I don’t know about you guys and gals but i sure do have Whitetail Deer on the brain. We’ve been putting in a lot of hard work this summer getting all prepped up for the season this fall. One of the big things we did this year was put in food plots on several of our properties to help concentrate the deer and also provide nutrition.
Here’s a great video update from Tex on putting in food plots the right way. When it comes to growing food plots Tex is the man so if you are thinking about putting one in definitely give the video a watch. A lot of great info on prepping the food plot from spraying until the seed goes in the ground.
We used Frigid Forage to seed our food plots and have had great success with germination rates and growing high quality food sources that have been drawing deer from a long way off.
A Healthy Stand of Frigid Forage - Wild Game Buffet
Planting food plots on your land has numerous benefits for wildlife and can be used strategically to help increase your chances of success when hunting. There are many different ideas on the best times to plant food plots and what varieties of wildlife foods to plant to maximize the effectiveness of the food plot. One of the strategies that I am employing on one of our whitetail properties is to use a perennial food plot in a new area of the property to help modify travel patterns and provide a safe food source near thick cover for when hunting pressure builds.
This spring we spent a significant amount of time reclaiming a piece of land between a big swamp and a 50 acre field that is used for agriculture. The swamp is a traditional bedding area for Whitetails and is a place of refuge for them during hunting season. However, after the crops come off the field they have to expose themselves in an open field in order to access their food source. We have designated the first 60 yards into the field as a ‘buffer’ strip and the 30 yards closest to the agriculture is planted with a Pheasants Forever grass mix that is mixed with Russian Olives and provides excellent cover. The 30 yards closest to the fencerow and swamp we have designated as another buffer strip where we can plant food plots. In addition, we cleared ¾ of an acre on the inside of the fencerow even closer to the swamp for another food plot.
The 60 yard ‘buffer’ strip was planted 7 years ago and has proved invaluable as a tool for helping make the property more huntable. This spring we tilled up and the 30 yard ‘food zone’ and replanted it with a premium Trophy Clover mixture from Frigid Forage. The deer use this area as a staging area in the morning and evening as they move from bedding to the agriculture field. It provides them a good food source late into the year and they feel safe because of the tall grass between them and the field. Because they see this as a safe area they move into it well before dark and provide me an opportunity to hunt them.
Bucks Utilizing the Protected Interior Food Plot
The ¾ acre food plot on the interior of the woodline also provides a protected food source for the deer but it also serves another purpose as well. This small food plot is located in the southwest corner of the property and is furthest away from neighboring properties and deer hunters. It is also in a location that is easy to get in and out of without being detected by the deer. This spring we planted this food plot with Frigid Forage’s Wild Game Buffet which includes Mammoth Red Clover, Medium Red Clover, Alsike Clover, White Dutch Clover, Ladino Clover, Dwarf Essex Rapeseed, Perennial Ryegrass, Creeping Red Fescue, and Vernal Alfalfa. So in addition to providing a good food source closer to cover the deer are now establishing travel routes to get to this food source and becoming accustomed to spending more time in this area of the property. By creating a new and desirable food source we are encouraging the deer to develop patterns and habits that keep them safe from hunters and direct them to locations where we can selectively harvest them.
These are only two of many ways that food plots can be used and we will show more strategies for late summer and early fall food plots as we get closer to planting them.
Well, to say that bow season for me was horrible would be the understatement of the year. I scouted, and planned and hunted hard. I saw big bucks, nothing ever close enough for a shot and then had all the deer that I was seeing, harvested on the neighbor’s farm. The biggest deer they shot was 180 inches, with two others in the mid 140′s. How could there be that many nice deer around and them not be on our farm? Two words, food and cover. Our big piece of land butts up to a very large swamp. We own some of it, however the majority of it we don’t. The deer would pass through our farm but didn’t really ever stay, so after I swore off deer hunting forever last fall, I decided to create an environment that the deer would use and be inclined to stay on our land…
The New Food Plot After Initial Clearing
The border of the swamp was very overgrown and while it was good cover provided minimal food resources. So this February I decided to clear the brush back and make a small clearing between the fence row and the edge of the swamp, well I may have gotten a little carried away and ended up with almost an acre inside the woods, this area has now been cleared and worked up and is awaiting seed, what is being planted has not yet been decided. We also worked up the buffer strip that borders the woods and swamp, this is almost 4 acres of land that will soon be planted in Trophy Clover mix.
Since good things take time, we also decided to plant more trees, this piece of land has almost 1000 pines and spruces already planted and growing tall, but each year I like to plant a few more, so there are 50 more pines ready to go in as soon as this snow disappears. The 6 new apple trees went in before this snow hit, it will take them a few years to start producing fruit, but when they do Opie and Tex will be fighting over who gets to hunt “holy crap that is a big deer” corner!
The moral is that if you do not like the type of deer you land is holding, get out there and change it. There are many resources out there that will help you improve the quality of deer on your land. The main things that they need are food, cover and water. If you have these the deer will have no reason to leave your land, unless they are in the back of a Ford.
So I just got off the phone with the great guys over at Lone Wolf Treestands and I have to say I am really excited with their new product line for 2011. I rely on my “Silent Partner” every time I head out to chase monster Whitetails and am always impressed with how well the stand performs. All of us here at FLG that depend on our Lone Wolf Climbers are really happy to hear that all the 2011 models will once again be made 100% in the U.S.A.
Other changes for this year include a new design on the cast aluminum platforms that will accommodate the newer model bows with bigger cams and parallel limbs. This will solve my dilemma on how I was going to modify my current Hand Climber to be able to accommodate the Mathews Switchback that is currently in the mail making its way to my doorstep. Not only will the new bow holder hold all newer model bows but it will still be just as functional with older bows as well. I guess all I have to do now is shell out the money for a new platform (ouch) or hope that Lone Wolf shines down and sponsors the FLG Whitetail team with new stands for this season.
Another really sweet thing Lone Wolf is coming out with this year is the Assault Hand Climber Combo. They have taken the Assault platform and combined it with the Hand Climber seat to create the ultimate lightweight climbing stand. Weighing in at less than 15 pounds this stand will be perfect for those of us that like to pack in a long ways to hunt big woods bucks.
I know that not everyone is a fan of Lone Wolf Stands and that everyone has their own reasons and preferences for choosing the stand that they do. I however like my silent partner and every time I head to the woods I find another reason to be happy with how it performs. Some of the reasons I like my Lone Wolf (and solid points when choosing any climbing stand) are as follows.
It is Very Quiet – I like to sneak into the woods and be able to set up without giving the deer any hint that I am there. The cast aluminum is quiet when climbing the tree and doesn’t make “people” noise when sneaking through the brush.
It is Compact – My hand climber breaks down into a very tight package and doesn’t add to my profile. This means it doesn’t get snagged or caught on anything while I am walking through the woods and allows me enough freedom of movement to shoot my bow with it on my back if need be.
It is Comfortable – Once you have learned to pick the right tree to climb and have figured out the best stand position that fits you it’s a dream to sit in. I can sit all day in my stand without thinking twice.
The “Little” Things – All the small things that the guys at Lone Wolf have thought of and added are superb. From the built in bow holder that keeps your bow in the perfect position to the climbing bands that make climbing any tree a breeze and the platform teeth that always give you a rock solid platform to shoot from this stand is a dream.
So a big pat on the back to the guys over at Lone Wolf for making an exceptional product and for building it in the U.S.A. with parts and labor from right here at home. I know that no matter what season finds me with my bow in my hands that I will definitely be standing on my Lone Wolf 30 feet up in a tree somewhere.
