December Deer Hunters Almanac

December

December typically signifies the wind down of the rut and the close (or closing days of deer season). The deer are getting back to normal (filling their bellies for the winter ahead) after taking time out to reproduce the species (the rut). Hunting can be pretty dramatic in December as the deer seek out high carbohydrate food sources to pack on pounds for the winter. December also is the time deer nuts get back in the woods to work on habitat projects.

Deer in December

December typically marks the wind up of the rut (in most areas) and the time when most deer are packing on the pounds for winter. They do this by loading up with carbohydrates whenever they can (carbohydrate rich foods include: corn, acorns brassacas and sugar rich grains).  In a month or two many deer will be subsisting on twigs, stems and bark so the more weight they can gain in December, the better, did we mention, some deer will be trying to stay alive in belly deep snow? The need to feed might be paramount in December, but the need to breed will always get a deer’s attention. The occasional doe will come into estrus in December and she will always attract a crowd of “Johnny come latelys. Young deer often their first estrus in December (body mass approaching 70# is typically referred to as weight threshold for reproducing), older deer who have not conceived or miscarried will also breed in late in the year. Overall, the herd returns to normal in December, the doe-fawn groups return to normal and the bucks peacefully co-inhabit the same space as the does. Food is king, and everybody is busy loading up for winter.

Woods Work

Serious deer managers waste no time getting back into the woods to do their deer habitat work, rifles are put away and chainsaws taken out. The tree you put on the ground in December will feed deer all winter long. Pruned apple trees will blossom next spring and feed deer next fall. The woods clearing you make in December will be huntable next fall, woods thinning means edible tops on the ground and sprouts come spring. The deer work starts now not next June or July, so get out there and get some fresh air and exercise!

Hunting 365

• December is one of greatest months to hunt deer. Most seasons have wound down and the crowds have gone away, the deer are back to normal, and there is always a big boy who outsmarted the gang, maybe you have room for one more doe in the freezer.
• Snow on the ground increases visibility and invites tracking  Mr.Big from his bed in a swamp to wherever he heads, there is something magical about hunting deer on snow and December often means that kind of magic.
• Savvy hunters hunt food sources in December, bucks are busy putting on the weight the rut just knocked off them (25%) and the does and fawns are busy putting on the pounds for winter.
• Hunt anything still green and of course high energy foods like acorns, late apples and corn are sure bets, brassacas is always a late draw to hungry deer.
• You might catch a little late season rut action but in December that is usually individual deer specific, not a conditions shared by the whole herd like it is in the November rut. Of course some geographic areas celebrate their ruts in December.
• Even though the deer are back to normal, December deer are generally still wary from being hunted all fall, “super stealth” is the order of the day when hunting late season deer that have been hunted hard, one misstep and they are over the hill.