What have foodplots done for you?

[Powder]

I have been studying up on foodplotting for a couple years and have tried a two small plots. One clover/rye (now all clover) and the other turnips/radishes. My plan is to make them significantly larger for next year. My hope is to have two-two acre plots and another one that is maybe an acre at most.

What I'm wondering is, what have foodplots done for you? Have they made it more fun because of the effort you're putting in and you just like that part of it? Or do they really, truelly make for better success? Do you see an increase in numbers, size, what?

At the end of the day, is it really worth it? (yes, I realize 'worth it' can be justified many ways)

Just for reference, I'm in BIG woods with no ag fields for 50+ miles. Will my deer react differently than deer in ag country?

 

[Someday isle]

I'm brand new to habitat work and property management. I only have 36 acres and it's all wooded. My first project was to clear some old logging roads and turn them into food plot trails. The work itself turned out to be almost as much fun as hunting...almost. We harvested three deer this year. One crossing near one of the trails, one actually feeding where two trails converged and the third near an old clear cut. Would we have harvested these deer without the food plots? Who knows. Was the time spent working with my sons, talking about being a land steward and just being in the great outdoors worth the time and money spent? Without question. I've only hunted six days this season but during the times when my mind wandered a little on stand it was thinking about what habitat improvements I want to make next.

 

[Semisane]

I deal with only three small plots - 1/4 acre, 1/3 acre and 1/3 acre that I've been maintaining for over fifteen years.

I have three bad habits; smoking a pipe, drinking single malt Scotch, and playing around with those three small plots. I don't plan on giving up any of these vices because they all add immeasurably to my enjoyment of life.

 

[yoderjac]

I have been studying up on foodplotting for a couple years and have tried a two small plots. One clover/rye (now all clover) and the other turnips/radishes. My plan is to make them significantly larger for next year. My hope is to have two-two acre plots and another one that is maybe an acre at most.

What I'm wondering is, what have foodplots done for you? Have they made it more fun because of the effort you're putting in and you just like that part of it? Or do they really, truelly make for better success? Do you see an increase in numbers, size, what?

At the end of the day, is it really worth it? (yes, I realize 'worth it' can be justified many ways)

Just for reference, I'm in BIG woods with no ag fields for 50+ miles. Will my deer react differently than deer in ag country?

When done on a small scale, food plots can be great attraction, especially in areas with little quality food available. They can be hunted themselves or the travel roots can be hunted.

When done on a larger scale, they can be an important leg of a QDM program that can improve antler size, body weight, and overall herd health.

In either case, I find great satisfaction in seeing deer use my plots whether I shoot them or not!

The only thing I was caution before you start is to develop realistic goals. Most frustration comes from guys planting a few small plots and expecting bigger or more healthy deer. It really takes a total program done on significant scale for that. For those with just a few acres, goals should be limited to attraction and improving hunting opportunities.

In my particular case, I'm on the ratty edge of having enough influence over enough acreage to do QDM. In the beginning, our food plot program was an emergency room operation. After 10 years of management, results are still anecdotal but we seem to be seeing some herd improvement. I'm now moving from a fairly large traditional food plot program to a more sustainable permaculture approach.

Best of luck,

Jack

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Powder, I have a similar situation going on. Big woods, no ag anywhere for 50 miles...plus low deer density, low hunter density, no hard mast. I'm also on a flat mountain plateau so there is really no topographical changes. I added a small half acre food plot last year, and then another this year. Both I have to lime heavily...but I am able to get a fairly impressive plot of rye to grow. The plots are the only game in town. While they are certainly not feeding the local herd, they are a source of food and act as social hotspots. I did a bunch of edge feathering around the plots and created them with trees already picked out for tree stands and access trails planned out before I even felled the first tree. This year I have seen how they have changed my deer hunting experience. I have no allusions of growing big bucks here in Massachusetts. My management plan has always been to provide quality deer hunting experiences for me and my family. What was once open and mature heterogeneous woodland with little deer activity is now a pair of green food plots surrounded by lots of early successional native browse...lots of rubs, scrapes, runs, etc. Lots of deer on camera...all small yearlings and does. But hey, I'll take them. Last year I had a bruiser show up during the rut...saw him 3 times...and then had a shot at 30 yards that I missed. This year, I just had a bruiser show up on camera just last week...saw him sparring with a little spike in one of my food plots. So yes, for my situation, which sounds like yours, adding a few small food plots has transformed the quality of my hunts. Not only that, but I like all the work. The logging has provided 14 cords of firewood. I enjoy the burning of brush piles. I planted around 200 trees. Even adding the lime one bag at a time isn't that bad. And in the spring I am seeing more turkeys than I have ever seen before.

Sorry for the long post. Hope this helps.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

When done on a large scale, you can have all the deer from your place and all your neighbors! LOL

 

[ToddG]

I only have 33 acres and when I first purchased the place, it had almost no deer. I now have two 3/4 acre plots and one 1/4 acre plot. I hunted most afternoons last week and saw at least 5 deer at each sitting. I saw 5 different bucks in one afternoon. I have no ag within 20 miles. The deer hammer the clover and rye. I sometimes think working on the food plots and habitat is more fun then the actual hunt.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

One thing about deer is they spend most of 24 hours a day in cover, feeding and resting. Very little time in food plots. On smaller properties I would be looking at creating cover that deer can use for feeding in as well as hanging out in. Just my take on things!

 

[Catscratch]

For me, food plot are as enjoyable as hunting or trapping! I love putting them in and once seeded I check them almost daily to watch their growth. I even take pics of the damn things like they were my kids! I might be a little crazy though.
As far as deer: they use them, they change their routes a little to go through them, they visit them more at night, they didn't all of sudden become real easy to shoot because of them.

 

[Big Snow Man]

When done on a large scale, you can have all the deer from your place and all your neighbors! LOL

Holy crap !

 

[ToddG]

Wow! That's a lot of deer. Low deer numbers? LOL

When done on a large scale, you can have all the deer from your place and all your neighbors! LOL

 

[kabic]

One thing about deer is they spend most of 24 hours a day in cover, feeding and resting. Very little time in food plots. On smaller properties I would be looking at creating cover that deer can use for feeding in as well as hanging out in. Just my take on things!

I agree. I have put in some small plots, but haven't seen significant usage during the day when it is gun season. I seem to get more day time usage earlier but I'm not hunting then.

 

[ToddG]

I guess it depends on location. I do have heavy cover around all three food plots. I get pictures of deer feeding in them throughout the day. I live in an area that mostly dog hunts. My property is difficult for them to run so I think the deer use my place as a sanctuary of sort. They will even come out in the middle of the day during rifle season. The only downside is the bucks disappear once the rut is over but the does stay year round.

 

[dsinwi]

My interest in food plotting started when I wanted to attract more deer for son to see and possibly harvest. He was 9 when I purchased. As I researched I developed an interest in improving my land and sustaining deer over winter to improve the herd in my area as well. I've always had an interest growing plants for some reason and this fit right in. My son and I put in 2 small plots the second year I owned the place. One for him to hunt over and one we can observe from the cabin. He's been hunting over the one plot off and on ever since and seeing deer constantly. He took his first and second bow bucks off that plot. Things really heat up over the rut and it really got him excited to hunt. I think it also made him a better hunter, staying focused and observant.
I can't grow enough tonnage in my small plots on poor soil to really make a significant difference but as hunting plots they serve a purpose. They've certainly given me a greater appreciation for the land and I'll enjoy working on them as long as I am able.

 

[gunther89]

We have roughly 4-5 acres of food plots and to me, I almost get more out of planting and growing plots than I do shooting deer. I get a good warm feeling inside when I have a camera over a plot and see deer feeding in it during daylight hours or see them feeding in it when I'm hunting. We plant roughly 4 acres of beans and brassicas so the deer have something come late fall and winter. It's a way for the bucks to get some fat back on them after the rut is done and to ensure our does stay healthy and produce healthy fawns. Also it's nice for shed hunting. Never really had any luck shed hunting until we put the food plots in.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Our food plots at camp have grown bigger deer than we used to have, and have supplied all-year food that wasn't there before. Thanks to advice from guys on here, I've learned better rotations, good mixes of seed, and some plot crops that hold up during winter. Even though most of the plot use is at night, we do still see more deer in daylight than we used to before plotting. As others have said, they also provide areas for social interaction in the local herd. Our rack sizes have definitely improved with plots as well.

 

[j-bird]

The impact of food plots is going to depend on different things. The main one will be the availability of food in your area without plots.

I live in farm country where corn and soybeans are everywhere and in mass quantities. As such food plots for me are not the "magic bullet" that many believe them to be.

What they do for me?
#1 - they allow me to feed the deer in times when the natural foods or ag crops may not be able to.
#2 - they allow me to focus feeding in a more defined area once the ag crops are harvested and thus better define movement patterns for hunting.
#3 - they can be frustrating and fun at the same time. They have led me to learn more about other things that I would have never done before.
#4 - they provide a food source for many other types of wildlife that may or may not be a game species.

What they don't do for me....
#1 - they don't grow B&C deer.....Age is far more important and even easier to impact than plotting!
#2 - they don't ensure hunting success......it's still hunting. The deer do not become cows!
#3 - they don't pull in every deer in a square mile.... cover and a means to safely reach the plot is still VERY important AND the deer still has to see the effort to be worth it.
All of these things tend to be the unstated message than many companies want you to believe - plots are not the short-cut to a B&C buck. It does however seem to get the glory.

Some place where there are no ag crops, mast or browse with mature forests - a food plot could literally become a mecca for every deer within a square mile. But you still need that security to get the deer to use it while the sun is up.....again a more comprehensive habitat approach and not just a one trick pony.

 

[Steve Oehlenschlager]

Went from seeing maybe 1 or 2 deer per sit to maybe 5 to 7 average now. Deer are fatter and yearling bucks sometimes are small 6's vs spikes or forkhorns. Deer on our property year round now. Years ago once the snow came the deer were non existent on some pieces of our land. Now that land winters most of them.

 

[wklman]

Food plots don't do a heck of a lot for me hunting-wise since I'm in ag country. They're more there for winter/early spring food then anything. They'll feed in bigger crop fields up until snow covered or tilled under then in late winter they'll hit my food plot until it's gone. The bigger piece of the puzzle for better deer hunting was creating better habitat. More Spruce/pines/red cedar for bedding, letting grasses grow(not on purpose) for travel corridors, planting a mix of brush for winter food/cover, etc. I converted 25 of 80 acres from crop ground to habitat and its resulted in better hunting all around for me. I took a hit by converting it and not renting it but I'd do it again in a second because of the enjoyment I get from seeing how the changes positively affect all the animals (not just deer) on the property.

 

[chummer]

I am in the same boat as you and Natty. I have been plotting for 5 years now and the results are dramatic. First couple years only yearling bucks and the occasional visitor. Last three years 3-4 mature bucks visiting plots daily. Hard to say the impact they could have had because we had two of the worst winters ever in that time with massive winter kill off. As others have said I enjoy doing the work as much as hunting. The great satisfaction is seeing the increase in deer and sign around the plots. I do not hunt the plots but travel routs have produced success. I have 2 acres of plots in 3 different locations all carved out of 1000's of acres of continuous hardwoods.