Deer in the 11th-hour

To take deer consistently in December, hunt food sources in the Carolinas.

Concentrate on available food sources as whitetail season draws to a close. Hey, they gotta eat….

The temperature hovered around 25 degrees. As the light began to fade, crystals of frost started to form, and my breath rose into the cold morning air as I surveyed the edge of a field for any movement.

I was sitting on the edge of a late-season food plot. Planted in late summer, it was just beginning to pay off. Brassicas, in this case, radishes and turnips, planted in late summer are ignored until late in the season when the frost turns the otherwise bitter leaves to a sugary morsel deer cannot ignore. They will feed on the frost-covered foliage and then dig up the tubers for later consumption.

My stand was near an inside corner close to a bedding area only 200 yards behind me. A crosswind ensured that if the deer followed their normal pattern, they would enter the field with an hour or more of light within 25 yards and give me an easy shot with my Hoyt bow.

Ruth-Rogers with a cold-weather buck.

Many deer hunters see December as wasted effort. An unscientific poll I took — asking 15 of my hunting buddies — showed that roughly 85 percent of the hunters I polled stopped hunting completely by Thanksgiving. Reasons were: “It’s too cold,” and “The deer are so spooky it isn’t worth the effort.” The first excuse is easily remedied with proper clothing and layering systems. The second is just plain false. Deer may be moving in different patterns, but they are not more difficult to hunt; you just have to change your hunting tactics. You cannot hunt deer in December the same way you hunt them in September.

When it comes to 11th-hour deer, one thing is on their mind: food. During the rut, bucks throw caution to the wind in search of love. Later in the season, they want one thing: food. Recovering from a month of love, they feel the cold and want to pack on the calories. Food, food and more food.

Ralph Cianciarulo, host of “Archer’s Choice,” and “The Choice” television shows, said that, late in the season, he restricts his hunting to afternoons, and he only hunts around food sources.

“I love standing (soy)beans. If you can convince a farmer to wait to harvest until after deer season, or better yet, offer to purchase an acre or two of his beans and ask him to just leave them standing when he does harvest, that is a late season deer magnet,” he said. “If you are bowhunting, when you plant your crops, plant a large area, and then off to the side find a quarter-acre or so and plant it and hang your stand for the prevailing winds for the smaller plot. The deer will usually visit the smaller plot before going into the bigger one. If you add a water hole, you will double your visits, even in late season. Deer still have to drink.”

Brassicas are another food option late in the season. They are a group of perennial broadleaf plants that belong to the mustard family and include: cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, collards, rutabaga, mustard, kale, swede, radish, turnip, rape and canola. Of these plants, the latter five are most often used in food plots and seem to be preferred by deer. Planted in cool-season food plots, these crops can produce up to 10 tons of forage per acre. The most popular in the Carolinas are turnips, radishes and rape.

To take deer consistently in December, hunt food sources in the Carolinas.

Hunters who do not have the opportunity to plant food plots or are hunting public land should still focus on food sources late in the season. Find the late dropping mast trees in an area. Look for alternative foods such as locust or beech; these trees typically drop their mast in different years, but the deer know when the food is available and will be drawn to them. So too are some of the less desirable oak trees and hickory. While not as palatable as other acorns, pin oaks, water oaks and willow oaks all produce mast that deer will eat. Spending time learning late-season food sources will put deer in your sights.

Cianciarulo stresses that the drive for food and shelter are higher among all wild animals, including deer, as the season is drawing downa. Finding or providing a late-season food source will definitely put the odds in your favor.

The last factor is cover. As winter storms begin to wear on the wildlife, they need cover more than ever. If your land does not provide excellent cover, try making some. Hinge cuts, blowdowns and other areas make for great bedding areas for bucks trying to escape winter temperatures. Deer will bed on south-facing slopes to capture the majority of the day’s sunlight. South-facing slopes with good, late-season food sources are places to look.

Hunting bucks during the 11th hour can be some of the most productive times to be in the woods. Other hunters are home, the woods are quiet, and the bucks are hungry. Set up on or near a strong food source and let the games begin.

About Pete Rogers 161 Articles
Pete Rogers of Taylors, S.C., is employed with the USDA Wildlife Services and has been a sporting writer and photographer for over a decade. He has a real passion for trapping and enjoys sharing his outdoors experiences with his wife and five children.