's a crapshoot. But it'll be pretty with the snow. Looks like 4-5" on the ground in s.e. Coshocton county where I'll hunt. Am I the only person crazy enough to still be bow hunting in this stuff?
Crazy ones are the ones sitting on the couch with a buck tag...
 
#14 ·
Went out this weekend, seen a lot of sign and a lot of not so good sign but no actual sightings. The bad sign was coyote/dog tracks up and down nearly every deer trail. Also seen some bobcat tracks as well, still haven't gotten one on cam though. Sunday morning I sat in my climber for the first time in about a month, got down around noon to come in and warm up. Grab my bow up off the ground when I got down and went to reach for my quiver and it wasn't there. Looked back up in the tree and it's still 24' up hanging on a limb. So back up I went! Whoops!:whistle:
 
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