Getting the jump on whitetail in December is easier than ever thanks to the arrival some high tech hunting aids.

A growing number of states now allow bowhunters back in the woods during December and January. The waning days of the season are not an easy time for bowhunters to take a whitetail, but surprisingly this is when many of the biggest bucks get careless with their day time movements. The challenge late season success is twofold for bowhunters. One is to remain in your tree stand all day to take advantage of unpredictable buck movement. The other is escape the notice of these animals by being as invisible as possible to their eyes and nose when hunting in an environment that is naked compared to back in mid-Ocotber. December and January are the coldest whitetail hunting months of the year. Staying out all day is virtually impossible if you are not comfortable. If you have bowhunted as long as I have, you know how uncomfortable feels when your toes are cold, or when a strong wind slices like a sharp knife through your clothing. Two decades ago wool, down feather, and what are now outdated insulating materials were all the makers of hunting clothing had. They understood the problem, but they still needed materials and garment construction techniques that exceeded those that were available to them. Staying dry, an important component of staying warm while hunting, two decades ago had not progressed since the late 1800s. Twenty years ago waterproofing hunting garments was limited to use of shells constructed from polyurethane and the use of waxed/oiled cotton. Polyurethane is waterproof, but it does not breath, meaning you can become wet underneath its protective shell due to perspiration. Waxed/oiled cotton repels water, but once soaked, you get wet. Wool is an outstanding insulator I have relied all of my hunting career. It is the only natural insulating material that retains a portion of its value when wet. Down feather insulated coats are excellent choices until these feathers become wet. Down insulates by "loft," i.e.,. the space between individual feathers that traps body warmth. When it becomes wet, down clumps together, and presto its wearer is destined to freeze. Down also has little ability to curb the effects of the wind when the temperature is freezing. Twenty years ago two forces embarked on courses that in a short time exerted a radical influence on hunting garment makers. A fast-growing hiking industry lead by companies like Columbia Sports Wear developed clothing made from super-strong, high denier nylons and designs that provided greater comfort, more pockets and options to wearers. At about the same time, W.L.Gore also introduced the Gore-Tex membrane. In essence this ultra-thin version of Teflon, Gore-Tex revolutionized hunting wear. Unlike polyurethane that repels water drops, but is unable to pass perspiration moisture produced by your body, Gore-Tex has a molecular structure that repels water drops, but allows water vapor, i.e., perspiration to pass through. This of it like a net where water drops are the size of a basketball that the webbing stops, but perspiration vapor the size of Ping-Pong balls freely passes through holes in the net. Hunting wear offered by all makers of quality hunting clothing soon included a Gore-Tex shell. In short order Gore-Tex was available in gloves, hats, and hunting boots. Highly durable--unless you poke a hole in it--to this day Gore-Tex and its clone materials are found inside of quality hunting wear. Seven years ago W.L.Gore introduced Windstopper, which is a spin-off of the Gore-Tex membrane technology. When Gore-Tex was first made, the company made it available to clothing makers, some of who did not understand how it had to made. A few merely cut the membrane and sewed it. Anywhere that the Gore-Tex membrane becomes cut or stitched, it will leak and allow in water drops. Everything you own with Gore-Tex actually has a complete--sealed seam--membrane shell over which your coat, boots, gloves or overalls are constructed. Yes, it is tricky work that has few shortcuts. Windstopper is virtually the same membrane as Gore-Tex, which while being waterproof, is also wind proof. The biggest difference is that no effort is made to waterproof. Windstopper is an incredibly innovative application of the membrane that stops wind from reaching your body. It enables you to hunt in a wool shirt and a fleece outer shell that is laminated with Windstopper in windy weather down into the 40 degree F range when the wind is blowing at 25 mph. Many times it is the wind that causes the discomfort that drives you from a tree stand, not just the temperature. In recent years insulating materials have also progressed substantially. Thinsulate was the first of a generation of lightweight, compressed insulation materials that are now found in everything from coveralls and hats, to boots and coats. Even the most high tech insulation materials still employ the same principle of loft that makes down and wool effective insulators. The difference is bulk. High insulating materials are thinner and lighter, yet rival and often exceed the loft body heat retention of traditional materials. Several years ago while hunting for polar bear in the Northwest Territories, we stayed warm in -40 degree F temperatures, thanks largely to custom-made body suits the Inuit made for us from wet caribou hides. This was the case again on a couple of musk ox hunts I participated in after that initial trip north to the Arctic. I discovered that when properly protected you can endure virtually any cold weather the earth can throw at you if you stay on the move as we did on those hunt. It is sitting still in a tree stand in Alberta where -20 weather is aided by 30 to 40 mph winds. Without moving about in such weather, unless you are willing to cocoon yourself into an immobile blob, even the most modern insulation material, high tech outer shells and even wool socks are limited to how well they can keep you warm for 6 to 9 hours. When hunting too much clothing creates a bulk problem that can prevent you from safely climbing a tree stand or even shoot a bow. The creation of heat to supplement that produced by your body is required to curtail the need for cumbersome bulky clothing. During my early trips to extreme cold weather whitetail hunting places located within Canada's prairie provinces, I used Hot Hands packets. When activated by shaking their granular contents, the resulting chemical activity produces pleasing warmth for 8 to 9 hours. Activated packets were placed in every available pocket. I credit these for making it possible to stay in a stand on one ultra-cold day when I endured freezing wind until dusk when I fatally arrowed a 167 point B&C buck. Once you are confident you can dress warmly enough to stay all day in your tree stand, the next challenge is fooling the eyes and nose of this quarry. This is time of year when there is little in the way of leaves to conceal bowhunters from being spotted. Great camo patterns are essential. When hunting where there is lots of snow such as Iowa, I recommend Realtree Hardwoods Snow pattern that is like their popular Hardwoods pattern, but taking out much of the bark and leaves. It is an extremely open pattern that blends perfectly with snow-covered terrain, which almost always has dark areas of bark, rock or dirt breaking up the predominance of white. Hardwoods Snow matches such terrain perfectly, and is the ideal concealment for hunters in areas where snow is a possibility. For when hunting southern hardwoods and other similar where you are often bare trees, I recommend Realtree Hardwoods HD that is so realistic that it is almost lifelike. Realtree Hardwoods is a great pattern nationwide, but is most effective from mid to late. Both of these patterns are available on an almost infinite array of cold weather clothing items. Cold winter air carries scents long distances. Fooling the nose of a buck is the last essential component for December and January bowhunting success. Over the years I have developed a system for virtual scent free hunting. It begins with laundering my hunting clothing Hunter Specialties Scent Free Detergent, then storing them in sealed plastic bags until prior to actually entering the woods. Immediately prior to leaving for the woods, I shower from head to toe with Hunter Specialties scent-free soap. One of the last things I put on prior to hunting is my Gore-Tex Suppressant Suit. It has an activated charcoal lining, that absorbs the human scent my body produces before it reaches the outer layers of my clothing. Of course I know that I am not 100 percent scent free, but these steps significantly reduce my scent. I am confident that in recent winters I have bow killed more bucks thanks to taking these steps than I would otherwise have been able to do.