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Late Season Deer Food Sources | Strategic Hunting Plans

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Which Late Season Deer Food Sources to Target

In many states, there’s still time for some late season deer hunting opportunities. Whether you can hunt with a firearm or bow, the late season can actually be a great time to fill your tag if you know how to go about it. Sure, there are challenges with hunting late season whitetails, including cold weather, pressured animals, and generally tougher conditions. But if you can find some good late season deer food sources, you might be able to stack the odds back in your favor and use a buck’s stomach against him. So if you’re wondering what deer eat, here are a few great natural and planted/provided food source options for late season deer, and some ways you can capitalize on them.

Late Season Deer Food Sources

First, realize that deer can get along just fine in some areas with their own natural habitat and nothing more. But they still probably won’t be living to the fullest potential. And on the flip side of the coin, there are many areas where the deer herd is too large or the habitat has been altered so much that planted food sources are the deciding factor for survival. In the late season, especially, deer are looking to pack on some weight fast to help them get through the winter. Even more so than does, bucks need a lot of calories fast to spring back from the rigors of the rut. So even the pressured and educated deer that make it to the late season may make exceptions for good late season deer food sources. Here are several great places to start your search for the late deer season.

Natural Food Sources 

In high quality deer habitat, native food sources are abundant. Though the bumper crops of soft mast (e.g., apples, persimmons, berries, etc.) and hard mast (e.g., oak acorns, etc.) from fall have all but disappeared, good habitat should have a lot of another important deer food: woody browse. Deer are highly adapted to survive winter by eating the tender twigs and buds of shrubs and trees, and even bark in bad conditions. Browse is a critical winter deer food for a good chunk of the country. If your region consists of mostly forest, there’s a good chance your local deer depend on it too. So how do you find late season deer food sources in thousands of acres of forest?

Try looking for recent clear-cuts, or areas that have been harvested or thinned in the last 5 years. These areas usually have an abundance of regrowth from the summer following the harvest, and in many cases, will be so thick that you can barely move through it. These tender young sprouts are usually full of protein and minerals and are extremely digestible for deer, which makes them highly attractive. If you can find an area like this, you can bet that deer will be spending a good chunk of their time there.

Agricultural Fields 

If you live in more of an agricultural area where row crops dominate the landscape, deer will really depend on these crops in the late season. Vast swaths of standing corn and soybeans are very inviting for deer and almost everyone can agree they are some of the best late season deer food sources where available. Whitetails can bed and feed in the corn, or hop over to the next field to munch on some soybeans. Corn and soybeans have a ton of carbohydrates to pack on the fat for the winter, while soybeans also offer a high fat content to bump up the calorie count.

 

But there’s a catch. Farmers are also trying to harvest their crops before the winter weather sets in and before the deer can completely consume it. Once it is harvested, some waste grain remains in the field, but even this can disappear fast if winter snow starts accumulating. When the fields are totally harvested, deer might travel long distances to wintering areas where they can survive better, which means your time to hunt them may be limited and dependent on the harvest schedule. This brings us to the next topic…

Food Plots 

If you have the land and the means, planting several acres of corn or soybeans and leaving them standing throughout the winter as a food plot provides a major draw for deer. If you have the only field left standing in a desert of plowed fields for miles around you, you can bet you will attract and hold deer for as long as the food remains. It’s a dream scenario for most hunters: having one of the best late season deer food sources around. But it doesn’t have to be just corn or beans. Other good late season food plots include grains (e.g., wheat, oats, rye, etc.), turnips, radishes, and winter peas.

  • Grains are often planted as a cover crop, so they can be dual-purpose for farming and hunting. They are most nutritious, palatable, and attractive to deer when they are very young and tender, so this obviously has limitations for truly late season hunting, unless you are located further south. However, winter rye for deer has good frost tolerance for late season opportunities in northern areas. 
  • Turnips and radishes can be attractive to deer earlier in the season, but they really become attractive after a frost. The starches are converted into sugar, which makes them much sweeter tasting. It’s common to hear “crunch, crunch, crunch” all day when hunting over brassica food plots that include turnips or radishes in the mix.  
  • Austrian winter peas are extremely attractive for deer, but you need a very large food plot or low deer density or else they will just be overgrazed before they can reach full production. Nonetheless, make sure some of your food plots include winter peas for deer if you want great late season attraction.

Supplemental Feeding/Baiting 

If none of the prior categories are all that great in your neighborhood, or you simply want to provide a boost to the local deer herd, you could also consider supplemental feeding for whitetails. If you will also be hunting over these areas in the late season, this is called baiting. Many states do not allow baiting or feeding deer in any fashion, so make sure you know the regulations before you pursue this option.

Undoubtedly, the best bait for the late season is a pile of corn with some GYT90 deer attractant poured over the top. Corn packs the nutrition deer are craving, and our deer attractant is full of minerals and crude soybean oil to provide a boost of calories (and some major attraction). You could also use deer food pellets in feeders for this purpose, but corn seems to hold up better. Either way, this is a great way to attract deer to a very specific area for an archery shot, for example.

If you have access to hunting over or near these late season deer food sources, you stand a really good chance of encountering a mature buck during daylight yet this season. It’s not too late!

Winter Deer Feeding

What Do Deer Eat in Fall And Early Winter?

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What Do Deer Eat? | Deer Food and Nutritional Requirements for Fall

White-tailed deer are wrapping up one of the most physically demanding time periods of the year; the fall rut and breeding season. This is a time when bucks run themselves ragged in search of does. In fact, a buck can lose up to 30% of his body weight during the rut from all of that chasing and not replenishing his nutritional requirements by taking time to eat. What makes things even more difficult for bucks after losing all of that body weight is they are about to enter into the winter season. Winter is one of the most stressful periods a buck can go through, particularly in the north where winters can be severe. So how can you ensure that bucks on your hunting property have everything they need to survive the winter? What do deer eat in the fall and early winter to build reserves? What is the ideal deer food that can you provide through supplements or habitat changes? This article will discuss some of the natural forages deer rely on during this time of year and why GYT90 supplements tend to work so well for your deer herd.

 

What’s for Dinner?

Deer eat a lot. On average, a deer can eat anywhere from 6 to 8% of its body weight every day. That means that a 150-pound deer can eat up to 12 pounds of food per day! To put that in perspective, that’s like you eating 48 quarter-pound hamburgers a day just to survive…Now think about how much forage it would actually take to weigh up to 12 pounds. That’s a lot of forage!  

So what does a deer eat? Deer will primarily eat browse (woody portion of leaves and stems), forbs (broad-leaved plants), mast (acorns, apples, etc), and grass. Although these are the main foods deer like to eat, the quantity of these different foods differ throughout the year and the region you are hunting.  

Deer Food in Your Region

For example, deer in the Midwest will have a larger portion of their diet comprised of agricultural crops then deer from a non-agricultural area like the northeast. Although a deer’s diet will vary throughout the year, woody browse tends to make up the majority of a deer’s diet throughout the winter, regardless of where they are found. Woody browse is usually more abundant throughout the winter months after crops are harvested and is high in fiber, but also nutritious, especially new stems and shoots from species like black berry, greenbrier, and understory saplings like ash. Think about how much a deer has to eat to survive. Finding up to 12 pounds of waste grain to eat is hard work and if you don’t have standing crops available for deer, then they are going to have to find food elsewhere.

 

Standing crops like corn and soybeans are a great source of energy during the early winter months like November and December and also throughout the rest of the winter. Specifically corn lacks a high level of protein, but has a high fat and carbohydrate content, around 4% fat and 75% carbohydrates. On the other hand, soybeans contain a high protein content (around 40%), and around 20% fat content but are lower in carbohydrates than corn. These high quality sources of energy are just what bucks need to help them recover after an intense breeding season and will help them survive the winter months. Remember, a buck can’t start growing his antlers in the spring until after he has replenished all of his fat reserves that he lost in the fall and winter. That means that the better the body condition a buck is in during winter, the sooner he can start growing his antlers in the spring. The sooner he can start growing his antlers means more time he has to grow them during the summer! 

Why GYT90 Supplements Work

So what can you do to help ensure bucks on your property go into and come out of winter in the best possible shape? That’s simple; make sure they have foods with high-quality fats and a high energy content available to them. This is where GYT90 shines. GYT90 uses a natural crude soybean oil to deliver its 90+ minerals. This crude soybean oil is high in natural fats (95%) and is full of calories meaning plenty of energy for deer consuming it. Both fats and calories are needed by whitetails during and after the rut. Now to really ramp up the effects of GYT90, you simply need to pour it over corn, another food item high in energy. This combination of GYT90 and corn is a quality combination. Deer are not only getting all of the quality fats and energy they need to help them survive the winter, but they are also getting all of the minerals they need to stay healthy. The potent combination delivers carbs, calories, and a very high fat content, enough to pull deer into the site whether you are feeding, hunting over bait, or just enhancing the deer herd health.

But how many supplemental feed and mineral sites do you need to really help your herd out? That tends to depend on how many acres you are hunting. A good rule of thumb is to have one supplemental site for every 100 acres of property. You can place a 50-pound sack of corn mixed with GYT90 at each site. This should be enough to help supplement the deer herd. Remember, that this combination should only be used as a supplement because you don’t want to, and probably can’t afford, to totally feed your deer herd with corn. Another thing to keep in mind is that, although corn is high in energy, it is difficult for deer to digest. If deer eat too much corn too fast, they can actually die from what’s called acidosis. To avoid this, be sure you place your supplemental sites near woody browse so deer can browse on both food items. This will ensure they can balance the pH levels in their rumen while consuming corn. Or start the corn and GYT90 mixture off slowly, feeding small amounts gradually every week to allow the deer’s rumen to adjust for digestion.

 

If your goal is to grow as big of deer as you possibly can, then deer management is a year-round thing that doesn’t end after you put up your bow or gun for the year. It requires you to think about what deer need throughout the year. Remember, if nutrition is lacking at any point in time throughout the year, then that reduces a bucks chances of reaching his maximum potential. Hopefully this article has opened your eyes to the importance of winter nutrition. Be sure to give GYT90 a shot this fall, it may just help your herd reach its potential.

 

Attracting Deer to Your Hunting Setup

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Tactics to Make Your Deer Set Up the Spot on the Spot

The pursuit of whitetail deer has hunters nationwide working to create opportunities and increase the odds of a whitetail encounter for the hunt. Whether you love hunting deer for the camaraderie and fellowship, for the challenge that the pursuit of a trophy provides, or to provide meat for your family; one thing remains the same, you need deer in your area to hunt. When it comes to influencing deer, their habits, and the area they live in; there are multiple strategies that can be effective at attracting deer to your hunting area and increasing hunting opportunities. Utilizing deer attractants in your hunting strategy will increase your odds of success, and your enjoyment of the hunt.

The term “deer attractant” is a generic term, and it can encompass a wide variety of tools and methods that are proven to attract deer into a certain area. Some of the means to attracting deer to a specific spot include the use of: food plots, baiting, mineral sites, and deer scents. Hunters can utilize one or many of these methods in combination to attract deer into their hunting area depending on factors like state and local laws, available resources, and terrain. Attracting deer to your spot on the spot, and providing a hunting opportunity is critical to your hunts success. With a little strategic planning, and the right tools put to work, you can increase your number of whitetail encounters and shooting opportunities.

  

Food Plots

The use of food plots as a deer hunting attractant is as old as deer hunting itself. Natural food plots such as acorn mass and large crop fields continue to be an effective draw for deer. The use of food plot crops planted specifically with deer hunting in mind is becoming more and more common. From larger plots of forage soybeans covering 10 or more acres, to small parcels of broken tree canopy planted to brassica; various crops including corn, milo, turnips, peas, clover, and alfalfa will attract and keep deer.

One of the surest ways to attract deer is through their stomach. Whitetail deer are ruminant animals and require both quality protein and fiber forage to survive. Supplying quality groceries to the deer herd you are hunting is the perfect way to increase the frequency of deer in your area, and the amount of time they spend in your core hunting zone.

Baiting

For the same reason that food plots are so effective, bait as a deer attractant can also be extremely effective. An easy meal provided by a corn pile, a gravity feeder filled with a grain mix, or a prepared liquid deer bait is impossible for deer to resist. The nutritional demands of the breeding season, surviving through harsh winter conditions, and regaining lost nourishment expended during the rut drive deer to seek the most nutrient dense feed supply possible.

Keep it Legal

Using bait to attract deer is extremely effective, and a proven tactic for all seasons; including summer feeding programs, pre rut, peak rut, and post rut recovery. However, laws vary widely from state to state, from public to private, and even by date. Make sure you know and abide by the state and local regulations when it comes to baiting deer, hunting over bait, and when you bait.  You may find your state allows hunting deer directly over a bait pile, a late season tactic that is sure to produce results. On the other hand, some states allow baiting, but restrict the distance to the bait. Still other states allow baiting, but all bait must be removed or consumed 10 days prior to season.

In states that only allow baiting out of sight of the hunter, or a certain distance away from the hunter; bait is a fantastic tool for manipulating deer movement. Bait stations between bedding and feeding areas can draw deer within range of your stand. Utilizing pinch points and travel corridors, and strategically placing stands for prevailing winds, using bait in a state that does not allow hunting over bait can produce amazing opportunities while staying well within the law.

Mineral

Just like all other animals, deer require certain essential minerals to remain healthy and to best utilize the nutrients they digest from feed. Essential minerals like calcium and sodium are natural attractants to deer, and in many states offering these minerals to deer is not classified as baiting. Be careful however when offering mineral as a bait station, some states classify mineral as bait if it is incorporated into the soil from rains. This can be tricky if the state you’re hunting doesn’t allow hunting over, or near a leached mineral site. There are ways to still offer the minerals deer crave, and remain on the right side of the law.

 

Whether your state allows hunting over bait, or not; or classifies mineral as bait, or not; make sure and consider using essential minerals as an attractant in accordance with regulations. Mineral sites and offerings are perfectly paired with other types of deer attractants to make your hunting area truly dynamic for whitetails.

Deer Scents

According to research conducted at Mississippi State University, deer can smell somewhere between 500 and 1000 times better than humans. It has been said that whitetail deer see the world through their noses. We have all been there, watching a deer that has no idea we are nearby, then the wind switches. One little gust of scent carrying wind and that deer is off, no questions asked. Harnessing scents that attract deer has been tested for decades, and year after year, hunters fill their tag and swear by a scent product that helped them do it.

By coupling a deer’s amazing sense of smell with their biological phases, the wind currents, and a strategically placed stand; deer scents can be used to bring that old wary buck into range. There are numerous deer scent products on the market, but a couple of the most popular include doe in estrus urine, and rutting buck scent. By tricking a buck’s nose into thinking there is an estrus doe nearby, or a competing buck in the area, you can play on a deer’s most advanced defense to create an opportunity to fill your tag.

Build an Arsenal and Develop a Strategy

Food plots, baits, mineral, and scents are all effective tools that you can put to work in the deer woods this season. By coupling multiple tools into an effective arsenal you will be able to influence where the deer travel and find an opportunity to fill your tag. Make no mistake, whitetail deer are elusive, wary, and always on their guard; but by working a strategy to make your stand the spot on the spot, it is possible to even the odds.