Late Season Hunting - Kentucky Whitetail Hunts

One of the first questions a hunter will ask a Kentucky hunting outfitter is, “How is the deer hunting in the late season” or “Are there any big bucks left in the late season?” These are very fair questions.   The answer: Hunting isn’t as good as it would be during the pre-rut and rut, but that’s doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance of shooting a bruiser buck! If big deer didn’t live after the gun season, the there really wouldn’t be any big deer around. They’d all get shot when they are 2.5 years old right? Another thing we all need to consider when discussing success rates or how good of chances do we have is this… what if Kentucky outfitters all replied “100% chance”. Think about that. Let’s assume you were guaranteed a trophy buck on your hunt. Does this turn into the same thing as all kids getting a trophy at the end of a soccer tournament? It loses it’s meaning. Nobody would hunt and it certainly wouldn’t be considered a trophy.    I think it’s important to be mindful when understanding what a success rate means during Kentucky whitetail hunts. Now, this isn’t a knock on high-fence operations. There are big deer you won’t find during your high fence hunt. I’ve hunted a high-fence operation and it was the best experience of my life! It was in southern Africa and I loved every bit of it. Was it checkbook hunting? Sure. Absolutely, but humans are all in different places in their lives. Some don’t have time for a drop- in 10 day hunt in Canada. It would cost them or their business $30,000 or more because their time is that valuable. There are not “right or wrong” ways to enjoy the outdoors or Kentucky hunting leases!