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Food Plot Conundrum
#6096624
12/22/15 06:29 PM
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 10,490
DQ Kid
OP
THF Celebrity
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OP
THF Celebrity
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 10,490 |
I've got the nicest food plot I've had in my 8 years of land ownership in SW Young county. A combination of 10-12", oats, chicory, beans and clover covering about 2 acres. Problem is, the deer seem to be hitting it exclusively at night with hundreds of tracks in/around it but no sightings as of yet while I'm out there hunting. Any way to change their evening patterns using this food plot? Anyone else experience this? Haven't had a plot camera yet but thinking of getting one out on it just to see exactly what times they're hitting it.
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6096643
12/22/15 06:40 PM
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,021
Kevin_M
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,021 |
I'll be keeping an eye on this one as I have a very similar problem.
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6096646
12/22/15 06:41 PM
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Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 552
TX TCAT
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 552 |
I don't know how you'd deter them from hitting it at night. Best you can do is cross your fingers and hope for some colder weather. They will definitely move more during the day once we get a cold snap.
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6096656
12/22/15 06:45 PM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 12,660
Dustnsand
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 12,660 |
You just need a spotlight
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6096660
12/22/15 06:46 PM
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,874
Enter Standman
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,874 |
Take this with a grain of salt, but I was listening to a podcast the other day where the guy was saying it's a mistake to move on your plot before daylight as you might bump them and decrease the chance of them coming back later in the morning. Maybe this option is worth a shot to change it up on them.
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: Dustnsand]
#6096704
12/22/15 07:05 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 4,478
4Weight
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 4,478 |
You just need a spotlight I like this idea QDog !
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6096729
12/22/15 07:19 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
If the deer are not living on your land around the food plot there is not much you can do. Hunting over food plots on the morning has never worked for me. Evening hunts are the best if you have multiple stands/plots to hunt to not pressure deer with your exit from the blind. The more you bump them the later they will enter in nice weather. These warmer temps we have had are making the deer move later also. Add in the rainfall and excellent weed growth and they do not need to move much.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: Enter Standman]
#6096753
12/22/15 07:30 PM
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Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 139
Lil Joe
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 139 |
Take this with a grain of salt, but I was listening to a podcast the other day where the guy was saying it's a mistake to move on your plot before daylight as you might bump them and decrease the chance of them coming back later in the morning. Maybe this option is worth a shot to change it up on them. All or most of the "pros" on hunting shows that hunt in the Midwest and north say they only hunt food plots in the evening because they would run them out in the mornings when they are entering the area.
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: stxranchman]
#6096843
12/22/15 08:39 PM
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Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 15,658
QuitShootinYoungBucks
THF Celebrity
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Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 15,658 |
If the deer are not living on your land around the food plot there is not much you can do. Hunting over food plots on the morning has never worked for me. Evening hunts are the best if you have multiple stands/plots to hunt to not pressure deer with your exit from the blind. The more you bump them the later they will enter in nice weather. These warmer temps we have had are making the deer move later also. Add in the rainfall and excellent weed growth and they do not need to move much. Good advice here. There were 15 in our plot Saturday morning before sunup and 10 Sunday morning. If I'd tried to get to the stand they'd have vacated post-haste. I would also advise watching it for activity in the middle of the day, say 10-2. If they can bed close, sometimes they'll come back for a midday snack.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170223065011/http:/www.rrdvegas.com/silencer-cleaning.html
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6096868
12/22/15 08:53 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,038
Texas buckeye
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,038 |
it just needs to get colder...this weekend should be good for deer hunters!
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6096888
12/22/15 09:03 PM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032
Navasot
Hollywood
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Hollywood
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032 |
get on mld and hunt it in February.
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6096891
12/22/15 09:04 PM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032
Navasot
Hollywood
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Hollywood
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032 |
other than that theres not enough need for them to eat during the day...
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: Navasot]
#6096906
12/22/15 09:09 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
get on mld and hunt it in February. If you are doing that why wait till they are all broken up? Hunt in October
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6096915
12/22/15 09:13 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,038
Texas buckeye
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 11,038 |
too stinking hot in October.
I need to look into the depredation night time exemptions which allow people to deer hunt at night. But then I would have to feed some sort of glow in the dark mineral mix all summer so I could tell which bucks had the good racks while hunting them.
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6097028
12/22/15 10:02 PM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 2,678
Txhunter65
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 2,678 |
Like others have said:
There's only one rule for hunt food plots in the morning..... Don't.
In the evenings if you can tell where the deer are primarily coming from move away from the plot a few hundred yards and try to intercept them on their way to the plot of theyre not coming till after dark.
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6097076
12/22/15 10:35 PM
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 7,984
Stompy
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 7,984 |
I only hunt mine in the afternoons. I road corn around it and they usually start hitting the corn about 5pm and the field from 5:30 to 6pm. Lots of food for the deer this year. Some of my deer will just nibble on the corn then browse in the woods.
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: stxranchman]
#6097276
12/23/15 12:54 AM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032
Navasot
Hollywood
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Hollywood
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032 |
get on mld and hunt it in February. If you are doing that why wait till they are all broken up? Hunt in October Very true! Unless you stuck at level 2
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6097282
12/23/15 12:57 AM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032
Navasot
Hollywood
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Hollywood
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032 |
I hunt mine in the morning but only when it's really cold. Most these deer house close though
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: Navasot]
#6097443
12/23/15 02:14 AM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
I hunt mine in the morning but only when it's really cold. Most these deer house close though I hunt mine also but drive to blind in the Ranger and put things inside so that the Ranger will run the deer off. Then road feed openings that I feed everytime I hunt. I see more deer in the mornings than evenings but that is due to me catching deer moving back to bedding cover after feeding at other two plots and feeders while browsing their way to bed.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6098172
12/23/15 03:44 PM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032
Navasot
Hollywood
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Hollywood
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 28,032 |
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Re: Food Plot Conundrum
[Re: DQ Kid]
#6098195
12/23/15 03:56 PM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,038
Western
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,038 |
I almost always see deer in my plot in the mornings, if I get in at least 45 minutes before sunrise. I also walk to my stand as quietly as possible. If I bump deer going in late, I will usually see some return around 9-9:30 am.
Pulled cards 2 days ago and have the most on corn during the nighttime anyway. (feeder is on edge of one plot) Also have considerable activity around 11am-1pm, then again around 5pm to dark.
My upper plot (high ground) is seeing the most late evening traffic, then they move 60 yards to the plot with the feeder. I will have to shred (mow) my feeder plot soon as it is up around 10-12", so probably getting a bit tougher. Top plot is kept down good by the deer as it is only about 1/4 acre maybe.
BTW, even during the couple of real cold snaps we had, I had better late morning activity in the oats/wheat, but much earlier afternoon grazing, pretty much normal.
If at first you dont succeed, then skydiving is not for you..
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln Dennis
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