“It ain’t over till it’s over,” the saying goes, and here in the Mid-South, there are still plenty of late-season deer hunting opportunities available. Harry Pozniak, owner of River Valley Farms in Cadiz, Kentucky, had a pretty good week of late-season muzzleloader hunting.

Harry said many of the hunters in camp last week have been youngsters looking for their first deer. And among those youngsters was his stepson, Nathan Barnes, age 9, who found success last Thursday. “We were hunting from an old, dilapidated horse barn that’s surrounded by a thicket and overlooking a clover and turnip field,” Harry says. “The buck came out, and we watched him for 40 minutes until Nathan settled down enough to shoot! He made a 60-yard heart shot, and we have a future deer hunter who’s totally addicted now. It’s cool to not only get kids involved, but to see them have success.” That’s Nathan with his trophy, above. Harry and Nathan’s mom, Jana, are two very proud parents.

Harry went on to comment on the deer behavior this week: “The mature does are back with last year’s fawns, and overall, the deer are back to their regular feeding patterns,” he says. “Leftover acorns, clover plots, bait and mineral stations, and, best of all, standing soybeans are getting a lot of activity right now. And the below-freezing temperatures finally have the deer hitting the turnip plots. Aside from last weekend, when it was warm and windy, deer have moved pretty well throughout the late muzzleloader season. We’ve seen quite a few deer at midday, between 10:30 a.m. and noon, too. The next few weeks look promising for bowhunters if cold weather will set in and stay.”