4 Tips For Late-Season Muzzleloader Hunting

Where states offer it, winter squirrel hunting is a nice way to unwind. It allows you to continue your year spent outdoors right into the next one. However, hunting these bushy tailed animals during the harsh winter months is tough. Squirrels seem to be everywhere during the early season, as food supplies are much more abundant, squirrels are less wary, and leafy branches restrict the game's vision, allowing for closer, easier stalks. Nevertheless, that does not mean you should overlook late seasons squirrel hunting.  And after all, what hunter doesn’t want a little challenge? As we have stated in previous articles, bucks lose about 20% of their body mass during the rut. With that said, they aren’t going to budge unless they absolutely have to travel because they are low on energy and very tense from all of the action. And that is why we have craft 4 Tips For Late-Season Muzzleloader Hunting in order to increase your odds of success.

What make a gun a Muzzleloader? A muzzleloader is any gun you load from the muzzle. This is where the projectile exits at the end of the barrel. A muzzleloader could be a rifle, a shotgun, or a pistol or a revolver. The most popular muzzleloader you will see is a rifle. The long barrel muzzleloader is what we will be focusing on for hunting. When it comes to purchasing and owning a muzzleloader keep in mind you will be buying more than just the gun and ammo. Click here to check out this awesome article from Pew Pew Tactical that will walk you through the accessories and cleaning a muzzleloader.

Scouting during the late season is a strategy that is often overlooked, yet, still just as important.  Many hunters consider the fact that they scouted all September, and do not feel the need to re-scout the land that they already know.  Well, this can actually be very useful during muzzleloader season, especially but the rut is over. Therefore, before you decide to head out to your land for the weekend hunt, set aside some time to re-evaluate your land.  Maybe there are areas that are vastly covered in snow, allowing for great coverage. There could be highly used travel lanes that are even more apparent this time or year, or maybe, there are even some new buck rubs in your area.  Especially if you are hunting public land, you are going to want to take the time to scout and check up on your beloved bucks that made it through the rut.

It may sound simple, but, it is always smart to verify and re-check your scope before enduring the late-season hunts.  It is never safe to assume that your riflescope’s hashmarks are completely on. I mean afterall, many of us haven’t touched our muzzleloader's since the previous season. Therefore, re-evaluate, and practice before you head out for your muzzleloader hunt.

Gunpowder can get wet a number of ways.  Considering it is now the late season, most likely you could be enduring some type of harsh conditions, whether that be rain, snow, sleet, or hail. The possibilities are endless as to how it could get wet, so make sure, you pay attention to one underlying problem: condensation. Although it is not necessarily “unsafe” to have your charge in the barrel when you are not hunting, it is not ideal as you are “fogging”  up the barrel. Either keep your muzzleloader in a spot that is the same temperature that you are going to hunt, or completely unload your rifle and start fresh the next morning. And finally…

We’ve said it before and we will say it again, locating food sources is one of the most crucial elements to locating the big boys. Therefore, it is very important that you hunt a high-energy food source, that is loaded with carbs such as corn, or soybeans. This can be very important to your late season success.  However, as we stated in our Blizzard Bucks blog post, deer movement and activity is very minimal during these times. That is why you must force yourself to sit all day - I know that sounds crazy hard, right? But truly, to catch all of the action, try to sit from sun rise to day break if you have any ounce of buck fever.

All in all, it is important that you plan for your hunts. The more that you plan and evaluate your opportunities, the more success you are likely to have. Good luck out there hunters, and shoot straight!