Tomorrow is my last chance to hunt deer. Been hard to find time this season but i have a chance tomorrow. It is bitter cold here (Missouri). Ambient temp should bottom out around 4 degrees.

I drove around looking for where they didn’t cut the beans.

I found a spot with plenty of beans. Two choices.

A- hunt the stand i set up on a big ole buck, but I have no idea if there is any forage nearby and have not tried to hunt it this time of year

B- set up on a little hidey hole near to the beans, where there are tracks in the snow

What say you? If anybody even sees this and replies before i roll out at 0-dark-30 i will be surprised. But this is my one full day in the deer woods this season and I figure I might as well seek the advice of the THF collective. Since this is where I started when i first tried to kill a deer. So why not?

B assuming it’s a transition from food to bedding

I'd be hunting the food.

Food is paramount for me. Fresh tracks tells the story as if the food is there then there's tracks. However, your looking for a big buck that might have his own food closer..I would look for the tracks with one mature deer(big tracks). Other deer may not be aloud to feed on his domain with food...LOL I would think! Big mature bucks are still the boss. I see big 11 pointers come to the pen alone at this time of year while others leave. We had snow back in 2017 maybe..bucks were at the feeders all together and all ages...but no old bucks with them..they were there but in the outer areas. But, I think you will be the best judge as you will see it first hand and you probably know more than me anyways. I think you need good luck.
So: GOOD LUCK...lol

This is too late but hunt the food. 21 here and I just lost my trapped heat from the walk to stand and now I’m cold. And my typing finger is colder!

Sit the beans.

The blast doesn't get here until tonight around 1900-2100. So my plan is to hunt food this evening. It would work out really well to hang one until about Wednesday...

Good luck

Sitting the beans, different beans than I planned. Saw a big flock of turkeys so far. Wind chill is -7 degrees and i am coooooooold. This should be the peak temps of the day lol. Warming up in the truck, about to head back out in it.

But dang. It is bitter bitter cold.

Just packed up and moved to a different spot nearer to my main deer stand. A spot i didn’t think about, that i could not see from the road last night. There is standing corn about a mile from my stand. I picked a spot on a southeast hillside, with better protection from the wind. Not just for the deer but for me lol. But I imagine the deer would bed on the nicest side.

I worry they may already be moving. I saw some squirrels out, that and the turkeys are telling me critters are up.

This would be my plan

Good luck. You are tougher than I am. Let us know if you get one. I’m finally doe hunting. I let 6 doe get by me at 60 yards this morning. I was trying to distinguish the does from yearlings in tall grass and by the time I did they slipped off. Kicking myself. Saw 7 more, two of which were bucks but at 700 yards. My boy finally came back out this evening for youth season. Hoping for some does. He needs some action and I need some meat.

Not tough. Desperate and maybe crazy. Whitetails do that to me.

No luck. Now it’s time to get the fishing gear ready for Spring

Our doe hunt was ruined by pigs but at least my boy got to shoot one. First time he’s pulled the trigger in two years.
At least we have some sausage.

Congrats on your son, great memories.

Good

Next year i will definitely add a crossbow to the mix. My kids are not that into archery and i won’t set them up to fail. But i will use it too.

I already have new spots picked out for hunting does. Need to get a good foxpro or something too. The archery and muzzle loader only places are completely overrun with yotes and raccoons and you have to get a special use permit to trap them. Use live traps like havahart, etc.