I'm no pro but Matt brings up something to think about. I have alway been amazedhow deer will only eat the top of the sweet potato sticking out of the ground yet never dig the whole thing up? Or how they will eat only the side of the ear of corn facing up and never roll it over. Maybe the ones here are just lazy but they rarely dig to recover food, at least in the areas I have always hunted. With that being said, how many times have you pushed back the leave only to find piles of acorns left over from last year? I actually don;t think the deer push many of the leaves out of the way?Why they don't I have no idea but if you consider their feeding habits I'm thinking uncovering them may be a good idea?

Ican offer thisas a sure fire way to bring one to the spot you choose. Scrap out a large area just before going up the tree. Almost without fail ever deer that comes within sight or smell will walk straightover and investigate. The smell offresh earth is agreat attractant, uncovering say a 10x10 or better may have pretty good results? If you do it let us know how it goes. As far as using a machine in your hunting area. Thats depends a lot on what the animals in that area are used to hearing. If there's a lot of farm equipment runs inthe areait may not have a big impact?