If you’ve still got a buck tag in your pocket, read on. One recent winter in North Dakota was atypical, as it has been in many parts of the county these last few years. “We had almost no snow and record high temperatures,” said bowhunter and BIG DEER blogger Derek Plautz. “Needless to say it made the hunting difficult.” Derek hunted hard, and the first week of December he started getting trail cam pictures of a shooter 10-point. “He only showed up on cam one time in shooting hours,” he said, “but at least we knew he was there. We hunted him for several weeks.” With only 2 nights left in the 2011 season, Derek decided to change it up. [...]

In most regions right now, most of the adult does have been bred, and bucks are tired and run down from chasing, breeding and eluding hunters. But those survivors know the chance to breed a doe won’t come around for another year. They prowl for the last five percent or so of does that might still be receptive. They move heavily at night and in cover, but a good buck might slip up at dawn or dusk, so be out there. The days of Thanksgiving weekend are some of the biggest hunting days of the year as family and friends get together and fan out across the woods. This is another reason to hunt. You never know where and when [...]