A Mindset for Whitetails in The Late Season

By: Justin Hunold

There are a lot of us going into the holiday season with unfilled tags. If you’re like me you had your opportunities to connect but something happened. Maybe, you passed a deer you should have shot, maybe, god forbid, you wounded an animal, maybe like me you missed a chip shot at a good buck. So, here’s the motivational speech I give myself to stay in the game and take advantage of the few weeks to months left in my season.

I’m going to write this as if I were looking in the mirror and giving myself the talk to stay on the gas and get in the tree in late season. After the warm sits of September over food, seeing the change of the leaves and buck behavior as October moves on, and into the long sits and randomness of the rut in November what do I have left in the tank?

Hey, you remember when you were hitting the timber and swamps last February and March looking for those beds, high traffic areas, postseason sign and maybe even a shed? This is the reason why. You're a hunter and it’s hunting season. That information is likely more applicable now in the late season than it was in the first week of November. Take the fun of scouting and turn it into the fun of hunting.

Do you remember when you were attending to that to-do list diligently all year? Remember all of that time you spent making sure life was running as smoothly as possible for the other nine months of the year? This is why. It’s hunting season and you’re a hunter. You are the best person you can be for the folks that fill your life so that you can be the best hunter you can be for hunting season.

Ugh is that the alarm for another day of work? Spending time doing something you don’t want to do for people and companies you don’t want to do it for? No, that’s your alarm going off for a cold late season hunt. Is it the same alarm that you woke up before in November, because you were so excited to get into a tree? No, it’s not. But is it so much better than the alarm you snooze two or three times before getting up for another day of selling your life for money…you bet you’re a** it is. Get up, because you’re a hunter and it’s hunting season. You wait all year for this.

Have the deer shifted because there was the pressure of gun season, are the acorns long gone, beans cut and browse picked clean? Remember that one standing corn field you marked on your mapping app? What about that isolated funnel going from the swamp into the clear cuts that are adjacent? Maybe even the thick transition going into the conifer covered home that protects the deer from the cold north? You know about these areas because you’re a hunter and it’s hunting season. You put that work in for this exact season.

In those states where you can’t hunt on a Sunday? Did you complain about missing those days? Did you spend them watching football or hanging out with family and friends, the whole time thinking you should be hunting? Guess what, now is your chance to make those days up. You spent the time, thought, and energy to complain about that Sunday hunting ban but are you secretly happy to have that day off? That’s fine if you want a little break, but don’t complain. If you were actually upset about missing sits, now’s your time. You can make moves that you weren’t able to on those Sundays because you’re a hunter and it’s hunting season. 

How many times did you sit with people that you didn’t have anything in common with talking about shit that doesn’t matter to you? How many meetings, greetings and all the other interactions have you had through the year that you’d rather avoid? How many times do you think “I’d rather be in the woods” ? Well, late season is your last shot. Get out there because in a lot of those interactions you probably tell people “I’m a hunter”....and it’s hunting season.

When was the last time you sat in your tree looking at a squirrel, rabbit, geese flying over or seeing ducks land into the creek? You’ve probably thought about chasing them too? If you need a break from the stand, these are great breaks that still get you out there. It’s supposed to be fun. We allegedly enjoy this, because we are hunters and it’s hunting season.

When will your last sit be? Not for the year but forever? What about your buddies or your family member’s? Here are a few more chances to make a few more memories. A lot of my relationships are anchored by hunting. We only talk about hunting, or see each other during the season, and late season gives us a few more chances. We spend this time together because we are hunters and its hunting season.

Are you sick of sitting in a tree? In a blind? On a field edge? In a swamp? Take to the woods, be young at heart. Late season is a great time to stretch those legs, get out and put your skills to the test. Be the embodiment of that hunter you wanted to be as a daydreaming child. Be the embodiment of the hunter you wanted to be all year as a daydreaming adult. What makes those dreams? Why do you have them? How do you quench them? Get out. Because you’re a hunter and it’s hunting season.

December isn’t just the time to put the tree up in your living room, it's a great time to get up in a tree of your own. The mindset of a late season hunt is different for me, whether I’ve connected or not the pressure and grind of November is off. I’m trying to soak up the last few weeks of my favorite time of the year, and I hope you remember to do the same. Because…..

About: Justin Hunold is lifelong hunter from upstate New York, family man, and  enjoys educating and sharing information on the outdoors. He has been Trophyline ambassador for years, a consistent contributor to Trophyline since the first day of Trophyline’s rebirth in 2019. At his core, Justin Hunold is a Mobile Venatic through and through.