Neighborhood found me
- Thread starter Bill
- Start date
Bill
Administrator
I've never actually drawn in a big buck with food over the winter. I think they hang tight to their core area for the winter.
I lease some land close enough for a
Camera to send me picks but over a mile from my food plots. The one mature buck I was getting pics of last year stayed there all winter with little crop type food. He never once visited my food plots over the winter. I figure my plots were out of his home range. I'm sure most of the deer that come have been here before.
That field has 3 acres of dormant clover and 1.5 acres of rye. Behind the camera is 2.5 acres of beans and 1 acre of brassica's.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
^^^^^ It's still good to have those food sources keeping the younger bucks and especially the does fed all winter. If the does like your chow varieties, chances are good they'll bring fawns there and then come fall ............. the boys come calling !!
I get big bucks to come to my winter food plots of RR corn and RR ag soy beans. I know this for a fact because I have found really nice sheds right next to these plots in the spring. I have seen 40+ deer in my corn field when there is snow on the ground and it is the last food source available. Most years all my winter food plots are stripped clean by the end of February.
Bill
Administrator
Do you think they travel from far off to your plots? Or maybe the plots are in their home range.
I believe they came from an area within a mile or two of my farm. Both sheds had good mass, and neither of their owners had been seen on my land previously.
There is dense cover adjacent to my over winter food plots some on my land but most on neighbors who do not hunt, and I believe a number of deer make these places their preferred yarding areas for the winter. I have seen large numbers of deer ( 20 to 40+) on my land in the winters.
There is dense cover adjacent to my over winter food plots some on my land but most on neighbors who do not hunt, and I believe a number of deer make these places their preferred yarding areas for the winter. I have seen large numbers of deer ( 20 to 40+) on my land in the winters.
Bill
Administrator
That seems about like what I see. The mature deer last winter was probably on the edge of his area where I was getting pics. I always find it interesting that northern big timber deer seem to migrate and farm land deer. (All I've ever known) seem to be home Bodys. I guess big woods northern deer would die if they stayed put.
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
In the winter the deer are usually bedded within 50 yrds. of my main plot. I usually dont pull anything in that I dont have pictures of earlier in the year but most of the deer on the farm seem to move to the area of the plot for the winter to conserve energy.
4wanderingeyes
5 year old buck +
I have over a foot of snow covering my plots right now, and I havent gotten a picture of deer in over a week from the food plots. I will get a picture here and there from trail cameras, but I think the deer have decided my land is not their homes this winter. Probably figured since no one planted any pine trees this year, no sense hanging out. They plucked out every tree I planted in 2016.
