5 Deer Hunting Tasks to Tackle This Off-Season

Deer season is finished across most of the whitetail’s range. But your efforts now can have an impact on your 2025 deer season, so make some plans and goals. Photo by Lisa Basile.

I had an incredible 2024 deer hunting season. No, I didn’t kill any 200-inch bucks, but I arrowed my first velvet buck, a 6-1/2-year-old mule deer. I also bow-killed a stud whitetail buck on the ground after rattling and decoying him in on public land. And I took my personal-best mule deer.

But I’ve been on the other side of the coin plenty of times. My hunting memories from the past 23 or so years have many scars from missing bucks or making stupid little mistakes that cost me opportunities. Perhaps you can relate, and that’s OK, because no matter how long you’ve been deer hunting, it has many highs and lows.

With deer season done in most places, it isn’t time to be cocky if you had a great year or sulk if you struggled all season. It’s a new year, and we’re only nine to 10 months away from deer season 2025. To that end, here are some things to do in the meantime.

1. ASSESS YOUR SEASON AND MAKE PLANS AND GOALS

Whether you won or lost in 2024, be like a pro sports team. Review your season. What went well? What mistakes did you make? Did your stand locations produce the action you hoped they would? Did your trail camera strategy yield worthwhile results that informed your hunting plays? How did your food plots do? Did you get frazzled by a shot opportunity and miss a buck or make a poor hit? Was your public-land spot overrun with other hunters?

Consider every facet of your season, and be attentive to areas with room for growth. Then make plans and set goals. Write them down, and be willing to work out the kinks and chase your goals hard this year.

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2. CHECK YOUR EQUIPMENT, AND MAKE REPAIRS OR UPGRADE

Dozens of hunters treat their gear prep much like Christmas shopping; it gets postponed until the last minute. Not only is that cutting it close in terms of becoming confident and deadly after a bowstring replacement or total bow upgrade, but the weeks before the season are a pro shop’s busiest time, meaning a repair could take a week or two depending on what you need.

Now is the time to run through your equipment. If something broke, take it in to get fixed. If your bowstring and cables look fuzzy, have a bow technician assess them and determine if you need new ones. And if you have your heart set on a new bow or firearm, get it now so you have months to become familiar and lethal with it. Work out as many kinks as possible with your equipment now so you’re less likely to experience drama right before or during the season.

3. RESEARCH HUNTS

One of the most enticing aspects of being a DIY public-land hunter is dreaming about where next season’s adventures will take me. I think about states I want to hunt, and then I research various areas and units within them. I use my favorite mapping app, HuntStand Pro Whitetail, to identify public lands in spots of interest and begin building out hunt areas. You can do likewise with HuntStand or whatever mapping app you like, such as onX Hunt. I also decipher my lodging options relative to the areas I’ll be hunting.

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Shed hunting and scouting are worthwhile off-season efforts, but don’t overlook things like inspecting your hunting equipment, researching new hunts, and making goals for deer season 2025. Photo by ShakirovAlbert.

Although many states have over-the-counter tags, some states and units require a draw, and most draws are conducted in spring. Try to plan as much as possible now and have backup plans in case things don’t work out during your hunt.

4. START KNOCKING ON DOORS NOW

One of the greatest aspects of hunting is that plenty of landowners still allow good-natured folks to hunt on their properties. The opportunities are fewer than one to two decades ago, but they exist, and persistent hunters find them. Few people are going door to door asking for deer-hunting permission right now, so being the early bird could get you onto a property for the 2025 season. You might not get on if you wait until July or August. Clean up, dress nicely, and portray yourself respectfully. Who knows? You could land permission on a property that holds a giant buck just because you started door-knocking now.

5. GET A (NEW) LEASE

If you’re tired of run-ins with other hunters on public land or on private property you gained permission to hunt, consider shopping around for a hunting lease. If you already have one that isn’t as productive as you hoped, shop for a new one.

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Good hunting leases have several merits, such as mitigated hunting pressure, more deer, and larger bucks. From now until deer season, other hunters will be snapping up leases, meaning fewer options will be available as time passes. Do your research, and if you don’t know of any leases in the area you want to hunt, use a reputable hunting-lease website. There are lousy leases out there, so do your homework, and settle on a lease that meets your needs.

NINE MONTHS AND COUNTING

Most archery deer seasons open in about nine to 10 months, and the way you use the off-season can hugely affect your 2025 campaign. In addition to on-foot spring scouting and shed hunting, get going on the five tasks mentioned here to make deer season 2025 your best yet.