so this year was the first that i had pictures of deer, and they were nice ones at that. now i am fearful that i will lose them during the of season unless i suppliment... What would yall recommend, i have bout 3 places each with 3-6 acers of open grass.... would it be better to food plot, or put up a protien feeder? I have been looking and the Biologic LabLab mix, but i just dont want to loose them. Any help

Feeding will not hurt but if there is no water nearby it probably won't really matter on places that small if we stay in drought. Do you or your neighbors have water sources?

food plot if you grow something during all seasons and make it worth while, like you cant plant a road 50 yards I am talking about acres of it. If you cant do that then protien feeder

i have a great water sources, the only ones in the area... Iv been having difficulty finding something that i can plant early spring.... and suggestions?

Do you have cattle or hogs? Do you have a tractor and implements to get the land ready? Do you own this place or lease? How many deer do you have on the place or that will utilize these plots? What is your average rainfall? Lab Lab is a great plant but it needs-plowed land with no weeds/grass, needs to be fenced to keep cattle and deer off of it as it grows, it needs to be protected from deer to at least 5-6 weeks of age if you can, it is drought tolerant but needs some ground moisture at planting and then some timely rains when growing. Lab Lab is not something you can throw on the ground and expect to grow. Get a soil test and it will tell you what your soil needs for better success.
If you can not do or cover most of what is in question then I would use protein feeders to hold your deer. In the long run when you put a pencil to it usually for most people spending the money on feed is cheaper than planting a food plot. If you can get the food plot to grow well then it is cheaper than protein but the rains will give you enough native forage that you will not need a food plot.

no cattle, few hogs, yes tractor and implements, own land, less then 15 deer per square mile, rainfall of alittle over 43 inches. wont be able to run a fence around the plot... can you plant lablab successfully in the earliy spring time? maybe ill just do both

For most legumes you will need the soil and night time temps to be warmer. You will want to be planting around the first to mid April I would guess or at least a couple weeks past the last freeze/frost date. If you plant Lab Lab to early it will just set there and not grow. If you plant it when the soil temps are warmer it will grow faster. Lab Lab for the most part will jump out of the ground in warm temps and then put on 2 sets of leaves in the first week and then spend alomst the next 10 days or so putting down a root structure. Any grazing pressure at his point to the leaves will do harm to the plant in that they might not recover and grow anymore. With a deer to 40 acres then I would try to mix it the first year with a cowpea and plant enough acres to keep them from grazing it out to fast. An acre of good food plot can support about 4-7 deer if it is has enough moisture and gets 3-4 headstart before they find it. Really good food plots can support 7-10 per acre.

Be careful about plowing up too much new ground if you are getting any type of payments from the DOA. A thing about "Sod Busting" land that has not been plowed before. I don't know if they are still strick about it. but years ago they questioned me on a plot I planted for a neighbor.

we do work with the USDA, but we dont allow them to have any control on what goes on in my hunting areas. Thank you all for the great info, i think i have3 all i need. i think i will give the plots a try. i will post pics as the time of year comes around.