Think it’s all over and still can’t believe how quickly the deer season came and went? Well, for the determined, the show still goes on in a few select places and while it may be too late to cash in on a road trip to one of these late spots this season, it’s never too late to begin planning an extended deer season for next year.

It was 4:00 AM and we were already heading out to hunt. The air was cold and the sky was clear. The stars and the moon were the only light around. The moon bathed the rolling hills in an eerie blue light and the yellow prairie grass sparkled in the moonlight. In the distance the jagged lines of the snow-covered mountains glistened. We were headed into the lower slopes of the mountains in hopes of harvesting a mid-season Wyoming mule deer buck. We had been hunting now for three days but had been unsuccessful at filling our tag. We were hunting public land just on the outskirts of the Bighorn Mountain range.

I like every kind of hunting season but for me, the December muzzleloader season for deer is perhaps the most special.

It all started years ago when I purchased a secondhand Kentucky Rifle replica that couldn't shoot straight and ended up blowing a piece of percussion cap into my eyelid. As I drove myself to the doctor’s office on that memorable fall morning a couple of decades ago, I realized three important things: 1. always wear safety glasses while shooting 2. Cheap used firearms are being sold for a reason, and 3. I love muzzleloaders.

The fall hunting season is in full swing, and most of you are already reminiscing about the success of the season so far. You are all set with gear, and have your spots picked out —but what if you could increase your chances of tagging that monster buck? Well, you can, utilizing what was once one of the best-kept secrets in hunting. 

Over the years I have started to get a little bored with deer hunting. It really comes as no surprise, yet I hated to admit that, even to myself… Why? Because I consider myself a deer hunter, and a deer hunter should not be bored with deer hunting right? Wrong! Of course a deer hunter can get bored with deer hunting. If you sit in the same stands, on the same property every single year for 16 years of course hunting can become monotonous. You have to get out and try new things, see new places, and have new struggles. That’s how you grow and evolve as a hunter. This is the story of a new beginning, and rekindling the excitement I had as a 12 year old boy going out with my dad on my first hunt with bow in hand!

The whitetail deer rut is upon us. Bucks are running ridges and field edges in search of receptive does. This is the highlight of deer season for most. It’s the time of year we deer hunters dream about during the other 11 months.

Accessing a likely big buck hot spot must be done with stealth and oftentimes, must be done on the fly to adjust for changing deer patterns during the peak of rut activity and even as it begins to taper off. Remember the following so you don’t blow a monster out of the area before you even climb into your stand.

Most of the woods have yet to be trampled by gun hunters yet, with the smaller stick-and-string crowd still on the hunt and muzzleloader hunters finally getting their chance as well. Meanwhile, deer activity is starting to kick into high gear throughout much of the whitetail’s range. As big bucks leave their bachelor groups and begin prowling for those first does ready to breed, it’s also time for deer hunters to take time off from work and get into the woods. And when they do, these are eight of the best places for them to set up to have the best opportunity for a trophy this hunting season.

This time of year, I enjoy slowly driving back roads glassing agriculture fields for deer. I do so because I simply love watching deer, but also to identify areas with high deer density and specific bucks worth pursing. These are areas I’ll try to gain permission to hunt.

It's already June, the first six months of 2022 have flown by—and the next three months will do the same. Don’t let this fall season sneak up on you. Start thinking now about how you can best optimize your hunt in preparation for opening day.