Muzzleloader and gun hunters should have an easier time of it because their effective range is much greater than that of a bowhunter.

Because deer congregate in and around the thickest cover available at this time of year, a dense swamp or a brush thicket might be where you have to go to get your quarry. Still-hunters working in this cover would do well to wear fleece, to minimize any sounds of clothing rubbing against brush.

And because this is the very end of the season, you'll presumably be still-hunting through country that has become quite familiar to you by now.

Also, you should know how and where the deer like to move in this area. On late-season still-hunts, use that knowledge to your advantage to pick apart the best country.

On a still-hunt, the wind is naturally the most important factor. You never want to still-hunt with the wind at your back. That's a waste of time.

When you're moving through the woods, don't look for only deer that are on their feet. Also dissect the woods with your binoculars, searching for bedded deer as well. Look for an ear, an antler gleaming in the sun, the rounded hump of a deer's rump. These are the portions of a bedded deer that are likely to be exposed for you to spot.

Also check out anything that just seems out of place to you. At this time of year, the woods are barren. Walking through them, you'll become skilled at determining how things should look.

Fallen trees, boulders, brush and saplings all have a general appearance that you'll recognize as "normal." But when you see something that looks out of place -- that you can't quite identify with the naked eye -- stop and check it out. For example, every now and then you'll encounter a stump with a white spot on it. You'll swear it's a deer until you focus your binoculars on it.

One winter, I was sneaking slowly through a pine thicket when I spotted a downed tree about 70 yards away. This tree had two odd protrusions that didn't look like anything I'd seen sticking out of a fallen pine tree before.

I pulled out my binoculars and inspected the tree. As it turned out, those two protrusions were the ears of a bedded doe!

I got down on one knee, pulled my muzzleloader to my shoulder and whistled softly. The doe stood to inspect the noise, and I pulled the trigger.

After a short tracking job, I was filling out my tag.

DRIVE TACTICS
For the most part, hunting in January is a bowhunter's game. Some states have a late muzzleloader season, and some even offer limited late firearms hunting -- usually with a shotgun.

If your state offers either a muzzleloader or shotgun hunt in January, that's the best time to put on drives. I'm not saying it's impossible to drive deer to bowhunters; my friends and I have done it successfully a few times. But hunting with firearms, even if they're muzzleloaders, is far better suited for deer drives, mainly because of the increased range of the weapons.

If you want to put on a drive and can hunt with bows and arrows only, just remember to have your drivers move at a snail's pace. In bow season, a running deer is a safe deer!