Plots for hunting, or plots for deer food?

[Catscratch]

Was walking this morning and hit a spot I typically stay out of. It needs some maintenance as cedars are starting to be a problem. Had the thought of why not clean it up and make another plot? It wouldn't be an easy spot to hunt though, so basically it would be supplemental food. But, I never hunt my plots anyway. Haven't sat on a feed field of any sort for over a decade. Even though I don't hunt plots directly i consider them a hunt improvement as the more deer in general the better the hunting.

With all that said I've kept my plots all centrally located so that I can hunt travel lanes like spokes of a wagon wheel. Making a new plot would cut off one of those spokes. Worth it for added food and possible added deer, or just dont screw up what you've got?

 

[SwampCat]

There are only two row crop land parcels in my county and I am not within 20 miles of either. None of my neighbors food plot. There is a ton of cover around me. The more food, the more deer - at my place.

 

[Mortenson]

If you think you need more food, I'd do it. If you don't need it, it seems you already are quite successful at hunting and even passing up opportunities, or catching and releasing them with your camera. Hard to mess with success. Is it just winter food you're thinking?

 

[SD51555]

How big of a spot is it?


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[bigboreblr]

Need more cover? Plant both then.

 

[SD51555]

If you can’t decide, plant SD’s immortalize blend. It’s food, cover, pollinator, needs no toilet water, chems, or iron. Just fling and flatten once a year and then cash the checks.

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[Cool Hand Luke]

Was walking this morning and hit a spot I typically stay out of. It needs some maintenance as cedars are starting to be a problem. Had the thought of why not clean it up and make another plot? It wouldn't be an easy spot to hunt though, so basically it would be supplemental food. But, I never hunt my plots anyway. Haven't sat on a feed field of any sort for over a decade. Even though I don't hunt plots directly i consider them a hunt improvement as the more deer in general the better the hunting.

With all that said I've kept my plots all centrally located so that I can hunt travel lanes like spokes of a wagon wheel. Making a new plot would cut off one of those spokes. Worth it for added food and possible added deer, or just dont screw up what you've got?

How has the central foodplot setup worked for you? Sorry I don't have a ton of history here. There's a few out there that advocate against it to gain depth of cover. I've been on both sides of the spectrum with nothing but solid timber in the past and now nothing but open ag land. I used to clear cut 1/4 acre plots just to get something green growing and now I'm buying as many trees as I can afford. If your deer numbers seem healthy, I wouldn't waste the time opening more ground. It may not attract any more deer, just spread them out. Just my two cents.

 

[Catscratch]

Small spot. Maybe half an acre.

Ag is either corn or beans, depending on the yr.

I like to fill the gaps between native browse and ag. This means a lot of chicory, cereal grains, and clovers.

Probably don't actually NEED more cover or food.

The central plot scheme is working well for me. Im satisfied with my hunting.

Ultimately want healthier and larger deer.

What's in your super duper mix SD? It looks good!

 

[matinc]

Most likely ysc chickory medium red balsana and Alfalfa with tritacle.

 

[Bill]

Small spot. Maybe half an acre.

Ag is either corn or beans, depending on the yr.

I like to fill the gaps between native browse and ag. This means a lot of chicory, cereal grains, and clovers.

Probably don't actually NEED more cover or food.

The central plot scheme is working well for me. Im satisfied with my hunting.

Ultimately want healthier and larger deer.

What's in your super duper mix SD? It looks good!

I’m the opposite of you. I mainly hunt food plots or better said small food plots that lead to feed plots. But for us the key is we don’t actually hunt them that often. If you build a plot that is on the way to another more open plot that only gets hunted a few times a season it might be good thing.

 

[SD51555]

Small spot. Maybe half an acre.

Ag is either corn or beans, depending on the yr.

I like to fill the gaps between native browse and ag. This means a lot of chicory, cereal grains, and clovers.

Probably don't actually NEED more cover or food.

The central plot scheme is working well for me. Im satisfied with my hunting.

Ultimately want healthier and larger deer.

What's in your super duper mix SD? It looks good!

It's a cocktail of likely everything you've already got in other combos: Yellow sweet clover, chicory, balansa, alfalfa, red clover, winter trit, hairy vetch.

 

[gjs4]

Catscratch- everything is objective and subjective.

Does your property have topography or features that will dictated, or at least nudge, travel to certain locations or along certain paths?
Why would more deer be a goo thing and/or what are you missing in your deer presence and experience?
How many wind directions is your property good to access/egress from without being upwind of the deer that live or visit there?

 

[Catscratch]

That's a nice looking mix SD!

More deer isn't necessary as I have plenty, but lots of deer while hunting is nice.

Plenty of terrain and cover to nudge deer, but they also travel freely so ya got to be careful with hunting spots.

Here's a pic of some of the place. Yellow bottom would be the new plot. Usually a south wind during the rut. Would be hard to hunt it, but it is a nice staging area before crossing the highway to the ag fields. Central rectangle is current plots. Dots are most often used stands.

 

[gjs4]

Oh my my. Thats like a super model winking at you kind of place its so sexy.

I like it alot. Anything easterly would be great, and those rarish ESE or NE would be money. Great access from the road too.

There are a few areas west of the water I would be considering for a small plot or two. From an aerial, it looks great and like you could add a bunch of stands/blinds if the access/egress were there.

 

[Catscratch]

A couple of stands east too. Everything site is picked number 1 for access. If I can hunt without disturbing them one will eventually give me a chance.

Where would you put plots westerly of the pond gjs4?

 

[farmlegend]

If you can’t decide, plant SD’s immortalize blend. It’s food, cover, pollinator, needs no toilet water, chems, or iron. Just fling and flatten once a year and then cash the checks.

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Looks beautiful. Even the hairy vetch LOL.

I had some hairy vetch invade one of my clover plots many years ago, I presume from a contaminated seed mix. It was aggressive, the deer didn't eat it, and it took me years to eradicate it (and the birdsfoot trefoil from that same nasty mix) from that plot.

 

[bigboreblr]

If you dont do something about that spot, that travel lane will turn into a bedding area. I'd almost cut back into the forest a touch too.

If they say 10% of your land should be food plots, you got alot of work to do..... Got a nice sized spread there.

 

[bigboreblr]

SD you should do a good writeup on 2 or 3 blends you recommend.

No annual resseding when you flatten that?

 

[Catscratch]

If you dont do something about that spot, that travel lane will turn into a bedding area. I'd almost cut back into the forest a touch too.

If they say 10% of your land should be food plots, you got alot of work to do..... Got a nice sized spread there.

Lol, maybe if I converted the ag fields into plots I'd get close to 10%! Actually did overseed a section of that ag into cereals when the beans started to yellow. Worked well but since it's on a highway I saw an uptick in poaching. :(

Been giving that spot a lot of consideration this weekend. I agree that if let go it becomes a better bedding spot. But since it's so close to the highway and the inlaws house I think it would mostly be does. Right now it's got heavy doe traffic. Bucks do use it but they tend to have a different travel pattern. When they are in there it's usually at night, and/or when one's locked in with a hot doe.

 

[Catscratch]

A better pic of the relation between the highway and the house.


Kind of a general layout of travel patterns. Yellow are bucks leaving bedding area and either going to food, or going on a hunt for women.
Blue typical doe route from bedding to feed.

Of course there's a lot of other routes, the yellow is the one I'm worried about affecting.