Early or Late Muzzy????

[jkratz5]

Last year was my first year Muzzy hunting and I hunted the early season. I was fortunate enough to harvest a nice mature 10 pointer during the season, but he was the only mature deer I saw during the early season (and I had a lot of mature deer in the area, or so I would find out during bow season). I was wondering if people generally have better luck during the early or late season??? and with the warmer weather that generally occurs during the early season is there any particular strategies you all like to use then???

 

[Limb Chicken]

The only way I will go early is if I have one scouted pretty good...That seems to be the time of year they can be there one day, gone the next. Late season given some snow and cold weather, they have to eat. After about a week or so after the gun season they start to come out of their holes. I have seen more big deer during the late muzzy season than any other. I just can't seem to kill one...

 

[Skully]

I agree with Limb, I have had luck with both seasons but by far the most big buck sightings are during the late season. If you can get a hard winter with some deep snow, even better. Alot of landowners will say no to shotgunners but give the ok to a guy with a muzzleloader late in the year too.

 

[blake]

[ QUOTE ]
Late season given some snow and cold weather, they have to eat. After about a week or so after the gun season they start to come out of their holes. I have seen more big deer during the late muzzy season than any other. I just can't seem to kill one...

[/ QUOTE ]

And I thought I was the only one who knew this secret.

 

[GunnerJon]

I have hunted both and love both. If crops are still in during early muzzy, it has really messed up my hunts. Corn fields in my area seem to hold all the deer and draw them from the timber. During late muzzy, visiblity is GREATLY increased due to no leaves and like others have said, when there is snow and cold....they have to eat. Now those same corn fields that made me mad during early muzzy are drawing in every deer in the county and they literally file past my stand or blind by the dozens. I have killed my biggest bucks during early muzzy, and the hunting is always better in October when there is a nice cold snap and a hard freeze to kill the bugs and get those bucks thinking about does.