new to hunting and bows. can anyone help?

[nomad_archer]

First things first. If you can get out now with the snow on the ground and do a little scouting before it melts that will provide you with worlds of information from where they are going. Heavy trails etc. The cold tends to force them to eat a lot of that happens at night after the pressure from gun season. The will come out to the fields once the snow melts but probably not until last light or at night. Your best bet is to get between the food and the thick stuff. I like to hunt the edges of the heavy thick woods and open woods for fields.

I havnt had much success with warm and rainy but if that is when you have the time to hunt then go and hunt. Just remember if it is raining blood trails get hard to follow so make sure you take a good good shot. I prefer hunting in the cold and snow over the rain any day of the week. Its easier to see the deer its easier to follow blood trails and its easier to gather lots of information based on tracks in the snow.

[213chrisp]

i wanted to get out while the snow was on the ground but with work situation it was impossiable, weve been on mandatory OT for 6 weeks now so my hunting time has been super limited because of it. im just hoping i can get out there beore the rain hits and i can see the snow and the trails before it all melts away friday morning but i think im going to be too late.

[mrbb]

well still a lot of time left to hunt, and more snow will fall before its over
snow is nice as it lets you see where there going, but many times deer use different trails in snow than when there is no snow, so keep that in mind, same with where and what they feed on
as snow can cover food, so when it snow they try to eat foods they have to dig less for
nothing beats standing corn when there is snow on the ground!, just a tip
and many times a bait pile will be super busy in a storm or right after one!
deer like corn cause it makes heat!

[213chrisp]

learned something new again today, i knew they liked corn i just didnt know why besides its a easy target to get too for food. and i know where standing corn is at where i hunt.... hmmmmm......

[nomad_archer]

agreed mrbb. Plus with lots of snow deer wont be hitting the green grass if something else is available. Standing corn also makes great cover for them as they can and will bed in there. Also dont forget to get out and scout when there is and isnt snow after the season is over. It can help you learn for next year without worrying about bumping deer or disturbing them.

[mrbb]

yes corm makes heat for them, but sadly its a crappy food source, gives them a false feeling of being full
but its like candy to kids, they just love it even if its not so great for them
the advantage of standing corn is they don't have to waste energy digging for it too, as its normally standing above snow depths
at my place I plant corn just for them and since this past snow fall, they will come out at night, and lay in the corn and eat it, till about an hr before sun up, and then take off to the swamps and hemlock thickets to bed all day
if you have any sections of pine tree's odds are that is where many are bedding, they like pine tree's because theer green, and they reflect heat better , making for a warmer place to bed, they also shelter from snow, as snow depth is normally lower under a pine tree due to thicher branches with all them pine needles
so if you know here a good pine thicket is, and a standing corn, get in between them two and odds are come last light you will have action!

[213chrisp]

thats scary mrbb, cause the corn field i know, maybe less then 100 yards away is a small patch of pine trees which is where i found all that antler rubs a few weeks back to the south east of the corn, and to the north of the corn is another small patch of pines, so i was thinking of going to the end of the corn into the woods about 50 yards , kinda between the two patches of pines and along a creek that curves around the land at that end. ill post a map shot of it in a few.