Photo courtesy of Nick Simonson Going, going... As the firearms deer season winds down, opportunities to tag that pursued buck (or any buck) begin to wane. However, staying on task, on stand and in a good mindset can help convert that tag this season.

The final weekend of the firearms deer season is often referred to as “Desperation Weekend” as hunters who’ve held out for that trophy buck they’ve been watching on trail camera all summer or perhaps just imagining in their minds this fall, get antsy as the paper tag in their pocket weighs them down. No matter what comes of the final days of gun season – that trophy, a fallback deer or other option – what I’ve always found is that perseverance and a positive mindset pay off in the waning days of the season.

Stick with it

If you know the trails your deer use, and the locations they have tended to visit over the past several months, stick with those places. During the rut there’s no telling when those bucks you’re familiar with – or those strangers bounding in from from neighboring areas – will be venturing through a given hunting area, especially now as the rut peaks and those males look for another mate to tend to before the hormonal rush that began at the end of the month subsides. Keep to the plan and the places that have paid off before, and more importantly, get out there.

Go long

As the conditions allow, get in the blind or on stand ahead of legal light to get set up as normal, but plan on sticking around just a bit longer into the morning if you normally break for a late breakfast or early lunch. The same goes for the afternoon if you’re making it an evening hunt; sneak out as early as you can and perhaps work in a weekday sit if your schedule allows, staying until legal light ends. If you can make it a full day in your spot, go for it. The more time you spend on stand, the better your odds are of seeing deer and filling that tag as the final opportunities get crossed off the calendar.

Think good thoughts

There’s something to be said about a positive mindset. I’m not saying it’s magical, or that the manifestation of good thoughts comes to be every time, but there are moments I’ve visualized a deer coming into view along a trail or up a draw or in those places I normally see them; and suddenly, a few minutes later, that tell-tale tick of hoof on leaf cover, or the ghostly gray of a buck walking in broadside comes to be. When it happens, it’s uncanny. When it doesn’t, I still stay positive, right down to the last minute of legal light, as in deer hunting it seems anything can happen in November, even when the hour gets late.

In the end, a little perseverance with some extra time on stand can make Desperation Weekend seem a bit less desperate. Stick with the plan and the places where deer have been seen, go a bit longer as your schedule allows or stick it out all day, and try to stay positive that the opportunity will present itself. And just remember that even if it doesn’t come to be, ice fishing is likely only a few weeks away, and these same tactics still apply if hard luck during deer season gives way to hard water, and things are sure to pick up then…in our outdoors.