Late Season

Category: seasons-timing
Topic keys: late-season, cold-weather

Current guidance

As of 2026-02-01, the most recent claim on this subject.

Currently the show frames late season around hunting food sources rather than travel corridors: Don says bucks key in on a prime food source once the rut ends, and advises abandoning stands used earlier in the season since mature bucks likely know they’re being watched there. He recommends timing sits around severe cold fronts, especially ones with snow, which get bucks up and moving before dark. Don points to soybeans and NutriCrave corn as the strongest late-season draws, crediting Todd Hewing for showing him deer’s preference for soybeans over corn, and cautions against burning buck tags late since unfamiliar bucks keep appearing through winter, suggesting the stretch also be used to assess food plots and doe numbers for the buck-to-doe ratio.

How the guidance evolved

2019-10-06 Terry recommends driving around or calling farmers to find out where winter wheat is being planted, since it will shape late-season strategy. 51:46 — Episode #2 - Update on Opening Week and Targeting Don’s First Booner of 2019
2019-10-06 Terry recommends hanging a minimally invasive “lone wolf” stand now near identified winter wheat fields in preparation for the late season. 52:08 — Episode #2 - Update on Opening Week and Targeting Don’s First Booner of 2019
2019-12-23 Terry nearly hit a badly injured buck on the highway near his home; the deer struggled to clear the road, showing it was hurt badly. 6:25 — Episode #11 - Merry Christmas and Late Season Insights
2020-03-03 Don asserted no other food source available in late season matches the protein content of soybeans. 21:21 — Episode #16 - Food Plots… Frost Seeding, Switchgrass Stratification, and Soybeans
2020-03-03 Terry noted standing corn is great late-season food but doesn’t give deer the fat content they need. 21:41 — Episode #16 - Food Plots… Frost Seeding, Switchgrass Stratification, and Soybeans
2020-11-16 Roger told Don years ago that Thanksgiving weekend is the time to kill giant bucks because they know the rut is nearly over. 10:21 — Episode #37 - Understanding the Rut, Aerial Photos of Property, Bad Shot Angles and Broadheads Types
2020-11-16 Don says new, unfamiliar bucks rarely appear during the rut because he already has trail-camera photos of every deer, but new bucks show up in late season when food gets scarce. 13:08 — Episode #37 - Understanding the Rut, Aerial Photos of Property, Bad Shot Angles and Broadheads Types
2020-11-16 Terry predicts the best hunting of the season is still ahead. 14:41 — Episode #37 - Understanding the Rut, Aerial Photos of Property, Bad Shot Angles and Broadheads Types
2020-12-07 Don explains that for the first two weeks of December, post-rut bucks often stay bedded until dark before walking to food, causing very limited daylight movement. 25:53 — Episode #41 - Don and Terry start a new December Series called “Make A Good Spot Great!”
2020-12-07 Don notes clover stays green under snow and outlasts frost-killed alfalfa, making it more attractive to deer in late season. 27:31 — Episode #41 - Don and Terry start a new December Series called “Make A Good Spot Great!”
2020-12-14 Don says the best thing for late-season hunters is a brutal cold front bringing heavy snow to boost deer movement. 24:11 — Episode #42 - Christmas Gift Ideas, Hanging Tree Stands in February, and Last Giveaway for 2020
2020-12-28 Don relays that his son-in-law hunted his farm and saw plenty of deer in the food plots, mainly soybeans, seeing about 40 deer on one cold-weather sit. 3:54 — Episode #44 - New Year’s Resolutions, Bedding Cover, Hunting Cold Temps, and Sharing Hunting Property with Family
2021-02-08 Don says he’s glad he has Real World soybeans and NutriCrave corn planted for his deer as a cold snap moves in. 5:28 — Episode #50 - Spring Food Plots with Duane Hopkins - the good and bad for different spring plot options
2021-09-20 Terry plans to invite his guest back for a late-season muzzleloader hunt if a decent buck turns up on the property. 4:01 — Episode #83 Don’s Buck Inventory shows 32 bucks over 150”
2021-11-29 Don recommended that hunters change their late-season approach without ever changing or compromising their original season goal. 8:15 — Episode #93 - Don decides to take a break…
2021-11-29 Don explained he typically backs off a target buck during the post-rut lull to let it recover and get comfortable rather than bumping it and making it harder to kill. 7:03 — Episode #93 - Don decides to take a break…
2021-11-29 Don said it’s very rare for a new buck to show up on camera during the rut, but new bucks appear almost every late season. 10:53 — Episode #93 - Don decides to take a break…
2021-11-29 Don said the worse the weather gets, the more likely new bucks are to show up on a property. 11:05 — Episode #93 - Don decides to take a break…
2021-12-06 Don states that early December, after the rut and before deep winter cold, is the toughest time of year to kill a mature buck. 1:32 — Episode #94 - Late Season is Here! Change Your Approach
2021-12-06 Don recommends hunting food sources during brutal cold snaps, saying every deer, mature buck or fawn, will be on its feet at the last hour of daylight then. 6:35 — Episode #94 - Late Season is Here! Change Your Approach
2021-12-20 Terry advised against pressuring sanctuaries this late in the season, including coyote hunting on them, since deer have already been heavily bumped and chased. 30:27 — Episode #96 - STAY OUT OF THE SANCTUARY!
2022-06-12 Don notices unfamiliar bucks appearing on his property after the rut during rough late-season weather, theorizing they were born there and remember the food. 72:31 — Chasing Giants Episode 121 - Residual Herbicide Discussion & Don is Buying a Farm
2022-08-08 Don observes that even the most nocturnal mature buck will move during daylight when brutally cold temperatures set in during winter. 77:14 — Episode #129 - Lessons Learned from a GIANT TYPICAL - Story you haven’t heard!
2022-12-04 Don explains that once late season arrives, target bucks stop traveling like they did during the rut and key in on a prime food source. 20:19 — Episode #146 - Late Season Decisions and Tactics
2022-12-04 Don says hunters need a cold weather front to push bedded late-season bucks onto their feet before dark. 22:09 — Episode #146 - Late Season Decisions and Tactics
2022-12-04 Don emphasizes that late-season hunters must be highly selective about which days they hunt, since there’s little room for error. 22:37 — Episode #146 - Late Season Decisions and Tactics
2022-12-04 Terry notes that once farmers chisel-plow certain Illinois fields on his properties, there’s no reason for deer to remain there. 24:01 — Episode #146 - Late Season Decisions and Tactics
2022-12-04 Don recommends planting major grain food sources like corn and soybeans for late season, not just small food plots used during the rut. 24:39 — Episode #146 - Late Season Decisions and Tactics
2022-12-04 Don plans to target does with twin buck fawns during herd management, shooting every one he can find this season. 26:51 — Episode #146 - Late Season Decisions and Tactics
2022-12-04 Don typically gets to his afternoon late-season stand two to two-and-a-half hours before dark, going even earlier in worse weather. 40:35 — Episode #146 - Late Season Decisions and Tactics
2022-12-04 In extreme cold, Don hunts right on the edge of the food source rather than bedding areas since deer are piling directly out of cover. 41:34 — Episode #146 - Late Season Decisions and Tactics
2022-12-04 Don uses late-season stand time to reflect on habitat projects and plan improvements for next season. 44:02 — Episode #146 - Late Season Decisions and Tactics
2022-12-04 Terry plans to host a guest hunting late muzzleloader season on his home farm to try to kill a specific management buck. 80:31 — Episode #146 - Late Season Decisions and Tactics
2022-12-25 Terry asks listeners to check on elderly neighbors during the extreme cold, knocking on their door given the risk of burst pipes. 56:55 — Episode #149 Frigid Temps and Deer… Merry Christmas 2022!
2023-01-08 Don Higgins wore the lightest rubber boots he owned with no heavy socks on a January trip to Northern Wisconsin, leaving his feet frozen. 1:15 — Episode #151 - Winter Scouting Tips
2024-01-21 Terry observed that plummeting temperatures, similar to the cold snap around last Christmas, are again driving deer to pile into food sources during this current cold stretch. 2:37 — Ep. 204 - Hinge Cutting - Don Critiques Specific Projects
2024-01-28 Terry found a fresh, bright green deer urine spot deep in the woods while scouting a bedding area in bitter cold weather. 5:12 — Ep# 205 - Don shares trail camera pictures from 2023
2024-01-28 Terry speculates that deer with dark, concentrated urine in extreme cold may be dehydrated despite being able to eat snow for water. 6:05 — Ep# 205 - Don shares trail camera pictures from 2023
2024-03-10 Terry advises watching for prolonged subzero temperatures with no snow cover as the worst-case scenario for young Miscanthus. 40:28 — Episode #211 - Live from RWWP Dealer Event - BINGO
2024-09-22 Terry oversowed his soybean plots with Real World Forge Oats right before a rain to try to establish late-season food. 6:30 — Episode #240 - If Don Was DNR, How He Would Make Illinois Better Than Iowa
2024-10-20 Don said more unfamiliar bucks show up on his property during the late season than during the rut. 44:10 — Episode #244 - October Lull? Don and Terry See Bucks Moving in Mid October
2024-12-01 Don recommends hunters abandon stands used all season for late season, since mature bucks likely already know they’re being hunted there. 37:08 — Episode #250 - Prepare for Late Season Big Buck Hunting
2024-12-01 Don says he now prefers shooting his bucks in October so he doesn’t have to sit out in the late-season cold. 39:49 — Episode #250 - Prepare for Late Season Big Buck Hunting
2025-01-19 Don says he used to not understand why older people wintered in Florida or Texas, but now he’s ready to join them and escape the cold. 0:58 — Episode #257 - Too Early to Shed Hunt - Show some compassion!
2025-02-09 Don advises the client be careful about burning buck tags late season since the food and territory could hold new bucks. 12:57 — Episode #259 Apple Tree Spacing in Deer Plots
2025-02-09 Don expects new bucks never seen before to show up on the property every winter once late season arrives. 13:13 — Episode #259 Apple Tree Spacing in Deer Plots
2025-11-30 Don noted this year’s abrupt shift from the rut straight into brutally cold late-season weather was unlike any transition he’d seen before. 10:53 — Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301
2025-11-30 Don recalled that about fifteen years ago he killed five individually targeted bucks in a row, all after Christmas during the late season. 11:41 — Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301
2025-11-30 Don recommended hunting after severe cold fronts, especially ones with snow, since bucks then get up and move before dark or daylight. 12:00 — Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301
2025-11-30 Don theorized that new bucks appearing on his farm in late season are ones that lived there as button bucks with their mothers before dispersing. 26:03 — Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301
2025-11-30 Terry announced the show would return next week with episode 302, continuing the late-season discussion into December. 58:10 — Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301
2025-12-07 Don says whether it’s NutriCrave corn or Gen-two soybeans, this time of year is when those grain sources really shine, with deer hitting them almost daily before dark. 1:29 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
2025-12-07 Terry says a Northern Ohio property he worked on has produced six mature bucks harvested from the same spot this season alone. 3:45 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
2025-12-07 Terry believes deer seek out topography, miscanthus rows, switchgrass, conifers, brush piles, and treetops for wind protection, comparing it to cattle huddling in a dry pond. 8:43 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
2025-12-07 Don discovered the late-season pulling power of soybeans years ago through his friend Todd Hewing, noting deer prefer soybeans over anything else, even corn, this time of year. 11:09 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
2025-12-07 Don observes that once the cold and snow arrived, all the does that had disappeared came back to his property. 26:27 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
2025-12-07 Don reports his trail cameras are now getting more than double the pictures they were getting during the rut. 26:32 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
2025-12-07 Don predicts that if the current cold weather pattern holds, deer will shed early and antlers will be more concentrated around cover and food sources. 30:02 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
2025-12-07 Don closes by encouraging listeners to get out in the woods, citing fantastic Midwest conditions for afternoon deer movement toward food sources. 54:32 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
2026-01-04 Don recommends using late season to evaluate food plots and decide whether to harvest does to keep the buck-to-doe ratio balanced going into winter. 4:44 — Kill More Deer. Feed Hungry Kids. | Boone Brothers | Chasing Giants 306
2026-02-01 Terry saw reports on Facebook that many high-fence exotic ranches in Texas had animals dying because the species weren’t adapted to survive the extreme cold temperatures. 2:23 — CULLING BUCKS: Why Shooting 3½-Year-Old 8-Points Actually Works | Chasing Giants #310
2026-02-01 Black buck antelope and axis deer were among the exotic species that died in the cold in Texas during the storm. 2:37 — CULLING BUCKS: Why Shooting 3½-Year-Old 8-Points Actually Works | Chasing Giants #310

Contradictions & open questions

Places where the show’s advice on this subject appears to disagree with itself, either between speakers or over time. Both claims are shown as they were said, with dates. Nothing here is resolved — which one applies is the reader’s call, and the owners’.

Guidance may have changed: Roger/Don call the immediate post-rut window (Thanksgiving weekend) the time to kill giant bucks, while Don separately calls early December the toughest time to kill a mature buck.
- 2020-11-16 Roger told Don years ago that Thanksgiving weekend is the time to kill giant bucks because they know the rut is nearly over. 10:21 — Episode #37 - Understanding the Rut, Aerial Photos of Property, Bad Shot Angles and Broadheads Types
- 2021-12-06 Don states that early December, after the rut and before deep winter cold, is the toughest time of year to kill a mature buck. 1:32 — Episode #94 - Late Season is Here! Change Your Approach
Guidance may have changed: Don recalls killing five targeted bucks in late-season cold years ago, but later says he now prefers shooting bucks in October to avoid sitting out in that cold.
- 2025-11-30 Don recalled that about fifteen years ago he killed five individually targeted bucks in a row, all after Christmas during the late season. 11:41 — Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301
- 2024-12-01 Don says he now prefers shooting his bucks in October so he doesn’t have to sit out in the late-season cold. 39:49 — Episode #250 - Prepare for Late Season Big Buck Hunting

Questions on this topic

Clint Cross asks how Don is placing trail cameras this time of year—only on food sources, on travel trails, or another approach. 59:05 — Episode #146 - Late Season Decisions and Tactics
Dustin asked what food source works best for maximum draw on a 10-acre plot surrounded by hundreds of acres of timber during late season. 34:43 — Episode#203 - Post Season Scouting and Project Advice
Terry asks what deer are going through in the bitter cold, comparing it to cattle he saw bunched up out of the wind. 5:27 — Episode #149 Frigid Temps and Deer… Merry Christmas 2022!
An audience member asks whether standing NutriCrave corn should be mowed for late-season deer food. 30:52 — Episode #263 - Live from the Iowa Deer Classic
Terry asked until what point in the season Don stays on the downwind side of cover before shifting closer to food sources. 12:47 — Episode #36 Peak Rut Update, Warm Weather, maybe a little election and religion
Ray Delongpray asks whether the same-time, same-place theory still holds late season given hunting pressure, food, snow depth, and temperature. 61:16 — Kill More Deer. Feed Hungry Kids. | Boone Brothers | Chasing Giants 306
Terry asks whether exotic deer go into shock and die in the cold because they lack the muscle mass or fat buildup to withstand cold. 2:45 — CULLING BUCKS: Why Shooting 3½-Year-Old 8-Points Actually Works | Chasing Giants #310
Garrett asked what else he should plant, given he already has three acres of soybeans planned and wheat isn’t an option. 43:57 — Why Some Hunting Properties Work Instantly… And Others Fail - Chasing Giants Podcast #319
Derek McClure from Bethany, Missouri asked how to kill a specific buck that survived to late season on a property without a food source. 81:39 — Episode #202 - Strange Sponsorship Requests with Joe Miles
Since Don’s first book released in 2006, has he changed his views on hunting mature bucks after another decade and a half of experience? 56:56 — Episode #46 Dual Bolt Crossbow Opinions and New Products from Real World
Terry asks how cold Don is willing to sit in a treestand at this point in his life for a target buck versus using a heated blind. 32:57 — Episode 303 – Late-Season Deer Movement, Winter Food Strategy & The Future of Big Bucks
Terry asked whether a mature buck’s home range shrinks during late season as his metabolism slows down. 21:36 — Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301
Terry asked what nutrients the deer herd needs in late season — fat, protein, starches, or carbs — beyond just shelled or ear corn. 27:07 — Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301
Terry asked Don to describe the most brutal cold, windy late-season hunting conditions he’s ever experienced. 31:38 — Late Season Starts NOW — Cold Fronts, Bucks on Food, and Thanksgiving Reflections | Episode #301
Steve Sheeber asks if every food plot needs food through winter, or if deer shift to plots still holding food as others run out. 28:36 — Episode #158 - Is Hunting Contests Hurting the Hunting Industry?
Terry asked whether ‘bad weather’ driving late-season movement means the first cold night or an extended stretch of cold and food shortage. 68:47 — Episode #167 - Turkey Season Is Here! Terry Still Hates Turkeys!
Terry asks why late May weather has been unseasonably cold. 2:32 — #274 - Soil Health: The Foundation of Successful Food Plotting
Terry asked what strategies Don uses to avoid pushing deer off his property while doing late-season habitat work like clear cuts. 31:37 — Episode #144 - Where Did All The Bucks Go?
Why are so many big bucks showing up on social media as soon as this cold front and snow arrived? 0:44 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
Why do you keep food sources separate from bedding cover, and how impactful is that during late season? 2:27 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
What are deer looking for in thermal cover, wooded sanctuaries, switchgrass, and topography for bedding when it gets cold? 4:26 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
Why is a shatter-resistant soybean so important for deer right now with snow on the ground? 11:00 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
What have you observed while shed hunting or burning switchgrass about how deer use cover to survive brutal late-season cold? 25:27 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
Will bucks’ range shrink toward a bachelor-group-like pattern when they find good thermal cover and food together? 28:50 — Late Season EXPLOSION! Why Giants Are Falling Everywhere | Chasing Giants #302
Brandon asked whether Don keeps soybeans standing all season, and if so, when he knocks them down and replants. 50:07 — Episode #93 - Don decides to take a break…
When does Don stop hunting mornings? 39:29 — Episode #8 - Lock-down is about over. Great hunting the week of Thanksgiving
Jay Boot from Pella, Iowa asks how to manage a three-acre plot of NutriCrave corn for late-season hunting, and whether to mow or leave it standing. 41:35 — Episode #152 - Are Trade Shows Dying?
Mike Reams asks whether it’s worth planting small odd areas like an old gas line for late-season deer food. 25:55 — Episode #210 - What to do with Bush Honeysuckle

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.