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Patterning Southern Winter Whitetails

Feb 1, 2012; 2:13 PM ET

Patterning southern winter whitetails means something entirely different in the upper part of the region than it does in the lower portions. Let's take a look at strategies for both parts of the region.

UPPER SOUTH

So here is the situation. The end of the deer season is approaching. The weather is the coldest it has been since the overall deer hunting commenced, the prime part of the rut has long since ended, food sources have narrowed, deer habits have changed, and you still determinedly want to kill a big buck. What should be your game plan?

The first thing that must be said is that for most of us, this is the hardest time to tag a bruiser. Most of us will have to venture to the same public and private lands where we have failed to tag a trophy earlier in the season. But as difficult as it may be to kill a late season buck, it is possible. Here are the factors we should have an understanding of in order to experience success.

The Weather

In this part of the deer-hunting universe, winters are rarely brutal. You can be thankful that you are not dealing with deep snow and a Maine or Michigan winter here.

But weather conditions do affect southern deer. It is very likely now that the deer in this region will move less at the coldest part of the day, which is most likely to be the early morning period. They will be more likely to feed in the middle of the day, especially if a front is approaching. Also, and as is true throughout the season, the last two hours of daylight almost always offer possibilities.

So if work or family commitments restrict your potential time afield, take care of those obligations in the mornings, be on stand by 10:00 and remain afield to the end of shooting light. That is the first step to possible success.

DEEP SOUTH

December and January hunting in the Deep South is not at all similar to pursuing whitetails in the upper part of the region, according to Slade Reeves, video producer for Primos Hunting.

"When the season is winding down in the upper Southern states, for us, this is when the peak of the rut occurs," he emphasized. "December and January are the prime months of the rut in much of the Deep South. In fact, a lot of hunters from the upper South come down here so they can experience peak rut hunting again in relatively mild winter weather.

"Some years in this region, we can have a strong secondary rut in late January. Of course, the weather has a lot to do with how strong the secondary rut is here."

Feeding And Bedding Areas

Reeves said the first step to success during December and January is understanding where the deer bed, feed, and travel during the peak of the rut. "Pine plantations, cedar thickets, and 3- to 5-year-old cutovers are really important bedding areas in the Deep South," he offered.

Bedding areas relatively near to food sources this time of year are prime locations. A 5- to 10-acre food plot is often a major deer draw in this region in December, and it will stay that way through January. That's assuming it has been planted with the right deer foods.

Among the most fetching of those foods, Reeves added, are clover, turnips, wheat, oats and various greens. In the Deep South, acorns and soft mass foods are for the most part long gone by December and January. Here a food plot near hardwoods and evergreen thickets reigns.

For a much more extensive explanation of patterning Southern Winter Whitetails, click here.

Bruce Ingram

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