Hunting Food Plot????

[Spaarky]

We have a wooded area and was considering doing a food plot in it. Nothing real big. Thinking Biologic or something comparable. I should say that the wooded area is surrounded by cropland.

I dont deer hunt, but I thought it would be nice for my buddy that does. Plus I like to see em around. We have some smaller bucks running around, and hoping we could grow a few monsters... At least something mature and worth putting an arrow in, otherwise he might as well arrow does. We have a ton of deer.

Any suggestions would be great. What do you use?? what brands.... ect...

 

[Wyoming T/A]

my brother in NY does some,,i'm headed there for a few days next week..i'll try to find out some info [ if i remember] got crs--cant remember chit

 

[Mafesto]

Talk to SD GF&P
They can tell you what crop mix works well for your local wildlife etc.

 

[XC700116]

I've had good luck by going to the local feed store or co-op and buying a couple kinds of clover, rudabeggies (spelling?), and some oats for sun cover, mix it all up and plant mid spring.

One other one that is pretty awesome for late season is to plant rye about Early august and it'll look like a golf course until the snow covers it then grows high like oats the nest season.

Nutritionally if the soil is good these things are as good as the biologic stuff and WAY cheaper. if you look into the name brand stuff from your sports store you'll find a lot of these same ingredients along with things like rape and that new Zealand stuff that just justifies high prices since most people have never heard of them. I used to work for a sports shop that sold the stuff and even with my 20% discount I didn't buy it.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Spaarky]

Good info. The area wouldnt be huge, just an acre or stretchin it, maybe two. Like I said, would be nice to grow a larger buck or two. The problem becomes the surronding properties. The attitude there is "if its brown its down". We had one dandy 8 point that my buddy stuck a couple years ago now. The bucks that around there now, definetely look like direct decendants of that 8 pointer. There is one monster running around I have seen twice. They cant even get it on a trail camera. All they can get is does and racoons that seem to think it is a photo booth.

 

[XC700116]

The coons can be kind of entertaining from time to time as long as your using digital. with a 35mm trail cam they just get real expensive.

 

[snow_knight]

Call Lee Kolda in Polo,sd.. He is my cousin, He is a horitculturealist (sp?).. but knows quite a bit about what to put in for food plots

 

[Spaarky]

The coons can be kind of entertaining from time to time as long as your using digital. with a 35mm trail cam they just get real expensive.

Its digital, its like they know what it is. Most of the pics are with their faces right up against the camera.

 

[MACH]

Food plots are good for bringing deer or keeping them around your land. BUT to really get big bucks you need to be choosy about what you shoot. Limit your buck shooting to 3 year old deer or older. Sometimes if you work with other land owners around you everyone can benifet from bigger deer.

If you are just looking for more deer in general then a foodplot is your best bet. Good luck man.

 

[Skogen]

Alfalfa - Grows every year.

Go to your local seed dealer and buy the variety that fits your soil type and moisture conditions.

 

[Spaarky]

Mach... Like I said, the neighbors are "if its brown its down" Trying to keep the deer from straying a bit. Also numbers arent that big of an issue. We combined 6 rows of corn x1/2 mile this fall for a yield test and kicked out 20 deer. Is that enough????

Good suggestion on the alfalfa, but when you spend a ton of 100* days bailing it as a kid, you really dont want to see much of it again.. .

We'll see what I come up with. Some of the guys have told me that they like a mix with radishes in it too. That they go nuts over them. Also was thinking bout getting some of this super duper antler growin feed...

 

[XC700116]

Its digital, its like they know what it is. Most of the pics are with their faces right up against the camera.

At least it's not like the ones I get that think it's a new GalPal if you know what I mean. You'd think it smelled like fish or somethin.

 

[NDflatlander]

I think if you contact the state or federal G&F they might actually be able to get you something to plant at little to no cost to you. If they find someone who is willing to put up a food plot for nothing they will applaud your effort and try to help you with it.

 

[Fosgate]

Outlaw,

I live a hunt just a few miles from you and I junt Archery myself. I hunt the Baltic area primarily. I didn't select the contents of our food plot but some things you want to consider before plating them. Right now is the perfect time of year to be out walking the lands looking for trails and antler sheds. This will help establish ideas of where they are moving during times of low cover and identify the big bucks safe area of retreat. Knowing this before foliage comes up and mice squirrels and coons eat the antler sheds for their calcium is critical to establishing a good food plot around here. If you wait until spring they start establishing summer trails that they typically leave and cover dies off just a few weeks before the rut hits. Establish your plot off to the side of a well established late season trail but a ways away from their safety zone 1/4- 1/2mile if possible. And then put your stand or blind along the same trail between the 2.
Now what you plant is critical too, radishes and Some other late season plants are great to keep them around during shooting time. Also give them a selection of soemthing that they don't have readily available nearby. You generally want to plant in a heavily shaded area if possible. Also establish a mineral lick nearby with a camera mounted monitoring the lick and or the Plot. For the lick Apple flavor has worked for me in the late season or you can goto the feed store next to Morrels on Cliff Ave by the Bridge and jsut buy trace elements and mix them with water and pour them on the ground next to a mineral rock. When the season gets late you can substitute the trace minerals with Deer Cain and watch on camera how they eat an 8inch hole in the ground to get to that. C'mer deer is very good also but very expensive. I'f you'd like I'll find out from my buddy what brand we planted but our plot is along the Big Sioux River and what grows down there may not work as well if you planting along a treeline or shelter belt. Let me know.

 

[bonz50]

throughout our property we've put down several small food plots, some are clover, turnips, soy bean (deer go crazy on the bean field), alfalfa and do some supplemental feeding of corn along the routes to and from the food plots... planting the beans is an expensive proposition so we don't bother planting it til late in the season august or early sept incase we have drought conditions (our hunting land is in AL, where the deer are still rutting)...

 

[Spaarky]

Fosgate... nice to meet you, and thanks for the tips. Hunting wise, my budy that hunts there is like the "deer whisperer". He doenst seem to have any problems with set ups. Shoot, this year my buddy came out to get a sled trailer around Thanksgiving. He did a spot and stalk with his street clothes on, and got within 15yards of a monster doe before he stuck her(need to clean out some does). He had a navy blue sweatshirt and grey cap on.(Dont flame me, I know deer are partially color blind)

They have plenty of corn and soybeans. I was thinking a nice mixture of something.. just hadnt decided what yet and didnt know the difference between all of them, there is so many options. Lablab, chickory, blends with winter grasses, peas, canola, radishes.... just didnt know where to start..

Also was thinking about the Deer Cane or Rack Up. I saw these feeders that looked like a stump that might be nice, simple and reasonable for my application. Also thought they would be nice to drop some corn in for the pheasants on a tough year like it has been so far.