By the time the late season rolls around in January, the surviving deer, and old bucks especially, have patterned most hunters, if they have hunted an area regularly.

Most hunters get in a rut of hunting at dawn and dusk when the game is moving the most. Bucks listen to the ATVs going in at dawn and then coming out mid-morning and repeating the process during the late afternoon hunts and it’s easy for them to pattern hunters.

“It’s not that complicated,” Paul Meek said. “The deer pattern the hunters and react accordingly. When you come in and go back to work they’re out milling around, feeding, chasing does and going about their business. When the hunters start heading back to the woods in the afternoon the deer bed down or retreat to their sanctuaries.”

When it gets down to the last couple of weeks, you need to try something different than you’ve been doing if you can take the time to do it.

Many big bucks are caught on game cameras going to food plots in the middle of the day during the late season because they know hunters are back at camp or at the dinner table.

Find a buck with your game camera and the pictures won’t lie. Many a big buck has fallen victim to patterning by late season game cams, too.

Those bucks have eyes, ears and noses, and are keenly adept at avoiding detection. If they make a mistake, they may pay with their lives, so they’re not apt to make many mistakes so they heed their instincts.

Hunters who hunt exclusively on weekends really pattern themselves to the deer, so if you can hunt during mid-week sometimes, you’ll increase the odds even more.

Vacant stands

While many people can’t establish sanctuaries for the deer on their property, they can leave a couple of stands vacant with no human activity allowed during the early to mid seasons. Hunters should steer clear of these areas completely, banning all traffic, including vehicular traffic. At some point late in the season, with only a couple of weeks left, hunters may make their move.

By then the deer will have figured out the routines of the hunters and patterned them completely. Hunters should be prepared to move in stealthily and make a move quickly, quietly and come prepared the first time hunting a stand like this. It may provide the only opportunity that you get at the buck of a lifetime, as they’re not apt to make the same mistake twice.

Over the last couple of weeks, many trophy bucks will be harvested while most will be tipped off by the hunters and retreat to parts unknown. Get outdoors and take advantage of the last minute hunting opportunities but don’t become a victim of your own hunting routine or that buck will pattern you and vanish from the premises.

Late season hunting tips

• Hunt near food sources during late season hunts as the food is scarce and the bucks and does will be in the vicinity.

• Hunt thickets, SMZs, or other areas on your property that might be overlooked and left alone. Find the least impacted area with little human intervention and you’ll probably find some deer.

• Utilize game cameras to locate and find late season bucks that may have moved into your hunting area during the rut looking for does or food sources.

• Hunt wide open spaces such as fields, cutovers or powerlines during the late season so you can cover a lot of ground.

• Hunt the trails leading to and from food plots by placing stands back off of the plots where you can intercept bucks that normally arrive after dark.

• Hunt midday if possible as the bucks will pattern hunters who go in early and late in the day.

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comast.net.