5 Tips For Bowhunting In Winter

5 Tips For Bowhunting In Winter

Any good bowhunter will tell you just how effective it can be to hunt during the cold winter months. Late season bowhunting can give you plenty of time to punch a tag in your pocket that might still be unfilled. During the winter months, deer are generally much more active and you will most likely have plenty of rut action as well.

Unfortunately, hunting during this time of year comes with its own set of unique challenges and obstacles. From the cold weather to the deer movements, bowhunting during the winter can sometimes be a struggle. Luckily we are here to help, and have five great tips to help you find more success in the woods this winter!

 

Pull Back Your Bow

 

You may have heard the horror stories from other bowhunters before. A big buck finally makes the mistake of coming right under their treestand and offers them the perfect shot opportunity. The hunter goes to pull back their bow, but because of the low temperatures, their muscles are too stiff to draw the string back.

 

In order to avoid this same mistake from happening to you, you should practice drawing back your bow at least every hour when hunting in colder weather. Depending on how cold it is, you may even consider doing it more often. This will help keep your muscles working properly and allow you to draw your bow back when you have an opportunity to shoot a deer.

 

Keep Your Gear Charged

 

From your cell phone to GPS and satellite communicators, keeping your gear properly charged is important while out hunting. This is especially true if you are hunting alone, as you will need maps of your hunting area and a way to communicate with others, especially should an emergency situation arise.

 

Keeping something like a cell phone charged in the cold weather is more of a challenge than other times of the year. The cold drains battery life, so make sure you bring something like a portable charger that has a full charge that way you can recharge any devices that may die while out in the field. Not only will it be useful, but it will also bring you peace of mind.

 

Bring a Thermos

 

While this may not sound like a deer hunting tip, hear me out. Cold weather can very easily dampen your spirits and be flat out miserable to hunt in. Something as simple as a thermos full of warm coffee or hot chocolate can be a lifesaver in these types of situations. A quick cup can quickly raise your spirits and sharpen your mind when the cold starts to become unbearable.

 

One of the most important parts of success while hunting the late season (or any season for that matter) is spending the most amount of time possible in the treestand. This will give you the most opportunities while hunting, so anything that you can do to make your time more comfortable and enjoyable is a huge bonus.

 

Hunt the Right Areas

 

Hunting during the dead of winter is very different than any other time of year. During the late seasons, the crops that most deer have been feeding on are dried up. They will generally change their feeding habits because of this, and find the best possible food sources that they can. If you can key in on these food sources, then you can easily find them and where you should be hunting them.

 

After finding their preferred feeding grounds, start to backtrack and find where the best place would be to hunt them at. Are there trails that lead to the food? Any nearby funnels or creek bottoms that they have been traveling through? If you have access to these feeding grounds, that is even better and you will find plenty of places around to hunt. Find the best spot that you can near a food source and you are sure to find some success during the dead of winter.


Wear the Right Clothes

 

Bowhunting in the winter will obviously include colder weather. It is important that you stay warm in order to stay comfortable and safe. But all of these cold-weather clothes like facemasks, thick coat sleeves, and cumbersome gloves can negatively affect how well you shoot your bow. If you follow our tip for practicing drawing your bow, you will easily see if any of these things will be in the way of affecting your shot. You may even need to adjust your draw weight or draw length depending on your late-season clothing.

 

Because wearing too many layers can negatively affect your ability to draw back your bow, as well as your overall accuracy to shoot, you must make sure that you are using the best possible gear. This is where the GoHuntVest can significantly improve your hunting abilities during the winter. Wearing a heated vest like this will help you to avoid wearing too many layers and make it much easier to shoot a bow accurately when a big buck finally walks by. The fact that it is a vest will also keep you from having too many sleeves that could possibly hit your bowstring. If you want a piece of clothing that will not only keep you warm but also allow you to freely draw and shoot your bow, look no further than the GoHuntVest.

Our heated hunting vest is great for those long, cold sits in the stand and you can even keep it fully charged and running with a simple phone battery charger that most hunters are already carrying.

You can buy your own heated hunting vest at:

https://heatedhunter.co/ 

We just launched our new collection where you will find our new heated hunting jacket (GoHuntShell), our new heated hunting vest and our hunting boots for winter!

Final Thoughts

Hunting during the cold winter months can be a great time to finally punch that leftover tag in your pocket and spend even more time in the outdoors. It can, however, be a little more difficult than hunting other seasons. If you follow these tips, you can more easily find success on your next late season hunt, no matter how cold the weather might get!

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