Final Thoughts and Learnings 2014

[Riggsgwp->]

Lesson: food plots without good cover is like a drive-thru restaurant - customers don't stick around !!!

Not only that but the deer don't get to the food until after dark. I have thousands of tracks in my beans and corn but the deer come from to far away for consistent sightings.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Exactly, Riggs. That's what we've seen too. The only difference is in BAD acorn years, when the deer will show up at food plots sooner ( shooting light ) because there are no acorns to munch back in the woods. By cutting and getting young, tender browse growing further " back in " on the way to the plots, we're getting more sightings in shooting light. You hit it right on the head.

 

[Greta&Gus]

Spot on. Have you ever posted a map of your place here with all the plots and improvements marked? Be a great learning tool.

I will post in the MN positive habitat improvement thread. This year was an historical low for us and we are all in the mood for changes. My 19th season and it is the first we have never shot a deer. Fighting serious seasonal depression urges right about now.

 

[j-bird]

The only reason I try to avoid shooting any fawn is my data shows about a 50/50 chance of it being male. I would prefer to promote deer to call my place home and I feel I can do more to control the population by harvesting a mature doe that in my area tends to produce twins every year. It seems like the more young bucks we don't take to more frequently we get a swing at a nice one. No real science behind it just an observation. We have a lower density, but I feel that by trying to manage the numbers now are easier with a lower population than say one in which the numbers are way to high to start with.