"With some snow they migrate to their winter ranges, but only in really severe winters like we had in the mid-1990s will you find them in 'deer yards,' as they are often called," said Mark Lenarz, DNR wildlife research biologist at the Grand Rapids-based Forest Research Group.

To put it into perspective, the winter of 2003-04 was mild over most of the state except for the Arrowhead Region. Lenarz said the portion of our state northeast of a line from Duluth to International Falls experienced a moderately severe to severe winter, and the deer responded accordingly.

The best thing to remember is that deer have a spring/summer/fall range and a winter range, Lenarz said. In most years, they stay in their spring/summer/fall range throughout the year, even the winter. Chances are if you saw deer around zones 2, 3 and 4 last winter, they were in the same range as seen during the rest of the year, possibly in greater numbers.

Cook said a good blast of snow in early November as well as another one in late November tends to be all you need to drive the deer to their wintering grounds. "If there's a lot of snow on the ground, the deer will move across miles of territory for their wintering grounds," he said.

In most of the forested areas of Minnesota, a typical range will include at least one stand of coniferous trees, otherwise known as evergreens -- pines, spruces and firs. Deer spend time in these areas throughout the year, but are more likely to be found there during the winter due to the unique benefits of coniferous trees. Because conifers retain their needles throughout the year, snowfall is reduced and more thermal power is stored, making the area warmer than the rest of the forest, thus enabling deer to hold up there and not burn as much energy.

A lack of hunting pressure is something late-season deer hunters really enjoy, but it also means they need to work harder and more quietly than other parts of the season.

"There is nobody else in the woods to move the deer around your way, so you have to find them rather than sit and wait for them to show up," Cook said.

Snowfall is one of the distinct advantages provided in winter, and if there are no deer tracks in the area, the odds are quite good that there are no deer in the area. It seems obvious, but Cook said a common mistake of late-season hunters is to sit in a spot they've seen deer before, or looks good for deer but is lacking fresh deer tracks.

The reason to stay quieter during the late season is because the deer are more sensitive to human pressure. Throughout October and November, the deer are used to a lot of humans in the woods making noise and are able to move around them. This changes in December, however, and Cook said just two or three guys in the woods can pressure the deer into another area.

Muzzleloaders and bowhunters are able to roam throughout the state, and Cook said it's something they should take full advantage of.

"If you push the deer out of your area, you might have to move a mile or two to relocate them, but depending on which way the wind blows, I might go 200 miles from one day to the next if I'm not happy with an area or feel good about another area," he said.

Watching the weather can also help you determine a good place to hunt because there are few things better than hunting during a snowstorm. It sounds crazy, but both Cook and Luttrell said the deer are very easy to stalk when the winds are howling and the snow is blowing. During a storm, deer tend to bed down and are very unwilling to move unless forced out.

"I was hunting in the Paul Bunyan State Forest last year and I walked up on seven of them bedded down, and they didn't get up until I was 35 yards away," Cook said.