Late last month, I pulled up to a field site at first light to start a long day of turkey habitat surveys. My work as a wildlife research technician takes me to both public and private land, but this site happened to be on one of my favorite wildlife areas: a lakeside section with forested draws and fields of native tallgrass.
I slowed my truck to a crawl so I could scan the fields for a reddish-brown back or a tail flicking. I usually spot a doe or two out feeding when I get there early–but that time, I saw tines. Enormous tines. He raised his head, and I locked eyes with the biggest mainframe eight I had ever seen on huntable public ground.
The dog days of summer bring unique resource requirements for a whitetail buck, and a brief window to dial in on them for early-season success. No doubt there were a few unknowable reasons why the buck I saw was standing exactly where he stood that morning. But, the basic advantages of the location he chose were obvious, and a perfect example of what to look for while preparing for opening day.
The first thing to consider relates to exactly what that buck was doing when I spotted him: feeding.
Summertime Snacks
A huge part of the whitetail industry revolves around nutrition. It’s nearly impossible to get through preseason preparations without hearing something about food plots, feeders, and minerals. However, supplemental feeding is intended to be just that–supplemental to a whitetail’s natural diet.
When searching for a hotspot of daytime buck activity, natural food sources are a great place to begin. Late-summer bucks are entering the final stages of antler development and will soon transition to packing on pounds by late September in preparation for the rut. All of that growth makes protein a key nutrient in the early season, so protein-rich forage is a magnet for whitetail activity.
This includes widespread forbs such as tick-trefoils, ragweeds, and goldenrods, which thrive along hard transitions and within healthy grasslands–like the one that big eight was grazing in. These native food sources are extra valuable where high-protein crops, such as soybeans and alfalfa, are scarce. Even in a row-crop heavy area, a secluded patch of forbs is still favorable for all-day use by a wary whitetail.
Soft masts are also a high-value food source for deer in the heat of summer, offering a refreshing punch of sugars and vitamins. Pokeweed, persimmon, and wild grapes are a few common soft mast producers that are highly attractive to whitetails. Their fruits ripen between late summer and early fall, making them ideal to locate for both preseason scouting and early-season hunting. Shrublands, soft transitions, and open-canopy forests are all good places to find pockets of primetime berries that are likely to draw predictable deer movement.
Succulent forbs and soft masts are also a significant source of hydration in a whitetail’s summer diet, but not enough to survive on. To make it through the hottest days of the year, even trophy bucks need some plain old water.
Hydration Stations
Remember where that big eight was standing? In a field full of goldenrod goodness, sure. But also within spitting distance of a quiet lakeshore. Preseason into early season is often the hottest and driest time of year, and the metabolic demands within a buck’s body only increase as the rut draws closer. During this time of intense need and scarcity, a savvy whitetail will not stray far from a reliable source of life’s most essential nutrient.
E-scouting with an app such as onX Hunt is the best place to start pinpointing possible ambush locations over water. Isolated ponds, secluded coves on lakes and reservoirs, and low-water crossings on large creeks and rivers are prime spots to investigate. But not all of these water sources are created equal in the eyes of a whitetail.
Location and context within the broader landscape are key to determining whether a water hole is worth the investment of a trail camera or tree stand. A stock pond on a walk-in property might hold the most dependable water for miles around, but if it sits within a thousand acres of overgrazed cattle pasture, it’s unlikely to offer workable deer activity.
Like any other resource, a water hole has to offer the right cover for a buck to feel comfortable slipping in for a few sips during shooting light.
Concealment and a Cool Breeze
There are a lot of variables when it comes to whitetail bedding behavior, but one of the biggest is temperature. Heat stress not only pressures deer to bed closer to water, but also influences the type of cover they prefer to bed in. The late-season strategy of targeting south-facing slopes for deer looking to curl up in the morning sun is not a winner for early September, when the sun is still an oppressive force in whitetail country.
The objective for an early-season buck is to stay cool and concealed, which means the right balance of visual cover, shade, and good ventilation. Dense forest understories can look like the perfect place for a deer to hide from the outside. But step into the jungle, and you’ll find an unpleasant combination of high humidity and stagnant air. Bucks looking for summer thermal cover typically gravitate to grass-dominant swales, creek bottoms, and shrublands instead, where they can hunker down in the shade and still catch a cool breeze.
Find some cozy summer bedding close to good food and water, and you might be in for a spicy September opener.
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