Food plot question?

[Bigfoot]

My hunter is packing up to go home. He hit me up last year to see if I would put in a food plot. I wasn't super keen on the idea, because I didn't want to fence off a spot. I think I have a solution. I big water shed lake is my back boundary. The last two years, they seem to be keeping it very low. Meaning I have some bare ground exposed around the edge of my woods. It's starting to go back to nature actually. What could I plant there, that would make a good plot? I was leaning towards wheat/oats/rye. They could close the spill way a little, and reflood it anytime they wanted. I don't want to plant anything to expensive.

I've also got a pretty good sized spot in one of my woods getting a little daylight, but not much. I got tough, and drove my tractor in there this summer, and bush bogged down the brambles. I could get in there with a leaf blower, and clear the leaves off of 3-4000 square feet. What would you plant there?

I'm currently running 5 corn feeders. Plots may not be necessary, but I'd like to give it a try

 

[ousoonerfan22]

Does your land have oak trees? Acorns and corn should be plenty of feed

 

[ram]

You need to plant wheat where it's wet. And purple top turnips seem to do alright where's there's a lot of moisture also. Oats grow the best in the shady spots, but flood out easily.

 

[shaneb]

Bigfoot, i know you wouldnt want to take away from your pastures and having first hand knowledge of your property, you could take and run some hot wire across the back part of the field where your blind was set up when we was there. That would make a small but effective food plot. Another location if not too close to other homes, would be to the right of your barns in one of those small fields. Planting near that watershed will be good as long as it doesnt flood during heavy rains which I believe would. The plot would not last long. You also have some of your fields narrowing down towards the ends. Any of those will make effective food plot locations that will minimize loss of pasture during hunting season. Also look at the facts that you could keep the cows off of it a week prior to when you know the hunters will be there and open it back up after they leave. You will only lose that portion during a few weeks. Also look at it this way, stands dont have to be on the plots. You can back the stands off a hundred yards or so to allow the deer to feel more comfortable. Cows will help the hunter out if they are grazing around the stand while hunting. Planting those seeds will be good depending on the moisture, shade, and flooding like ram said.

 

[Bigfoot]

Does your land have oak trees? Acorns and corn should be plenty of feed

Yes, the acorns may be my ace in the hole. The farms around me have been heavily logged.

 

[Bigfoot]

Bigfoot, i know you wouldnt want to take away from your pastures and having first hand knowledge of your property, you could take and run some hot wire across the back part of the field where your blind was set up when we was there. That would make a small but effective food plot. Another location if not too close to other homes, would be to the right of your barns in one of those small fields. Planting near that watershed will be good as long as it doesnt flood during heavy rains which I believe would. The plot would not last long. You also have some of your fields narrowing down towards the ends. Any of those will make effective food plot locations that will minimize loss of pasture during hunting season. Also look at the facts that you could keep the cows off of it a week prior to when you know the hunters will be there and open it back up after they leave. You will only lose that portion during a few weeks. Also look at it this way, stands dont have to be on the plots. You can back the stands off a hundred yards or so to allow the deer to feel more comfortable. Cows will help the hunter out if they are grazing around the stand while hunting. Planting those seeds will be good depending on the moisture, shade, and flooding like ram said.

I thought about a hot wire, but I dismissed it. I figured the deer would keep it tore down. I never considered they'd eventually get used to it, and jump. That might be the way to go.

 

[Kingfisher]

You can't use a feeder?

 

[Bigfoot]

You can't use a feeder?

Yes, I'm currently running 5 moultree (spelling). They hold 200 pounds of corn. We're going through about a ton of corn per month. Actually probably more than that as I think about it. He wants some plots, and he's an awesome guy to lease to. Seldom comes in, and good company while he is here. Plus the turkeys are hammering the corn. Probably getting 90% or more.

 

[Kingfisher]

What you need a plot for if you got deer and feeders!?!?

 

[Kingfisher]

Maybe you got too many feeders for the # of deer?

 

[shaneb]

Yea they will get use to it. If you can, plant where you can use your regular fence on 2 or 3 sides and hot wire on the side where cows would enter. Deer will come in through the regular fence sides. And make it to where deer can easily jump the hot wire but also to where the cows will stay out.

 

[Bigfoot]

Maybe you got too many feeders for the # of deer?

That could be. Plus I'm not sure why he feeds in so many places, when it's normally just him. Sometimes his wife comes to. They have hunted a total of 7 days, and are gone for the year now. I'm not a hunter, so I really don't know what the thought process is. I have noticed some bucks show up at a particular feeder, and you never get a pic of them on the others. Some visit 2 or 3 feeders in the same day. It's his nickel, and for some reason I enjoy the trail cam pictures. I get some weird pleasure from producing a quality buck/gobbler. Not entirely sure why. I have never killed a turkey, and haven't deer hunted in about 20 years.

 

[Bigfoot]

Yea they will get use to it. If you can, plant where you can use your regular fence on 2 or 3 sides and hot wire on the side where cows would enter. Deer will come in through the regular fence sides. And make it to where deer can easily jump the hot wire but also to where the cows will stay out.

He'd buy a solar charger at the drop of a hat to.

 

[ousoonerfan22]

Except for early season the plots I've planted before didn't get hammered until late in the season. The deer will be on corn until acorns start dropping then there will be piles of corn under the feeder(I slow them down) until the deer get their fill of acorns then slowly start hitting the corn again. We don't have any turkeys where I hunt now but have blackbirds!!! this time of the year. So I set the timer to go off at 5:00 and 6:30 am then 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 pm. Since most of the pictures we get of big bucks are at night I have the 10:00 pm setting to feed them and hopefully they will show up doing the rut.

I'm thinking about trying another food plot next fall though.

 

[Bigfoot]

Except for early season the plots I've planted before didn't get hammered until late in the season. The deer will be on corn until acorns start dropping then there will be piles of corn under the feeder(I slow them down) until the deer get their fill of acorns then slowly start hitting the corn again. We don't have any turkeys where I hunt now but have blackbirds!!! this time of the year. So I set the timer to go off at 5:00 and 6:30 am then 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 pm. Since most of the pictures we get of big bucks are at night I have the 10:00 pm setting to feed them and hopefully they will show up doing the rut.

I'm thinking about trying another food plot next fall though.

He has these timed to go off during the day and night. You can plainly tell the turkeys come during the day when the feeders goes off. In Ky we have a dead period for feeding corn (which I follow). Not sure why we have that, but I'd say it keeps people from shooting turkeys over corn in the spring.

 

[ousoonerfan22]

We did have some turkeys and I would bust out laughing watching them sprint to feeder when it went off!

 

[Bigfoot]

He was hunting over a feeder, and said that they would come when it went off. He also said they were aware he was there. He could get their attention, and keep them away. The ones that would get to the corn pile, wouldn't leave until it was gone despite his efforts to startle them.

 

[Bigfoot]

Pic is from last year. Taken shortly after feeder spun:

 

[Brute 23]

Hot wire will not effect the deer in any way. They go right through them.... act like they don't even feel it.

Food plots are always good to hunt over but they need to be sized to how many deer you have or they will get wiped out.

Might try some self feeders with protein or some thing else to keep the turkeys away. Just a thought. Maybe alfalfa feeders?

 

[ram]

Hot wire will not effect the deer in any way. They go right through them.... act like they don't even feel it.

Food plots are always good to hunt over but they need to be sized to how many deer you have or they will get wiped out.

Might try some self feeders with protein or some thing else to keep the turkeys away. Just a thought. Maybe alfalfa feeders?

Turkeys, bears and coons won't mess with soybeans. And once you get the deer trained to eating soybeans you won't have to mix corn with the beans. I just keep my feeders set to go off 15-20 minutes before it gets dark. The turkeys are ready to go to roost by then. An electric fence doesn't bother a deer to much and the deer will get use to it quickly. I run about 7 miles of electric fences to keep the cows out of where we feed and hunt the deer. If you use t-post and good insulators the deer can't tear it up. If you use the round or fiberglass post you'll be hunting insulators daily.