What have foodplots done for you?

[Bowsnbucks]

You're only getting better up there, Chummer !! More good things coming, given your location. With the winter migration off the hill, your best time will probably be archery or early season gun. But your improvements will def. keep things on the up-swing.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

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.

That's great to hear chummer. My 2nd year now with 2 small rye plots...bow season ended yesterday...and I have not had a better season in 15 years of hunting the property. I didn't take a deer (bucks only), but I did see more deer per sit than I ever have. Shotgun begins tomorrow. I'm remain hopeful.

 

[D Hunter]

We have been food plotting now for 10 years. On my own land for 7. Two food plots that total almost 2 acres on a 78 acre tract. Lots of woods, no ag for 50 miles. Neighbors put out corn and shoot what comes. I have seen more deer since starting food plots but it is not a magic bullet. This year acorns were heavy and still are covering the ground in many places here at the end of November. Deer are obviously using the plots but mostly at night. Last weekend my grandson and I hunted steady on one of the plots and did not see a deer. Acorns are certainly a factor but grandson is a little wiggly too. Plots are not great this year either. We had a rain on 4th of July weekend and again around labor day. No other rain in 6 months. Usually we get 20 - 30 inches of rain in that time. Terribly dry in Western NC. Dozens of fires in the woods. Thousands of acres involved. The smoke is terrible. They are calling for an inch of rain in the coming week. We will see what materializes. None of this takes into consideration the amount of enjoyment I get out of working my land and improving the habitat. "D"

 

[Mahindra3016]

I am on my third year with plots, and from a hunting standpoint i cant say it has helped me kill more deer, but i have been in the woods a lot in the last three years, clearing, planting trees and such. My plots are in bottom land between farm land and mountain ground, and it used to be rare to see turkeys down here, but the turkeys come through more every year since planting plots, also groundhogs have made their holes near the plots. I shoot a few of them off the plots in the summer, but dont mind a few groundhogs to watch during early bow season, it helps pass the time.

 

[scott44]

We started foodplots in the late 90's just clover and oats, we would plant the oats in Aug/Sept hoping too draw deer in during season. Next we went to brassicas and found they were a draw in the late season, about 6 years ago I found the Dbltree mix and now we are feeding the wildlife year round. At first the purpose of our plots is to keep the does/fawns happy and the bucks eventually show up, now the buck are here along with the does, the bucks still travel but the sightings have increased now there is food year round. I have Ag all around me and when the corn and beans are up my plots aren't used as much but once they crops come down they start to get hit hard. I can honestly say that food plots are only a part of the overall picture, about the time I started using the Dbltree rotation we also started other habitat improvements, hinging, NWSG's, tree planting, screening. Food plots will draw deer but I think they only a part a total habitat plan.

 

[sandbur]

Powder- I think you are on the right track with rye , clovers, and turnips in that country.

Do not forget the natural environment. Consider two things. Do you have browse at deer height? Do you have conifers for cover in bad weather?

 

[chummer]

That's great to hear chummer. My 2nd year now with 2 small rye plots...bow season ended yesterday...and I have not had a better season in 15 years of hunting the property. I didn't take a deer (bucks only), but I did see more deer per sit than I ever have. Shotgun begins tomorrow. I'm remain hopeful.

Natty you will see a big difference next year. You will have some of those young bucks that discovered you this fall set up shop next year. I reloaded on yearling bucks this fall (3-4 new ones), if they make it through the season I know they will be back next spring. Assuming they survive winter.

 

[Powder]

Powder- I think you are on the right track with rye , clovers, and turnips in that country.

Do not forget the natural environment. Consider two things. Do you have browse at deer height? Do you have conifers for cover in bad weather?

There is a lot of jackpine around and we just logged about 35-40 acres of popple last January. A creek runs down the middle of what was logged.

 

[alldaysit]

I purchased our 30 acres last June 2015 and hunted the property by making no improvements and no baiting. I bought it for the mix of hard woods and heavy brushy cover with massive deer trails through that thick cover. I ran trail cameras and had a total of ~80 buck pictures from the middle of August through the middle of January, with. 1 daylight shooter buck picture. I seen very few deer and only two bucks (a spike and a fork). I did not harvest a deer and had a total of 5 rubs and ZERO scrapes on the property. It was not a "fun" season.

In April 2016 I began hinge cutting a barricade (with strategically placed openings) around the exterior of the property and put in an access trail all the way around between the hinge cut barricade and property line. I also hinge cut 10 small 1/16th acre spots within the woods. I stayed out of the woods from the last hinge cut time in April, installed stands at entrance and exits to the hinge cut portions on the property edges.

I also brush mowed down three areas for food plots in the thick brushy cover total of about 2.5 acres give or take. I planted the LC rye mix and clover in one plot, radishes and turnips in another, and soybeans in my largest (1 acre) all in June. By the end of August the beans were annialated and I had to replant with LC rye mix, the clover overtook the one LC Rye mix plot (which is wonderful and has been the best producing plot in terms of seeing deer) and the turnip/radishes plot is mowed to the ground. They ate the radishes and turnips way before the first frost and I haven't seen a deer using it since the beginning of November.

If I had to guess, At the current time I have over 100 rubs on the property, at least 10 scrapes, harvested the most dominant 4.5+ 130 class 8pt with my bow, am approaching ~400 buck pictures, with 7 daylight shooter pictures, and seen at least a deer on each sit all season except yesterday which was the last day of our gun season. I seen 6 Saturday night but none on Sunday.

Now, I thought the woods would have had more action but it doesn't. All of the action is around the doe bedding and food plots which is the southern 15 acres. I got lucky and figured this out and concentrated on hunting the southern half of my property. I harvested that 8 point 5 days after figuring that out. For next year, I need to figure out what to do with my wooded area to get some more action in there. There is barely a deer track on my northern access trail.


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[Bowsnbucks]

Alldaysit - We saw the exact same thing at my camp before we logged one section last year. It was all mature woods, open, no food or cover. We logged 22 acres and planted Norway & white spruce all around in there. We caged some stumps to get stump sprouts growing without being browsed, and we have natural white pine regeneration. The weeds, trees, and other forbs that sprouted this past summer caused deer to use that area heavily and there are trails all thru it now. Browse at deer-level, thicker cover, and sunlight causing all kinds of things to grow has improved that whole section of woods. That former open, " no-use " area can now be watched from tree stands. It's just downwind from our food plots, so the combination works for good deer movement.

I should add that this area is on a south / southwest facing slope and will become a good " warm/sunny " bedding location for winter holding capacity. Before logging, we wouldn't see a track in there in the snow all winter. Variety with edges !!

 

[chickenlittle]

Food plots have never been a focus for us. I've spent the last few years working more on mast, browse, and need more effort on bedding cover. We usually put in an acre or two of beans and corn and sometimes brassicas. Plots have never produced much feed or hunting season activity for us. In the past, we often complained about the deer holing up in the neighbor's standing corn but they have scaled back their farming so there is more opportunity if food is available. This year we decided to put electric fence around our most huntable plot and we have been quite pleased with that. Even after letting the deer in mid-season, there is still some corn in there to produce activity. I took a buck there yesterday on PA's opening day of rifle season. We'll definitely keep that plot fenced in the future summers/early fall to ensure something is left for later in the year to draw deer in.

 

[pointer]

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!

Interesting. My place fits into the smaller category being 55ac. Would you mind expanding on what you mean, general ideas, of cover for feeding and hanging out in?

PS- That video you posted in bananas! That's a lot of venison in one place!

 

[sandbur]

Interesting. My place fits into the smaller category being 55ac. Would you mind expanding on what you mean, general ideas, of cover for feeding and hanging out in?

PS- That video you posted in bananas! That's a lot of venison in one place!

Powder- You need to make your place unique for deer habitat in your area. Heavy, thick cover is always good. It's great in areas with lots of ag. In areas with no ag, then foodplots would be a good draw, but you still need thick cover, at least in pieces of land with smaller acreages.

Mature hardwoods and owning a section or more of land where you control all access does not fit these rules.

 

[alldaysit]

I should have added, my location has very little AG. The neighbors have a horse pasture and that's the only "AG" within a mile at a minimum in all directions.


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[Powder]

The foodplots are being cut in as I speak!

The trees in the background are on the edge of a creek. We own on both sides of it. We have 320 acres and due to large swamps that surround us we essentially control access to about 800 acres of public land. We're putting in three plots. One will be about 3/4 of an acre and the other two should each be a little under 1.5 acres. About 40 acres was logged in January so that should grow back nice and thick. The two largest plots will be adjacent to those cuts.

 

[H20fwler]

Food plots for me are another way to enjoy the farm and to try and fill some habitat need to help hold wildlife on the farm.

I have some pretty good clover strips that see the most action in spring&summer with deer and turkey. I put out sugar beets and turnips for fall plots that nothing even looks at until the first couple hard frosts then the deer hit them until they are gone. I watch lots of does and fawns eating in them during bow season, good place to arrow a lone doe.

 

[swat1018]

I love to grow the plots as a hobby. I enjoy hunting around them and watching the deer filing in. One of my favorite things is when new mature bucks show up for the first time every winter to eat my food. Old bucks that I've never seen or had pictures of before. Some of them leave come spring, but there is always at least one that stays and takes up permanent residence. Great way to "grow" a 4-5 year old buck!

 

[Fall's Legend]

They have caused me to have much more empathy for farmers!

They have tried my patience, and caused me to swear on occasion.

I cannot live without them anymore, the need to strategize each year and to actually do the work is highly rewarding.