Deer HAVE to eat all year round. Even during the rut, which is prime hunting season, deer must eat. Here is an awesome tip I am going to share with you... There is a rhyme and a reason to where deer eat, how much deer eat and what deer eat based on the time of the year. Use this to your advantage in bagging that trophy buck you have been after.
Every combined hunting season has three distinct periods:
1. Early Season
2. The Rut
3. Late Season
Early Season
Early season is the premier "feasting" period. Early season to a deer is food heaven. There is so much rich, delicious, ripe and abundant food available, they can literally gorge themselves. And guess what... they will! Deer instinctively know that they have to build up their fat reserves to get them through the winter, when food sources are scarce, and lowering temperatures require more energy to stay warm. During early season bucks do not have breeding on the brain so their mental focus is on eating and staying hydrated.
Here is where the magic of nature kicks in.
Think about what happens when you bring out the watermelon for a family picnic. Seconds later, bees start buzzing around, ready to get their piece of the action. Drop a piece of food on the ground and the ant colony rounds it up for dinner in a couple of minutes. Fill up the bird feeder and the birds swoop in for an afternoon snack.
Deer are the same way. They know when and where to find that acorn tree dripping ripe nuts all over the place, or the fruit tree ready to drop its harvest on the ground.
Remember this when that monster buck you've been eyeing suddenly VANISHES. Granted, he may have switched to nocturnal dining, but more likely he simply switched food sources. Deer switch to acorns or the next ripe fruit in a blink of an eye. Bottom line... finding the food source of the day and knowing when other food sources are ripe is the key to hunting the early season. Early season hunting is always more productive if you watch for that oak tree dropping its acorns, or the apple tree with the ruby red fruit.
The Rut
If you are an average hunter, you switch to hunting rub lines, scrapes or rattling exclusively when the rut begins. This works but you may be over looking one key fact. Big bucks are after one thing... a doe in heat. But does are still after… RIPE FOOD. They could care less about finding a randy buck because food sources are becoming scarce. Usually a frost killed the green leaves from forage, and many of their favorite crops have been harvested.
Bottom line... find what does are feeding on and you will find the bucks.
Late Season
I used to believe that the best time to hunt for big bucks using feeding patterns was early fall. Late season is actually the most productive time to use feeding patterns for taking the really big buck. This is true for two reasons. First, all deer are in survival mode at this time of the year. It is extremely cold and they flat out need to eat on a regular basis in order to stay alive. Second, nippy air has cut down on hunting pressure. Many of your fellow hunters are tucked in safe and cozy by their fire, which increases your odds of spotting the monster buck. Late season hunting creates more opportunity for you to hunt prime feeding areas that are high in protein such as grains, corn and soybeans. What's even better is that your monster buck has to concentrate on food all day long, so you will have hunting opportunities throughout the day.
Bottom line... find the high protein food sources in the late season and your next big bucks could be ripe for the picking anytime of day!
Regardless of whether you prefer to hunt early season, the rut or late season, there is one prime directive when it comes to bagging your next big buck…
Follow that Food Deer Eat!
Copyright (c) 2011 Todd Jensen
Todd Jensen holds the current non-typical whitetail P&Y Record for the State of Montana. Get his free Special Report "17 Killer Whitetail Hunting Tips Every Bowhunter Should Know!" These tips will help you take that dream buck of a lifetime. FREE Special Report:==> http://www.whitetailbowhunter.com
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