Photo by BILLKINNEY.COM

December is the heart of deer season in the Mid-Atlantic States, and for good reason.

During most years, the first serious spells of cold weather put whitetails on the move — and sure make hunting them a lot more comfortable. In most states, this is also the time when firearms hunting comes into its own.

One of the negative aspects of December is that in most areas, hunters have been in the woods since September, and the deer can be really spooky. This means that if you want to score that trophy buck before the end of the year, you need to be at the top of your game.

Here are some things you can do to increase your chances of bagging that big buck in the 11th hour of the season — as well as some of the different hunting opportunities that New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware have to offer.

ONE SEASON COMPLEMENTS ANOTHER
One of the most overlooked aspects of hunting is the relationship between bowhunting and firearms hunting.

Most states — Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey included — open their fall deer season with archery hunting in September and allow hunting into the February of the following year. Each year, more deer hunters are participating in both archery and firearms hunts.

Recently completed studies show that in Delaware and New Jersey, more hunters use both archery and firearms for deer hunting with each passing season.

Crossbows are also becoming more widely used. Only three states in the country don’t allow the use of crossbows in one form or another.

Likewise, a good many hunters ply the same areas with either bow or firearm.

This means spending plenty of time in your tree stand and observing deer behavior.

The cooler weather of December pushes the deer to be a lot more active as they fatten up for the coming winter. However, most of them will follow the same migration routes that they did during the early part of the season, as long as their food supply is still there.

This means what you observed during the early seasons can help put you on the deer in December.

As long as food sources don’t change, the deer will move into the same feeding areas around the same time in the evening, as it gets dark.

Likewise, deer will usually move out of their bedding places around the same time after sunup in the morning.

If you’ve located the deer’s feeding areas and bedding areas during the archery season, it’s a good bet those will still be good places to look during the later firearms seasons.

KNOW YOUR DISTANCES
When shooting from a tree stand, most hunters have a problem with judging distance.

Shooting from the ground is a straight-line distance. But when shooting from a tree stand, you must take into consideration the angle of your shot.

When it comes to hunting with a bow, most hunters prefer to shoot from 10 to 30 yards away. However, hunting with a shotgun, rifle, muzzleloader or pistol increases your effective kill zone. In this case, the limitations you have will depend on the terrain you’re hunting.