Don’t forget brassicas for late-season deer

Turnips are great food plot alternative for late season

Kip Adams of QDMA said some of the best foods for late-season deer are brassicas and soybeans. Most hunters in the Carolinas give up on soybeans after the beans turn brown, and Adams said this is a mistake. Soybeans offer tremendous protein opportunities for whitetail bucks during the late season.

“The husk of a soybean offers more protein than a white oak acorn,” he said.

Food plots have become the norm in many areas; most land managers or hunters have planted food plots with one thing in mind: killing big deer. But plots that have been planted for late season are more than great spots for killing big deer, they are critical for the over health of your herd. Brassicas are some of the best late-season food sources. Turnips are a favorite among southern hunters because deer love them.

Brassicas will grow unimpeded by hungry deer because their leaves are bitter until after the first hard frost. At that point, the plants’ starches are transformed into sugars, and the deer love them. After the leaves are eaten, deer dig up the tubers and eat the roots. Turnips are affordable and a great alternative food plot for killing late-season bucks.

A third opportunity for bowhunting food sources is supplemental feeding, aka baiting. Hunters have a variety of opinions, but where legal, many hunters opt for this option to help feed deer and increase their odds of killing one. Shelled corn and protein pellets are popular when feeders are used. Baitpiles can include alfalfa, sugar beets, carrots, apples and pears.