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Below is a table showing the percentage of times that mature bucks have been sighted on our properties compared with what time the bucks were spotted.
Clearly one of the best times to hunt is between 9am and lunch when most people are coming out of the woods. Looking at these numbers, I can almost guarantee that a hunter can take a great buck every season if he or she hunts through lunchtime. When the moon is full, 10 am seems like it is the magic hour for big mature bucks.
The
summer plots that have been most effective on my lease are made up of
peas, soybeans, lab lab, sorghum and sunflowers. However with rising
prices, this year, I strictly stuck with a mixture of tropical corn,
Indian corn, and soybeans. The deer enjoy eating the top leaves
off the soybeans and peas, and leave
the stems sticking up for more leaves to grow. It is as if the deer have
learned through experience that if they don't eat the entire plant, it will re-grow.
Once the soybean matures and the leaves die, the plant is left with
highly nutritious soybeans in little pods. The deer love to eat these
once the soybean inside the pod is hardened! Some people have told me
that deer will not eat their soybeans or corn off the stalks. If this
happens to you, try pulling back the husk of several ears of corn while
leaving them on the stalk. The deer will get the idea after eating a few
ears. With the soybeans, it is simply a matter of maturity level. The
deer will wait until the soybean is just the way they like it and then
they will destroy the crop in a few days. Then others, like myself,
In addition to fall and spring planting, we also set out
feeders, mineral blocks, salt blocks, and
As outlined in our management plan, we allow our members to take up to
three bucks with 8 or more points and four does. The ideal deer to take
is one in its prime (four to six years old). This ensures
that we can maintain a larger capacity of deer in their prime, rather
than having a bunch of deer that are older and may have regressed
antlers or poor fawn production. In addition, most
Our deer management plan has very strict guidelines, but many years of
practice tell us that we must be doing something right. As each season
passes, we see more and bigger deer than the year before. In addition to
this, we are constantly adding new lands to our club. Each year
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© 2009 Whitetail
Adventures Hunting Club
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At Whitetail Adventures Hunting Club, we manage our
properties for trophy whitetails and turkeys. Our management plan not
only consists of an 8-point rule, but it includes guidelines for
year-round feeding (not during hunting season, of course!) in addition
to spring & fall plots.
you are able to tell a great difference not only
in the quantity of deer, but there has been a great difference in the
quality of deer. Since we began managing our properties, our records
show that the average body weight of whitetails we harvest is increasing
each year. In the first year of management, there was a 3 1/2 year old 8
point killed and it weighed in at 140lbs. Last season, 3 1/2 year old
bucks that were harvested averaged 180 pounds and had much larger
antlers. This shows that in five seasons, the average body weight
increased by over 30%. If you like statistics, then you will really like
this... After several years of documenting deer sightings and harvests on our lands,
I have come up with some interesting numbers. 
Even
leaving the previous fall's wheat and oats can sustain deer through June.
I end up plowing my plots a couple different times to make the soil a
little less compact and to completely eliminate weeds. It is much less
expensive to plow a plot two or three times prior to planting than it is
to spray several acres worth of food plots with weed-killer. During the
Summer of 2009, I only planted one two-acre food plot with a mixture of
corn and soybeans. After 3 weeks of growing, it was about ankle tall, so
I applied 100 pounds of ammonium nitrate along with 100 pounds of
13-13-13 (for the soybeans) and the food plot exploded with growth! In 3
days, the corn all over the plot grew over 14 inches in height! It went
from ankle-tall to well over knee-tall. The difference in the soybeans
was also very dramatic. Prior to the fertilizer application, the
soybeans had just made their second sets of leaves, and were beginning
to have a yellow tint to the plant. However now they are as green as can
be as well as the corn. The deer had also began heavily browsing the
soybeans throughout the field. I counted over 20 different sets of
tracks entering the field. It had just rained the day before so all
tracks were fresh. I planted that particular corn and soybean field the
end of the first week of July. This means that it will be mature and
edible for the deer right around opening day of bow season! I am sure
this fall will prove to be interesting!
have to find ways to keep the deer off the crop so it has time to grow.
Deer can destroy even a two acre soybean field before it even makes its
second sets of leaves. You can prevent this by tying two metal pie pans
to a stick and sticking them on the edge and middle of food plot. Do
this with several sticks and pans all around the plot. The wind will
blow the pans around and they will cling together. The deer don't like
the motion or the noise. Once the soybeans are up, remove the sticks,
and the deer will flock in. I have seen them in the past, however, get
used to the sticks with the pans flying around in the wind.
I have experimented with a new type of forage soybean called the Tyrone
forage soybean. It is
capable of growing up to 8' tall, but around
here, the deer will only let it get about 3 or 4 feet deep. It is best to plant a support crop
such as sorghum or corn so that the soybeans and lab lab will have a
stalk to climb. However, for the last couple years, it has been nearly
impossible to get this variety of soybean due to crop failures and
demand. Many hunters that plant food plots do not realize how many
different varieties may exist of each kind of plant. It is best to check
with your local co-op to see which varieties will grow best in your
area, especially when planting corn. For us, tropical corn has been the
best bet. Usually the seed we buy was produced in Argentina or somewhere
else in South America. This variety of corn is more prone to withstand
the hot, humid summers we see down here in Southeast Alabama. It can
also be planted as late as July. 
content of the leaves, and makes the plant
more palatable. Because of this, we have to plant other varieties of
seed along with it because of the different seed maturity rates. In
spots where we have an excellent standing corn and soybean crop, we will
broadcast the seed over the corn just before a rain. The
corn and soybeans act as a cover crop while the oats and clovers can
grow. Soybeans and peas cannot be beat when it comes to an early-season
bow hunting plot. They will grow up until about the second frost of the
year. Because of our wide variety of planting choices, the deer always
have plenty food to eat in the plots both early and late in the season.
If there is an abundance of high-quality food, then you will have an
abundance of high-quality deer. Those high-quality deer will then fill
your freezer!
we create mineral licks. I put out all these things right after hunting
season ends, and I collect
them all before the next season begins. This along with our year-round
planting ensures our bucks get the proper protein and nutrition that is
crucial to antler development. The does will also take advantage of the
nutrition we provide, and in return, they give us healthier fawns.
Normally, we keep several trail cameras running at all times. This helps
us keep a good idea of peak movement times. I have experimented using
the new Trophy Rocks this year, and the deer seem to love it. To the
right is a picture of what is left of a trophy rock after I placed it
on the edge of a food plot. It is now only half of its original size. In
addition, unlike conventional mineral blocks, a trophy rock is not
considered bait because it is a naturally mined rock. Other than trophy
rocks, the only mineral blocks that are legal to hunt over in Alabama
are pure white salt blocks. Any brown mineral block or flavored block is
considered bait and illegal to hunt over.
When
we set out our feeders, we usually include both corn and soybeans in the
mixture of feed. The corn puts the fat on the deer while the soybeans
provide much needed protein during antler development. Protein is
crucial in antler development. A deer's body consumes a certain amount
of protein in order to survive, and whatever is leftover goes towards
the development of antlers. By increasing the amount of protein the deer
receive, their bodies can dedicate more towards the buck's antlers. Each
feeder is set with four feeding times--usually 6am, 10am, 1pm, and 6pm.
We also set up game cameras on the trails going to and from our feeders
so that we can get an approximate count of the
deer in the area. This helps me determine an approximate deer population.
From that information, I develop a set of harvest goals for each season.
Each year in the spring, I go looking for antlers that the bucks
have shed. Usually, the sheds are found in the thickest areas of the property, so
we are not able to find a majority of them. However, we have found some
very large ones! To the right is a picture of 3 sheds I have found
on our property along with some of the antlers of a few of the deer that
I have taken off our lands.
healthy does with the proper nutrition
can drop 2 or more
fawns a year, and sometimes even three, from 2.5 years old until they
are about 6.5 years old. After that, most does will only produce one
fawn a year as they get into the older age category (7.5 years and up).
The older population of does is basically a drain on the herd, so they
are all prime candidates for harvest. These old "nannys" can eat up to
twice as much as a younger doe and sometimes do not even produce fawns. So not only is
nutrition important, but keeping a well-balanced age structure also plays a large role in a
successful
management plan. In addition to the age-structure, maintaining a proper
buck-to-doe ratio is vital in your herd's health. On my lease, I
maintain a 2 to 1 ratio of bucks to does. I accomplish this by
harvesting 3 does for every buck harvest. This has taken many years to
achieve, but now that the results are in, you are more likely to see a
buck while hunting in my woods than a doe. The most dramatic results are
visible during the rut. By having more bucks than does, you ensure that
only the dominant and superior bucks breed rather than every buck in the
herd having his turn. This helps weed out unwanted antler traits and
other genetic defects. This increased competition leads to more
sightings and success, especially during the rut. In one case during the
2008-2009 hunting season, I saw 5 bucks chasing the same doe. Many years
ago when I first acquired my lease, I could go weeks without seeing a
deer, much less find one chasing a doe. I ended up only seeing one buck
that year, but it was a nice one that went on the wall! However during
the 2008-2009 season, I saw a total of 14 different bucks, and I saw
some of those on numerous different occasions. Of those 14 I harvested
my state limit of 3. 
, we try
to plant a little more than the year before which increases the carrying
capacity of the land by adding proper nutrition. All of this turns into
great success in the field. On our