By: Mark Ripp

So, you think your season is over?  For the seriously addicted now is the start of the next season. While I love pre-season scouting and glassing fields to see deer in velvet the information gathered has limited value after the first few weeks of the season. This is the time of year I find most valuable. It is when you can really collect a lot of valuable information that you just can’t get during the course of the pre-season.  Primarily because deer sign and trails that were used during the rut and later parts of the season are still fresh.  Also, the deer are a little more forgiving of the intrusion into their core areas. I mean they have already been shot at and harassed for the last three months; a few more weeks won’t hurt the cause too much.  Caution is still required of course as you don’t want to go blazing a trail and push deer out of the woods.  Winter is also a time to locate new hunting land; I’ll get into that in a bit.

This time of year most of the upper Midwest has a blanket of snow on the ground.  Everyone knows this makes spotting both trails and deer much easier.  While most deer have now switched to a winter pattern a lot of their movements and locations this time of year resemble their mid-season habits.  When scouting a new area I like to locate bedding areas first.  Studying a good aerial map can save some time in this matter, I like to use the maps a www.scoutlookweather.com.  Not only does this site contain maps but it also gives up to the minute weather and you can save stand locations at all of your properties.   Before entering the woods I like to glass the area from a ways off to try to spot deer that may be bedded down.  The deer will be grouped up right now and easy to locate for the most part.  Most of the bucks will still have their headgear so it is a good time to also do an inventory of what made it through the season.   Keep an eye out for trails, especially those that are leading to and from feeding and bedding areas.  Of course it is always cool to see the heavily worn cattle trails made by the family groups of does but I like to look for the smaller trails just off of those.  A lot of times these are the trails used by the dominant buck in the area.  Keep an eye out for any rubs or scrapes along these trails to confirm that.  A lot of time you will also find one or two beds just above the group of beds made by the does.  This is where the bucks have been. Mark all sign in a notebook or in a journal, deer are creatures of habit and year after year they follow the same patterns and use a lot of the same areas.  The beauty of scouting this time of year is that without leaves in the trees once you have located good stand locations you can really get a feel for how shooting lanes can lay out.  How many times have you hung a stand in August and trim branches only to climb into it in November and feel like you are completely exposed?  Also wind patterns are more likely to be similar to the fall.  You can study terrain on a map and wind directions all day but until you’re in that spot you have no idea how wind reacts to that one particular area.  All of this is crucial data to keep in mind and not overlook.   

As I mentioned earlier, now is the time to try to find the next hotspot.  Glassing from the road is much easier because of no leaves and snow and it is also the only time of year besides the late summer when you can regularly see large groups of deer out in the fields.  Once an area is located I feel it is also the best time to approach farmers and land owners.  I never liked bothering farmers during the summer months.  It is their busy season and for a lot of them deer hunting is the last thing on their mind.  During the winter, time to chat is in abundance.  A good way to get a foot in the door is inquire about coyote hunting.  Most times it is much easier to gain access and it is a good way to show the owner what kind of person and hunter you are. Plus, you’re having fun and doing them a favor by getting rid of some pests. 
At the end of the day all of this is just one more excuse to get in the woods one more time.  The more information you can gather throughout the course of the year can only help you get on bigger bucks.  Don’t wait until a few weeks until the season starts to begin your search for your next trophy.  Get out there and put the work in, I promise it will pay off!

The Heartland Bow hunter Team has really set the standard the last couple seasons as far as outdoor productions are concerned.  The angles they incorporate, as well as the quality of their hunts in there entirety, are unmatched in today’s outdoor production industry.  For the holiday season I definitely had the HB4 DVD on my list. Ask and you will receive!  Instead of for Christmas I received the DVD on my birthday just last week and boy was I pumped to watch it!  

Upon first inspection I liked the unique style of the DVD cover; I thought it was nice to have a scenic picture on the front showing the pursuit instead of a giant picture of a dead buck.  I opened the box and noticed the double DVD set, a nice perk to know that you’re getting your moneys worth! The other night Greg, Brandon and I watched disk one from start to finish. Here’s our two cents.

Besides the camera work we really weren’t too impressed with the DVD as a whole.  Nearly every hunt that the HB Team goes on is an outfitted hunt, with literally hundreds of deer passing buy on a given night. We really enjoyed the basic hunts where you get to see the guys develop a plan and put the work in throughout the year to get their trophy.  Don’t get me wrong they do have some great hunts/stories of this nature on the DVD; we just would’ve enjoyed seeing more of it. They often times, especially on their outfitted adventures, seem to kill deer just to get a deer on film instead of holding off for a buck that would truly satisfy them. I mean these guys are hunting areas that seemingly hold world class deer, show some willpower and wait for the big one to make an appearance instead of shooting a 125” deer just because you can.  A big negative of the DVD was the fact that at the conclusion of each hunt it took you back to the main menu screen and in order to move on to the next hunt you had to watch the intro over each time. Very irritating!

Disk two was a whole lot better.  The outfitted hunts became more DIY which made it more realistic. Disk two also showed more hunts on team members home farms where a story truly unfolds as they often have some history with a buck. These hunts allow the viewer to make a personal connection and make the hunt more appealing. 

There are many other positives; as stated earlier the cinematography is truly remarkable.  There were multiple points in the DVD which we looked at each other and asked how they managed to get that shot angle. After attempting to film our hunts this year with little success we can relate; its really tough to remember to film everything, and more importantly film it with a purpose to create a story as the Heartland Bow Hunter Team does so well.  Another plus as far as I know they are the only hunting DVD that currently is released in BluRay!

All and all the HB Season 4 is a great DVD to pick up.  You will see big deer being harvested and the story lines and cinematography are remarkable. Click here to pick up your copy today.  I can’t wait to see what these guys bring to the table in 2012!