Part II: Food & Water

(I’ll warn you this is a long read, but hopefully a good one)

                So you have just a small 8 acre hardwood spot you hunt. You’ve come to notice that when the acorns are dropping the woods light up with activity…but then die to nearly nothing once the last one is spotted and gobbled up. Some will simply chalk this up to the common saying “Just the way it is” and simply continue to be frustrated hunting outside of the acorn droppings. Why? You’re hunting ground simply needs a different food source besides the acorns…yes it’s that simple. Others of you might have the acorn trees, fruit trees and even a small ½ acre food plot full of brassicas to ensure food is present throughout the entire hunting season….but you see nothing?! How close is the nearest water?

                It’s simple, in order to survive a deer needs 2 things: food and water. Genius right, thanks but hold the applause till the end of the write up. So let’s get right to it. If your property isn’t near or have both of those two elements you’re probably not going to see many deer, unless you are near bedding areas. Many just take what they get and go with it. They adjust their standards for acceptable deer to match their property…while there is nothing wrong with that, why not improve the property? Yes, you can make changes to even a mere 5 acres and encourage better deer movement then you’ve ever had before!

                “We’ve got to do something Ty.” My dad said as we discussed a few years back about the neighboring hunters we dealt with and how they’d “bullied” their way onto the same parcel of land we already had permission to hunt (3 acres at that! But that’s another story). “Well…I agree but what?” We then proceeded to put in our first food plot, we didn’t think, shoot we didn’t even plan it out we just did it. Now I don’t recommend this rash style of attack, but it was better than simply doing nothing, however years later we now are realizing if we’d thought it out and designed the food plots locations better we could encourage the deer movement patterns to change. This is why we’ve decided after this hunting season our property will be going through a “facelift” of sorts. Some of our old food plots will be changed or simply turned into pine stands. We will also be doing quite a bit of hinge cutting and clear cutting….all well thought out, planned, designed and attacked in a prioritized way.

                We don’t know if what we do will in fact stop the deer from running along our northern edge, but the one thing we learned from our food plots and small clear cut area is this: “If you create areas that are designed for the deer, they will use them!”.

                I shared all of that with you because with food we have and will continue to switch the deer movements in and around our property. We decided very early on that we had bedding areas on bordering properties and water was close enough that food was how we needed to attack our woods. You need to do the same thing. Once you establish which is a better choice food or water, make it happen. Yes you may have to cut some trees (I’m going to discuss that in Part III) but trust me, even an 1/8 acre food plot will get hit by the deer!  So let’s look at the possibilities once you’ve made the decision of food or water?

*I preface all this with a slight disclosure. Depending on whether you hunt public ground, private property that isn’t yours or hunt a lease property with others; you may not be able to make habitat improvements to certain degrees. However some state land does allow food plots as long as no trees are cut to create clearing and in some cases landowners may have slight rules for changing their property in any way. In either case ask, the worse the park or owner can say is no…and I believe you may be surprised at their answer if you approach it honestly and respectfully.

Food

                You chose food, which means water isn’t something the deer in your area lack on a regular basis. Food may not be lacking around your property but it is something you feel could add to your property. Food plots are the quickest and easiest way to introduce food to your property whether it is mature woods, recently logged out woods or even open grassy areas with hardly any mature trees. The first mistake many hunters make is they pick a spot and start clearing a square shaped spot as big as they’re comfortable with…WRONG! I’ll take an 8 acre property with two or three 1/8 acre food plots on it over that same property that has a 3 acre rectangle shaped food plot on it, that deer can see a long distance in it. Why? Simple, deer want to feel secure and the more secure they feel the more likely they’ll move during daylight. To get them not only moving on your property but also doing that during daylight hours is our main objective! That was one of the mistakes my father and I made with our first food plot…while it isn’t a cube shaped one it is far too open for a deer to feel secure in it. This coming spring we’re going to be separating it into two small ones with hinge cutting as to create two smaller food plots that a deer can’t see for more than 30 yards or so, hence feeling more secure.

(example...now this one in my opinion isn't the greatest but it's pretty darn good. Picture courtesy of google images.)

                While everybody has their preference when it comes to shape, I’m a fan of the kidney shaped food plots or the Y format just so long as you keep them on the smaller side. To create that security the more cover you can have surrounding them the better, whether that be planting bushes, hinge cutting trees or allowing undergrowth to flourish around the new plots. This surrounding cover does 3 things; it allows the deer to feel protected and secure, hides your movements heading into a stand near the plot if deer are present and it will allow you to choose where the deer enter the plot from by creating openings.

                If that doesn’t sound like a promising set up, now connect one food plot to another little one. Notice I didn’t say just plant another food plot like 30 to 40 yards away, I said “connect” them. If you create a natural path for deer to move from plot to plot where they once again feel secure they’ll use that path more than any other available. In order to do this 2 approaches could be taken. The best way if allowed is hinge cutting between the two plots. This hinge cutting process is where you cut into a tree just enough to make it fall but hopefully leave a part of it still attached to the trunk. If done in the late winter time before spring occurs, nutrients will still flow up (during spring) that piece connecting the now fallen tree and the stump creating some amazing browse for deer and a almost solid wall blocking travel. The combination of these fallen trees and the now undergrowth booming due to no more canopy over head is going to produce a pretty thick area in a rather short time (after only 2 years the undergrowth will reach a height that can hide almost an entire deer’s body when standing).

Couple hinge cut examples. The last two show how you can block a trail leading to or from your plots very easily:

(all 3 pictures courtesy of iowawhitetail.com)

                What you do then is “connect” the two food plots by clearing a path in this hinge cut mess. The main thing you need to remember is NEVER MAKE THIS TRAIL STRAIGHT!!! This is due to the security factor and how a deer feels more secure when they can’t see for great distances, it will also hopefully slow them down to get a better shot chance. These paths are deadly set ups for stands as the deer will pass through them feeling very much at ease, if you do your part that is.

                Now there is plenty more to discuss for food plots but I’ll delve into seed choice and soil testing at a later date, for now let’s discuss water.

Water

                Some would say, and up until 2 months ago I was one, adding water to your property without spending a small fortune is impossible! Well, I was wrong and can’t believe how easy it is to do. It’s so easy that even though water isn’t something the deer on our property are in high demand for we’re still going to be adding it more than likely this next season.

                Have a kiddie pool that’s not getting used? That’s right, a kiddie pool. I have met and read about numerous guys using everything from kiddie pools, old hot tubs and even just simple tarps to create watering holes. The key is to keep it simple and don’t feel you have to provide a ½ acre pond sized watering hole. No matter what you use the first thing is location. Do you want to hunt the water, the trail to or from the water, or do you want the water to be a safety zone where the deer are never hunted? Once that’s decided and you choose a spot there’s a couple approaches to keeping water in it. The honest to goodness best way is to run hose/piping to it and just simply turn in on every now and then…however some places this just isn’t an option. You may have to transport water into the hole from time to time depending on rain, or simply rely upon the contour of the land and rain to keep your water hole filled.

(Obviously I would have atleast painted the thing brown or earth tone and put some dirt in it, but you get the idea. Picture from http://www.archerytalk.com/)

                I’ll admit I’m a novice at this and will be just as interested as you all to see how it goes for us, I’ll be sure to post pictures of the process for us! The most important thing I’ve learned from others who have done it is if you do a tarp, kiddie pool or something similar you need to fill it with dirt first no matter what. This creates a more natural pool setting and won’t spook deer if they step into it, where a vinyl bottom may feel wrong to them. If you simply want to dig a hole and let nature do its thing I do advise you look into bentonite clay powder. This stuff will make a hole almost water proof, allowing water to sit in the hole much longer as it won’t be absorbed into the ground.

(An example of a way to feed a simple dug hole. Picture from Bowhunting.net)

                In closing just remember by doing nothing, nothing will happen. But, if you decide to do things to the habitat with deer in mind, nothing will get worse. As a matter of fact I can say with quite a bit of certainty it will only get better! Hopefully, this part of the series made you at the very least start thinking about what you could do to encourage better deer movement on your hunting property, and in the end increasing your odds at harvesting more deer.

*Next and final Part III will discuss manipulating the habitat by cuttings, plantings and other tactics.

Real Quick...

Well...bad news but encouraging news for others hunting small wood lots like my father and I. One of those neighboring hunters to the north arrowed a 120ish inch buck last night. Bad news is another big buck down and not able to grow, but it isn't the huge one "Bow" so my dad still has a chance. 

I just wanted to share this with the readers as it may encourage those of you hunting small acreage spots that come this time of year there is no telling what might show up! This brute was not a regular!

Part two of management due before the end of the week! Make sure to keep checking back!

Part I: Harvest Decision and Minimum Establishment

                Now I’d like to take a moment to explain the 3-part series of "QDM" blogs I’m going to post. These are designed for the hunter wanting to better the deer herd on their property and up their odds of both seeing and harvesting deer year in and year out. I will discuss how to establish a minimum level for bucks, how to properly harvest does, stand positioning and how to manipulate the land in your favor. The information will be of use for any level of hunter, whether you’re a pure meat hunter who could care less about antlers or those of you looking to possibly get a set of antlers in your hands that you consider a good buck.

Part I: Harvest Decision and Establishing a Minimum

                You look in the paper or on the wall of your local deer check in spot and all you see are guys taking bigger bucks than you…shoot you haven’t even seen bucks that big in the stand ever! You go home dejected and simply frustrated…the next time you climb your stand an awesome thing happens a basket 6-pointer walks by and you make the perfect shot. While you celebrate and calm yourself down in your treestand you hear something…you look to where you heard the sound and meet a set of eyes connected to a huge 8-point buck. He takes off and you set there shocked at what just happened.

                Now, some may say this is highly unlikely…you haven’t hunted enough. The biggest buck I have taken was following a yearling 4-pointer by no more than 5-10 minutes. Big bucks aren’t big because they’re dumb, I’ve witnessed numerous times older bucks allowing the younger ones to lead the way. Let’s be honest for a moment, things will happen, every single hunter has taken a deer they now wish they wouldn’t have. Mine is a tiny 8-pointer I took one season when I couldn’t take going another season 0’fer. I have since regretted that decision and wondered if I’d have another nice set of antlers in my man cave just asking for someone to ask the story behind that bad boy if I would have let that 8 walk.

                Now some of you may be thinking you have only 5, 10, 20 acres of land to hunt, you don’t have the area or the resources to not shoot the first buck you see. Granted some places are more likely to have big bucks traveling them, however there are good solid bucks everywhere you go in most of the Continental United States; with the key being if you’re willing to wait for one?

                So the first step in becoming a quality hunter is two parts in my opinion. The first is the most crucial; take does when needed. You will know your deer herd better than I do, and know when your doe population is getting far too high. Now you may be saying, but Ty I only have 17 acres of ground with hunters surrounding it. Okay, fear not I’m in the exact same position see this map:

                I circled the places my father and I have permission to hunt, he owns only 11ish acres of it all. You’ll see we deal with quite a few other hunters and I didn’t even mention to the North and South there’s more on different properties. So as you can see I relate to those of you saying there is no way we can manage a herd’s doe population without a large chunk of ground. Not true, it just takes a little more work is all. You need to at the very least become acquaintances with these other hunters and if nothing else request they tell you when they harvest buck or doe (don’t worry about how big the buck is) and document this. You’ll begin to get a bigger picture of just how your local deer herd is affected each and every season. We learned that 9 does were harvested on the property to the Southwest…which led us to only harvesting 1 doe as they took over 70% of the does harvested within the properties pictured on that map. Without actually seeking out the other hunters and knowing their affect on the deer herd size, it would be quite easy for over harvesting to occur.

                The whole goal to harvesting does and tracking it is to try to obtain a buck to doe ratio of somewhere between 1:2 and 1:3. Meaning there’s 1 buck for every 2-3 does in your local deer population. It's estimated that the normal US herds are around 6:1...not ideal. This will increase the activity level of bucks during the rut as there isn’t as many does to go around, thus increasing the chances of harvesting more and better bucks over a span of years.

                The second part is the hard part for some hunters, picking the caliber of buck you’re going to consider a shooter. This is a personal choice you and/or your local hunters need to make. It’s great if you can get other hunters on board, but to be honest isn’t always going to be the case. We’re lucky enough to know that nearly every bow hunter during early bow season are not going to harvest any real young or small antlered bucks. However, come gun season we are less fortunate and realize every single year nearly half of our adolescent bucks will be harvested…we still however persevere with our set minimum my father and I established. We have a minimum of “Must have either 8 points or be as wide as their ears.” Now that minimum obviously is thrown out the window if come late season we get an injured buck coming onto our property or a buck we know is  3 or 4 and still under producing in the antler category. The key though is that we’ve established a minimum, and stuck to it. For some of you that might be a point minimum, say 4 points. Others may say only 120+ inch deer can be harvested; whichever it is set it and do it.

                Now sticking to it at times will be hard. There will be times when you haven’t seen anything, not even a doe, for weeks and a little 5 pointer walks up and begs to be shot. If it falls below your minimum will you have the resolve to not shoot it? Allow me to offer some encouragement to keeping that deer alive. Think about the bucks you see during a hunting season, how often do you see the exact same buck? Usually not too terribly much, maybe every other time to the field if we’re lucky right? An example of this is that of all the bucks I’ve shot, none of them did I see twice in the same season. That means I saw them once and harvested them that same time. If that’s the case then you passing up that 5, could be the difference between him living that year and dying; he just may slip all other hunters for the rest of the season if you let him walk. Yes, you may never know or he may get harvested by another hunter; but you letting him walk put one more buck back into the buck pool other hunters have to shoot from (meaning one more that will live).

                This is just the first part to establishing a level of QDM on your hunting property. The next will be Food & Water: Which Do I Need More Of?