Lets get the best tips for hunting winter bow for whitetails from the east coast guys(you westerners can chime in also no hard feelings please).Funnels ,trails,swamps,fields?

Food sources and cover. I have a thick grove of cedars I hunt that leads to a hay field. Just before or during a storm, its a magnet.

When it gets really cold, and the open water is frozen, I look for heavily used crossings on the flowing brooks.

Might be off topic a bit but do you use gloves on your release hand?  What i mean is do you wear tabs over gloves or just keep a hand in your pocket?

I don't have any great tips.  I just find out what they are eating and try to introduce myself to them when they are on there way to or from dinner.

QuoteOriginally posted by Cyclic-Rivers:
Might be off topic a bit but do you use gloves on your release hand?  What i mean is do you wear tabs over gloves or just keep a hand in your pocket?

I usually just use my tab and keep my hand in my pocket. I have used a glove with the fingers cut off over my Duraglove in the past. This year, though, I have stayed with my Screaming Eagle cordovan tab and a hand warmer in my coat pocket.

Even in the dead of winter, deer will be looking for water.
Also look for food and cover like the others have said.

Funnels are always good; just have to figure out which ones are between where the deer are and where they are going.    :D

Charles, I wear a thin wool glove that fits close with my tab over it.  A GI glove liner works great.  That hand will still spend a good amount of time in a pocket, but I can still use it to eat, work a call, give my bow hand a break, etc.  Practice with it before hand, but it will only take a few shots to get used to it.  Anymore, I don't give it a second thought.

Here in my part of WV a crop food scourse.Next to a thicket Mainly honeysuckle deer love it the and bed right in it.#1 FOOD SCOURSE when the snow flys.

Besides a good food source, if there is some snow, I like picking up a good trail and stillhunting it.

Playing the wind is key, want to stay cross wind or wind in your face. Binos are a great help in looking ahead especially for bedded deer.

Making small pushes also helps. We prefer a 3 man setup with one guy easing through and 2 standers.
Depending on how much pressure the deer got during the gun season will determine where to place your stand. Usually farther away from the food source but not too close to the bedding areas.

Stillhunting is a great way to hunt deer during those cold winter months of December and January.

Late season hunting is based on food, food, and food.  You might get some late rut activity, and that will be based on where the does are and they will be focused on....food.

To stay warm I focus on the last couple hours of the day - when 95% of the deer movement is anyhow.  Keep your string hand in your pocket and it does'nt matter what kind of glove you wear...

R

Charles,

Normally I will wear a thin camouflage glove with the 3 fingers cut out for the tab.  On really cold mornings I go to a thicker glove with a handwarmer.
To stay with the topic, I try to hunt food sources and cover.

David

best advice i have is while on stand , pull the bow a few times an hour.Sitting long periods in cold can stiffin you up where a full draw is all but impossible!

If Jersey huntng is anything like PA, Hunt the safe havens close to a food source. Some of the most overlooked spots are the best. Ed

I hunt a lot around a lake so I try to hunt funnels and trails.  A fleece muff with a chemical hand warmer takes care of the hands.  I also try to hunt the last 2 hours of the day.

Ditto on the food source, they are in short supply up here this time of the year.

Food.  Heavy cover with good wind brakes.  South facing hillside cover is a top notch place to find deer.  I love these and any trails or funnels between them and food.