My home place is 15.3 acres, and I've been working for about 10 years to turn the back ~6-7 acres into core deer habitat. This involved repeated kills of thick fescue pasture that choked out any trees starting. Planting about 800 trees. Now it's at a state most trees 5-7 feet tall, not really cover, mostly patches of grass mixed with goldenrod. A couple pine groves ~6ft tall.
I had a bummer gun opener this morning, I was down at my other 53 acre property 90min away and missed a gimme shot on a nice buck. Weather went to crap, so decided to just come home and hunt the home plot.
When I bought the 53 acre last year it came with 1.5 acres of food plot land but they were strung out so I elected to take soil samples, start over doing everything right (learned a lot here). At the same time I decided to put .5 acres in on the home place. The home place is entirely surrounded by agriculture and very little woods/big cover anywhere. My theory was if I put greens it it wouldn't help bow season much, but once all the crops were in, it would be a magnet and the cover would hold them in the day.
I stalked in and immediately realized there would be deer. I last walked it a couple weeks ago, before the last of the crops came down, and the sign was much lighter. Now, they had stuff beaten down and beds and trails everywhere. I didn't get 50 yards in and I saw a head pop up. It took off before I could get it in the scope, cut out and ran down my gun range. Got out and got a bead on it but it was moving, far, and small, so I let it jump the fence. Figured since it took the range and didn't bust through the rest of the cover I'd go back in and stalk through. Another 50 yards I jump 2 more deer. Now I have a freeway not far off the south of my property and houses not far to the north, so I am constantly planning my stalk and being super careful about which direction I'm shooting. Well this time they threaded the needle and went someplace I felt safe, so when they stopped to see what had pushed them I got them in the scope and the 458 SOCOM sealed the deal. Short track job to a freezer filling antlerless.
It is clear the clover/brassica plot has completely changed how this property holds deer once crops are off. It will only get better as the cover improves. Next year I'm hoping to dig a small pound to put water on the property for them, then they'll have no requirement to leave.
I had a bummer gun opener this morning, I was down at my other 53 acre property 90min away and missed a gimme shot on a nice buck. Weather went to crap, so decided to just come home and hunt the home plot.
When I bought the 53 acre last year it came with 1.5 acres of food plot land but they were strung out so I elected to take soil samples, start over doing everything right (learned a lot here). At the same time I decided to put .5 acres in on the home place. The home place is entirely surrounded by agriculture and very little woods/big cover anywhere. My theory was if I put greens it it wouldn't help bow season much, but once all the crops were in, it would be a magnet and the cover would hold them in the day.
I stalked in and immediately realized there would be deer. I last walked it a couple weeks ago, before the last of the crops came down, and the sign was much lighter. Now, they had stuff beaten down and beds and trails everywhere. I didn't get 50 yards in and I saw a head pop up. It took off before I could get it in the scope, cut out and ran down my gun range. Got out and got a bead on it but it was moving, far, and small, so I let it jump the fence. Figured since it took the range and didn't bust through the rest of the cover I'd go back in and stalk through. Another 50 yards I jump 2 more deer. Now I have a freeway not far off the south of my property and houses not far to the north, so I am constantly planning my stalk and being super careful about which direction I'm shooting. Well this time they threaded the needle and went someplace I felt safe, so when they stopped to see what had pushed them I got them in the scope and the 458 SOCOM sealed the deal. Short track job to a freezer filling antlerless.
It is clear the clover/brassica plot has completely changed how this property holds deer once crops are off. It will only get better as the cover improves. Next year I'm hoping to dig a small pound to put water on the property for them, then they'll have no requirement to leave.