Exiting Food plots in the evening

[Joe Buck]

One of our larger food plots and adjacent cornfield is about 25 acres. We have numerous stands around the field and have a hard time getting out of there in the evening. We have private property on 3 sides that we can't exit from. The other side is our woods and swamp where many of the deer are coming from so we don't like to exit that way either as we will bump deer coming to the fields after dark. We have been waiting till it is quite dark and try to get out without spooking deer already in the field. We have a road that comes to the field and I've had another member of our party drive in with their lights on and turn around, head back out, the deer left the field and then I was able to leave. Have only done that a couple of times last year but thought I'd give it a try. Not sure it is a good idea. Am wondering if anyone else has any unique ideas ? Thanks for any help.

 

[roymunson]

If you can, get someone to come to the base of your stand w/ a quad. It'll bump the deer back beyond the headlights, but won't booger them like a human walking around. That's waht we do. I've picked guys up who said they watched deer go about 50 yards into the woods and stop, then they're back on camera within 30 minutes after you leave.

 

[Catscratch]

I almost completely quit hunting feed field due to the exact same problem you are having. I've found it much more productive over the long haul to hunt as far away from the night feeding grounds as possible to avoid spooking them every time I exit.

I've done the truck pick up thing with success though. If possible try to use a vehicle that frequents the farm.

I've also cut and moved brush (cedar trees) to make a screen to sneak out behind. Invariably deer start using the screen for the same reason I do and I still ended up spooking deer. It's a tough situation. Good luck.

 

[roymunson]

I've also cut and moved brush (cedar trees) to make a screen to sneak out behind. Invariably deer start using the screen for the same reason I do and I still ended up spooking deer.

That's so true, and so funny... Really thought you were getting over on them, and suddenly, they use it against you... For a big dumb animal, they sure do make us look silly sometimes, don't they?

 

[Boll Weevil]

On a 25ac field this might not be effective but on smaller plots yipping and howling like coyote can often clear the area. Often the deer won't turn inside out trying to get outta there but it makes them just nervous enough that they ease away providing enough time for you to climb down and leave the area.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

On a 25ac field this might not be effective but on smaller plots yipping and howling like coyote can often clear the area. Often the deer won't turn inside out trying to get outta there but it makes them just nervous enough that they ease away providing enough time for you to climb down and leave the area.

I do exactly the same except I do a loud "who cooks for you?" owl hoot. I have found it agitates them enough to leave on their own without sending them into the next county. Works on my small little plots and wild apple orchards I hunt. Not sure it would work on a larger destination food plot.

 

[Tree Spud]

On a 25ac field this might not be effective but on smaller plots yipping and howling like coyote can often clear the area. Often the deer won't turn inside out trying to get outta there but it makes them just nervous enough that they ease away providing enough time for you to climb down and leave the area.

I do the same as I really cannot get out without being detected. I will also do several snorts like a doe would do before I come into view. This keeps me from being seen and clears the field with minimum issues.

 

[SwampCat]

I shine my light on them and walk out. Lot of times, they never even leave the food plot. I am in and around my food plots all the time. I have had my dog tree a coon in a food plot at night, barking for ten minutes straight, me shoot it out, and get pics of the biggest buck on the place 15 minutes later, 30 yards from the tree that had the coon in it. But I live on my property - the deer see me everyday - year round.

 

[Boll Weevil]

But I live on my property - the deer see me everyday - year round.

Excellent point and this can make all the difference in the world. Deer don't often see human activity on my place and aren't nearly so tolerant as yours seem to be.

 

[Rit]

I live smack in the middle of my property also. I see deer from the bedroom, walking out to the barn, and in the driveway. The deer still run a little bit but they don’t freak out. They sometimes watch me from 40 yards as I slowly drive by on the quad from the main field.

There is no doubt that on most days my scent or the scent from a family member blows into a bedding area. It hasn’t seemed to have a huge impact on my hunting. But with that said the deer seem to know where my scent should and shouldn’t be. I think they can smell how close you really are. The same doe that saw me on the quad will turn inside out if she catches the same scent from a stand. I have a 9 acre destination field with about 3 acres of food and I stopped hunting it all together. It was too difficult to exit and enter and I found it much more productive to hunt between bedding and the field. I have even stopped hunting mornings on my place just because the deer beed everywhere in the dark. Next to our garden, 20 yards from the front door. I always seemed to bump deer in the dark.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I think getting picked up is a good option. For long term could you plant a few rows of conifers around the field edge so you can enter and exit without spooking deer?

 

[JFK52]

I use my Suburban which had been driven on my farm since 1999. The deer are used to it. I also wait until after dark and drive out to the stands with my lights off at a very slow speed. If deer do move out of the field, they only go to the nearest cover and wait until the Suburban is gone. They then resume eating in the field.

 

[Tap]

I think actually being seen IN the tree or CLIMBING DOWN is what is most damaging,
But I still hate blowing out while walking thru plots, or for that matter, anywhere near my stand. Educating them to the fact they they are being hunted is a huge mistake. I avoid any feeding area at dusk and dawn.
If you cant avoid feeding areas at those times, then booting them out with a known vehicle like the farm's tractor is best. A quad or pick up truck would be my next choice.
Keeping them relaxed and stupid is the best choice.