Bucks often eat woody browse—buds, leaves, twigs, etc.—in winter. However, don’t overlook mixed food plots or standing crops, either. (Shutterstock image)
November 28, 2022
By Josh Honeycutt
Winter is a tough time for whitetail bucks . After using lots of energy chasing does during the rut season , many start becoming lean. Rib and hip bones protrude against the skin, sunken eyes scan the landscape from hollow sockets, and bucks focus on only one thing: food. For them, finding it means life. Failing to means death.
When weather is bad or food sources are scarce, deer often try to prevent weight loss by moving and searching less for food. When this happens, a whitetail's metabolism can drop significantly—in severe cases up to 40 to 50 percent. Still, despite these measures, by the end of winter deer can lose up to 25 to 30 percent of their pre-rut weight.
Now, especially, good food is crucial for weight retention and overall health. Fortunately for hunters, where there’s quality food, usually solid deer numbers follow. Protein is a major need in other seasons, and it’s still important during the colder months. However, come winter, carbohydrates and fat become more critical, too.
Hunters should keep this stringent need for nutrition in mind when planning late-season strategies and setups . To help, here are 12 of the best sources of the nutrients deer need late in the season.
Advertisement
1. ACORNS Mast crops are important throughout the whitetail's Midwest range. While chestnuts are the best and most attractive option, there aren’t many of those around. Oaks, however, are plentiful. White oak acorns are the favored acorn option due to their lower levels of tannin, which causes bitterness. However, these rarely last into the late season. Many species within the red oak family do, though, especially during years of heavy mast production. Some specific reds to look for include the southern, northern, black, cherry bark, live, Nuttall, pin, scarlet, Shumard and water.
2. BEETS Northern states are strongholds for sugar beets, especially around the Great Lakes. These are 18 to 25 percent protein and moderate in carbohydrates. Thanks to the roughly 20 percent sucrose of their composition, beets are also attractive due to their higher sugar content. Edible tonnage per acre is high because of the lush leaves and large bulbs.
3. BRASSICAS Brassicas are a family of plant species that includes canola, kale, radishes, turnips and more. These are often planted in blends, but standalones are great, too. Each of these are very attractive and offer foods in two stages: first the leaves, then the roots (or bulbs). Radishes and turnips are the two most prominent deer feeds in this category. The former offers 25 to 32 percent protein and low carbohydrates. The latter boasts 15 to 22 percent protein with low to moderate carbohydrates. Regardless of which brassicas are planted, it’s important to rotate these out to prevent soil depletion and disease.
Advertisement
4. CEREAL RYE Cereal rye is an annual grass that many hunters like planting for whitetails. It’s commonly confused with rye grass, but these are two different things, and cereal rye is far superior. While it’s only about 15 percent protein, it’s certainly high in carbohydrates. It doesn’t offer a lot of tonnage, though, making it an excellent choice for a blend.
5. CUT OR STANDING CORN Corn is king throughout much of America, at least in terms of crop acreages. While this is technically a warm-season plant, its golden kernels offer exceptional late-season attraction. While it only has 8 to 10 percent protein, it’s high in carbohydrates, which deer need the most in winter, and offers a decent amount of fat. Of course, corn cut early on for silage has little value. Shelled corn is better, but only if enough waste grain was left behind. If the cornfield has been plowed, it has little to no value. Standing corn is the best option, given that it still has the ear on the stalk with maximum food tonnage still on the landscape.
6. FORBS In contrast to grasses, sedges and rushes, forbs are natural broadleaf plants. Deer commonly consume these and even rely on them to a degree, especially during the late season. Some of these plants carry their greenery into winter.
7. NATIVE GRASSES Native grasses are very important for whitetails in the late season. Think CRP, CREP and other similar programs. These offer important ground-level foods that deer need. They are the reachable, palatable foods that can help carry deer through the colder months.
8. OATS During the late season, oats provide a widely available source of food across much of the nation. Thanks to their roughly 15 to 18 percent protein makeup, their high level of carbohydrates and easy growability, they’re quite popular to plant. Deer love oats, and they’re especially likely to target stands of oat varieties without the pesky hair-like tassels.
9. STANDING SOYBEANS Most hunters believe corn sits at the top of the deer food spectrum, but it doesn’t. Soybeans are, in fact, far superior in almost every way, including palatability, energy consumption and nutritional value. Beans offer 25 to 30 percent protein and are high in carbohydrates and fat. Of course, cut soybeans rarely leave behind waste grain, but older combines and certain harvest practices produce more. Standing bean fields are very important to deer, though. In rare cases, some fields might go unpicked due to extensive rainfall and wet soil. Focus on these.
10. WHEAT A solid food source across much of the nation, wheat is a cool-season grain hunters shouldn’t ignore. Whether planted by farmers on properties you hunt or part of a food plot selection, it’s a great late-season option. It offers 18 to 20 percent protein and is high in carbs. Deer prefer it during earlier growth stages, but whitetails will still pick it apart later in the year.
11. WINTER PEAS Another good choice is winter peas, offering 25 to 30 percent protein and moderate carbohydrate levels. Peas can grow upward of 5 feet tall, yielding ample late forage. Planting this next to another late-season food source works great.
12. WOODY BROWSE Last but certainly not least, woody browse is the shining late-season food source. This is what deer are designed to eat during the colder months—buds, leaves, twigs and other woody plant parts. While specific target species vary by locations, preferred bushes include blackberry, greenbrier and honeysuckle. Choice trees include dogwood, honey locust, maples, poplars, sumac, yellow birch, white cedar, white pine and more. Of course, smaller saplings with high bud counts that are reachable are best.
SET THE TABLE Overall, winter is difficult for whitetails. Food sources are depleting, making life harder for deer and easier for hunters. If you have the food, you have the deer. The challenge is finding quality stand locations, entry routes and exit strategies that don’t alert deer to your presence. But that’s a discussion for another time.
This feature on deer hunting is featured in the Midwest edition of December/January's Game & Fish Magazine , currently on sale across the country. Get more stories like this with a subscription .
