Michael Dobbs arrowed this outstanding buck during a January hunt in Wayne County. Its massive 6x6 frame grosses 182 1/8 and nets a final P&Y total of 176 3/8. Taxidermy by Danny Coffey. Photo by Bill Cooper

Everyone has a particular time of the season when they prefer to hunt. Not surprisingly, the November rut is most often the top choice.

To bowhunter Michael Dobbs, this is certainly understandable. He readily agrees that buck activity is probably at its peak during the rut, but his hunting preference is still to go afield during the late season.

"By late December, hunting pressure is practically non-existent, and deer are beginning to resume somewhat normal movement patterns," Michael noted. "The colder weather generally triggers increased activity in regard to feeding. And in my opinion, even some of the bigger bucks will switch from being completely nocturnal to occasional daylight movement. Other factors, such as an abundant mast crop, can sometimes limit the distances deer move. But a little scouting can usually pinpoint their primary feeding areas."

This hunter has plenty of proof to back up his theories. Several times during the 2002-03 deer season, Dobbs had sighted a giant 12-pointer, but the deer was always just out of bow range. On a late-afternoon hunt in mid-January, with the season about to end, he was positioned along the woods line of an agricultural field, hoping for one last chance at the big whitetail.

As it turned out, the giant 12-pointer never appeared. However, another huge wide-antlered buck walked almost directly under the hunter's stand. The deer's massive non-typical 13-point rack would later score 170 Pope and Young (P&Y) points.

Last season, shortly after a Christmas, Dobbs and a companion were positioned in tree stands along the woods line of a hillside pasture in Wayne County. The adjacent wooded hilltop had been logged several years earlier, creating a dense cover of second-growth timber. Additionally, the remains of an old farmstead, situated along a flat bench near the top of the hill, was overgrown in brush and sapling thickets.

"The fellow with me that afternoon had already filled his buck tag, and we were hunting that particular location because of several does I had sighted during previous trips to the site," Dobbs said. "About an hour after getting settled, I heard a deer coming down the hill and assumed it was probably a doe heading toward the pasture. However, instead of a doe, a 4-pointer suddenly jumped the fence and stopped about 15 yards away. At this point, I could hear sounds of a second deer moving in the woods farther up the hillside."

Looking in that direction, the hunter suddenly saw a giant set of antlers moving through the brush and trees. But well before reaching the fence line, the big deer stopped. It was apparently unwilling to follow the smaller buck into the open field.