The weeks before hunting season are typically filled with excitement and planning, but also maybe a little stress. Have you started prepping soon enough? Should I plant a food plot? What are the rules on public lands? Which of these ‘best on the market’ minerals is best on the market? With so much innovation and growth in the deer hunting landscape, navigating all of the available options is likely overwhelming.
So here’s what we recommend.
We are not biologists or botanists. We aren’t certified experts. And we can’t even guarantee any of this will work. But if you’re looking for somewhere to start your deer season prep, we can say from experience, this is not a bad place to start.
DISCLAIMER – before the keyboard warriors tell us all the things they don’t like about our plan, remember, this is just our plan. Adjust it, change it up and make it your plan.
Setting up a Fall foodplot
There were years in our youth where we started tilling the land, spreading fertilizer and seed starting as early as February and March for deer season. Our families were small (or not born yet), life was easy, and every waking hour not working was all about deer season. We had plots that targeted specific bucks and plots that helped new deer find us. But then life happened and here we are figuring out if we have time to sneak in a food plot in the last month before the season starts. Here’s the cool part: both ways harvest deer.
Basic food plot tips:
· Map out where you want to put your fall food plot(s). If you’re targeting a specific buck, look back on your camera at his traffic patterns from years past. In the Fall, how will the landscape look different without leaves? Will the deer still want to travel through the spot?
· Pick what you’re going to plant. If you’re hunting near farmlands, you will want to likely plant something different than what the farmer has made available. If he’s planted soy beans, maybe you consider turnips or clover to provide some variety. If you're not typically successful with planting things, try starting with a heartier plant with good success rate (i.e. Clover).
· Consider the equipment available to you. Maybe you have a tractor or a friend with a tractor and can turn the ground, spread fertilizer, create a large plot and plant seeds. But if you don’t, you can still make it happen with a hard rake. Consider a no-till style seed blend.
· Get good seed. Buying current season seed from an authorized retailer of just about any brand will 100% increase the odds of the seed growing.
· Get it out there. Follow the zone planting charts for your area and let ‘er rip. Zone planting charts will tell you what you could/should plant in the Spring, Summer or early Fall.
What should I feed them?
This is hands down one of the number one questions we get at the shop throughout deer season: what should I feed the deer, how much do I need and when do I put it out? Finding the right mix between keeping them healthy and keeping them coming back for more is the goal. Here’s how we typically answer these questions as it pertains to hunting in Central NC.
DISCLAIMER – if you are hunting in a CWD surveillance area in NC, please consult the regulations digest for guidelines and mandatory restrictions on the use of deer feed and minerals.
Feeding (and growing) your deer herd:
· Corn. Borderline the junk food of deer food, corn can attract deer directly into a specific shooting lane or area. Some people feed corn all year, but we tend to keep corn to just around deer season. We start putting it out in desired hunting spots about 1-2 months in advance and keep it on the ground throughout the season.
· Deer feeder versus corn on the ground. This is mainly a budget question; how often do you want to keep buying corn to keep the deer coming back? There are some people that will tell you that deer are scared of feeders. Maybe their deer herd is afraid of the feeder; but the only way to figure that out is trial and error.
· Minerals. We are big fans of minerals that help to support deer herd health, antler growth, body size, immune function and healthier fetal growth. Again, there are a lot of products out there in the mineral category. At the shop, we’ve narrowed the selection down to only our favorite mineral powders and blocks, hopefully making it easier for you to choose. Minerals should start going out when the grass starts growing in the spring and then taper off gradually through deer season. If you are using a fragrant, salty mineral, it can double as a great attractant too.
· Protein pellets. Very often packaged with vitamins and minerals, proteins have helped deer maintain good overall health. How do you feel when you’ve had a high-protein meal after a workout? This is the same science at work here. Protein pellets can be put out on the same schedule as corn, but we have heard some people using them all year (which can get pricey).
Remember, these are just recommendations based upon what works for us. Not every deer herd is the same; not every hunters experience is the same. If this is your first time really digging into more involved deer season prep, maybe you just start with a no-till style food plot, a corn bed and some mineral.
Whatever you do, have fun with it. Enjoy it. This is supposed to be for fun, right!?
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