Late Season Food Sources

[mstein26888]

I have been reading a lot regarding late season hunts and everyone suggests that if you find a food source, you will find deer. Can anyone tell me what kind of foods make good late winter food sources. My woods is surrounded by corn and bean fields that have been picked about a month ago. There are no apple, persimmon, or other fruit trees in the area.

I would love to take a doe for the freezer, but have a hard time locating deer this time of year. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[skeeter 7MM]

Here alfalfa/winter wheat/fall rye are the preferred food source to hunt in late season. However this year with no snow and a early frost the deer have lots of crop in fields to eat. I am currently hunting an area that has standing oats close by and it is getting hammered, the deer are actually bypassing the alfalfa field to eat the oats.

In previous years you would still see some eating on stubble (barley, wheat, oats, peas and even the odd canola field) but larger numbers where on the greens or hay. I don't have corn or bean fields to hunt so can't say what happens post harvest with these food sources, but if diminished I would look for hay, grasses or green crops.

[blueeyedhuck]

here just the pastures work just as well...but in tennessee the rut is just starting to turn up an the chase is on so the late season is 2 months away down here man but late season an usually rite after the season closes here u can see 20 to 30 deer together in one damn field just a pasture usually.