Sustenance, Shelter and Sex:
Three Strategies for December Bucks

Sustenance
Deer really chow down in December. When the first cold weather hits, their metabolism has not yet slowed to low winter rates, so they need to eat a lot just to keep the inner fire burning. Bucks must eat more than usual to replenish weight and fat lost during the rut. Find feeding areas, and sooner or later you’ll find deer. In farm country, the main food sources deer seek out now are corn, winter wheat, rye or hay fields. If you can find standing corn, get permission to hunt in or near it. Set up stands between cornfields and known or likely bedding areas and be there early and late in the day. Deer will sometimes spend all day in standing corn, where they are rarely disturbed and thus feel safe.

For an exciting hunt, try “cornstalking” on a breezy day. Start at the downwind end of a field and walk across the rows. When you’ve crossed the field, move down 50 yards and work back the other way. Put your head in each row and look both ways before you step into it. If you spot a deer, back out of the row, come to a full draw, then step back into the row, ready to shoot. This is a great way to totally surprise deer, even those that have been hunted hard. Winter wheat, rye and hay fields are especially attractive now, as they are about the only thing left that’s green. Look for trails leading into a field and backtrack as far as you dare to set up a stand to ambush deer moving to and from the field. In oak woods, deer will dig through light snow and leaves for acorns, leaving unmistakable sign. Find a spot like this close to dense bedding cover, and set up a stand. They’ll also sometimes bed down on an oak ridge or slope, so this is another good spot for a stand.

Shelter
Even in fair weather, deer often seek out heavy bedding cover. In foul weather, it pulls them in from long distances. Dense cedar and spruce swamps are favorites, but deer will bed in any conifers, dense alder and aspen stands, cattails, red osier dogwood (“buckbrush”) thickets and grassy ditches and swales. Hunting bedding areas is tough because it is hard to approach deer without being detected. Often, the best you can do is to set up a stand near a known bedding area and hope a buck gets hungry before dark.

On windy days or in a snowstorm, however, it is sometimes possible to sneak right into dense cover from the downwind side. Pick a spot on the ground where you can see and shoot a short distance, preferably near a trail, and wait. Deer rarely remain bedded all day. When they get up to stretch, relieve themselves or browse, you may get a shot. In farm country where there is no other winter cover, deer, including whopper bucks, will bed in tall grass or brush right along fences, usually on the downwind side. Two hunters can walk toward each other on a straight fenceline, and three or four hunters can do so on intersecting fences. Bucks will often sit as tight as a rabbit and hope you’ll pass by. When jumped, they may pause long enough for a shot or run down the fenceline toward your partners. A bleat or whistle may stop a running deer long enough for a shot.

Camo, gear and stands
If there is snow, wear white coveralls, especially in open farm country. Otherwise, any camouflage that breaks up your outline will do. Stay warm and you’ll hunt longer. Felt-lined pacs, heavy gloves, handwarmers and a face mask or balaclava are wise choices. A warm hunting suit, like the Heater Body Suit or one made of tightly woven wool, will keep out the wind. A dry graphite lubricant will eliminate wheel and cam squeaks, which are louder in cold weather. A long arm guard keeps heavy clothing from catching a bowstring and throwing off a shot. Put up tree stands where there is some back cover to break the wind and your outline. On the ground, sit or stand in front of cover that breaks your outline so you can draw without hindrance. Concentrate on feeding and bedding areas, but keep the late rut in the back of your mind, and there’s a good chance you’ll get a crack at a buck before Christmas.

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