Smart deer hunters have been taking advantage of behavior patterns forever, and one of the biggest centers on weather conditions. Mature buck hunters don’t have to be told that sudden October cold fronts get big bucks on their feet in daylight with remarkable consistency. And when it comes to experiencing a general increase in daylight deer movement, I’ll choose an overcast day with chance of rain over clear/sunny conditions most every time.
One of the less-obvious deer-impacting weather patterns has to do with winter severity. But being a native Wisconsinite and current resident of Minnesota, winter severity has been on my radar for decades. The current big news in my area is two straight mild winters in a row, which is just what northcountry bigwoods hunters crave.
And make no mistake, the advantages of a light winter in the unforgiving northcountry are very real indeed. Last fall, after just one mild winter had passed, both me and several of my hard-hunting northcountry contacts noticed a nice jump in antler growth. Not only did I see more and larger bucks in some of my favorite hunting areas, I also ran into a buck cruising midday in early November that took my breath away. Unfortunately it ran alongside my vehicle in the ditch as I was headed to a new stand site, but it was the largest buck I’d seen on the hoof in the area in almost 30 years. That was no coincidence.
This fall, some of my closest friends, helped along by their well-placed trail cameras, are already reporting another boom year for antler development.
Some of my all-time favorite deer hunts have unfolded in far northeastern Minnesota along the Canadian border in the legendary Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).
Accessing this vast wilderness is relegated to either canoe or foot traffic only, and back in about 2000 to about 2007 or so, things were hopping up there. At the time there was a solid population of whitetails, but an unfortunate string of severe winters shortly thereafter decimated the population. Things got bad really quickly.
The last time I hunted the area back in 2016, I was hopeful but found just a tiny fraction of the deer sign I had seen previously. However, the past two mild winters now have me considering a return trip.
Now, someone residing in the Southeast or Southwest might not be tuned into historical weather conditions in the upper Midwest. But if you are, opportunities arise. You might tag out early in your home state, with an adventurous gleam in your eye and some vacation days left to burn. So my message here should be clear: If you’ve been considering an upper-Midwest hunt, this fall might make your next trip northward well worth the trouble.