i need some help please
09-13-2009, 08:58 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 11
i need some help please
alright to start off im a very young and unexperienced hunter. i bow hunt and rifle hunt. i live in alabama if that helps any. i have a few questions to start with: i wanna plant a pretty good food plot but dont know when a good time is, whats the best kind of seed to use, how do you pick a good spot to set up a ladder stand, what are some good tips to make me a sucessful hunter? thanks for any help
09-14-2009, 02:54 AM
#2
Typical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: grottoes,va.
Posts: 764
go to your hunting area,find what the deer are feeding on. then try to figure out where they bed during the day. set on a well used trail ,maybe 20-25 yards off the trail. make sure you set the stand for your best shots towards the trail. pay attention to the way the wind blows when you set your stand. wash your clothing in baking soda and store them in a trash bag. use some sort of odor killer to help mask your scent before going hunting. as the season changes you may have a change in food the deer are eating and may want to change your stand location. i take it you haven't killed many deer ,so don't stuck in the trophy buck only mode. kill what ever makes you happy,any deer is a trophy with a bow. happy hunting,good luck!
09-14-2009, 04:31 AM
#3
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 11
thanks alot. and no i have only killed one deer which was a very small button buck with a crossbow at about 25-30 yards away. im about to leave out to look for a place to put my deer stand.. whats a good seed to plant in a food plot to really bring the deer in?
09-14-2009, 04:40 AM
#4
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ponce de Leon Florida USA
Posts: 10,079
Go to the "Wildlife Management" forum and look at the thread titled "Food Plot Choice" and read my reply. IMHO I don't think that you will be able to plant a food plot that will be any better. As to the stand location I like to put a stand on the east or south side of a plot as usually that is opposite the usual fall/winter wind. You didn't say where in Bama you hunt. I have hunted in south Bama for over 40 years, mainly in the Troy/Clayton/Kinston area. Welcome to the board.
09-14-2009, 07:37 AM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,186
Timbercruiser's advice is sound. i too hu nt Alabama - south of Montgomery, mostly around Eufaula and Fitzpatrick. Food plot planting is a simple process, but one that needs to be followed for optimum results. Soil testing is a step in the right dorection, and when the recomendations are followed leads to a fine result. As for what to plant, in my opinion ther is no need to go to the high-dollar, oft advertised stuff. A simple mix of buck-wheat, oats and Crimson Clover is sufficient. A good mix can be found at a Quality Co-Op. I think it is called "Buck Blend" and runs under $20/50#. That will do about an acre. Stand location is a key and Timbercruiser hit on the head.
09-14-2009, 02:00 PM
#6
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 11
i live and hunt in walker county. thanks for the info about the stand and im def going to read that reply on the forum Timbercruiser. i didnt mention either than im only 15 and i do pretty much everything for my hunting by myself my dad doesnt get into it like i do. im willing to put alot of effort into hunting and all the prep work that goes with it. thanks guys for the help and i hope if you dont mind to continue to help me out lol
09-14-2009, 02:14 PM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,304
hunt.for.fun,
Sorry to hear your father's not into it like you. However, maybe with time he'll come around and start to be curious.
I wanted to add that I see a lot of hunting videos and often see hunters from Alabama use food plots. While I haven't done it or know of anyone who does around here, I did want to say that I hope you learn about the deer's habits. Once you become more familiar with their habits, you can learn methods that can help you get them more efficiently.
The mainstay of deer hunting is knowing their feeding and bedding areas, the trails that connect them and predominant wind direction. If you know these, then 1/2 the battle is won! Learn to recognize a feeding area by how the plants are eaten and the droppings left behind and learn bedding areas by the amount of beds and thickness of the cover within that area.
By spending as much time as you can in the woods observing them, you become that more educated on how to outwit them. You learn to be more aware of the wind, how to camo yourself and how much movement and noise you can get away with. It also doesn't hurt to use a few calls to see their reactions.
Just wanted to say this so you don't think you have to be totally reliant on using food plots.
Best of luck out there this year!
iSnipe
Sorry to hear your father's not into it like you. However, maybe with time he'll come around and start to be curious.
I wanted to add that I see a lot of hunting videos and often see hunters from Alabama use food plots. While I haven't done it or know of anyone who does around here, I did want to say that I hope you learn about the deer's habits. Once you become more familiar with their habits, you can learn methods that can help you get them more efficiently.
The mainstay of deer hunting is knowing their feeding and bedding areas, the trails that connect them and predominant wind direction. If you know these, then 1/2 the battle is won! Learn to recognize a feeding area by how the plants are eaten and the droppings left behind and learn bedding areas by the amount of beds and thickness of the cover within that area.
By spending as much time as you can in the woods observing them, you become that more educated on how to outwit them. You learn to be more aware of the wind, how to camo yourself and how much movement and noise you can get away with. It also doesn't hurt to use a few calls to see their reactions.
Just wanted to say this so you don't think you have to be totally reliant on using food plots.
Best of luck out there this year!
iSnipe
09-14-2009, 02:23 PM
#8
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 11
iSnipe dang you make me wanna leave to go out in the woods right now. lol.i was out alot of the day today with one of my cousins that has taught me everything i know about deer hunting, even though he doesnt know that much lol, we were scouting for him and where hes gonna be hunting this year. we own alittle property and thats where i hunt. it has a small creek that runs through it and i wanna get close to it to hunt. i could spend all day in the woods everyday. but its hard cause im in school. but i try hard and thanks alot for the help.
09-14-2009, 05:40 PM
#9
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,304
It's great you got the huntin' fever! After 30 years I'm still stoked to get out there and see what happens.
Here's one tip about finding bedding areas:
Be sure to have the wind in your favor. Also, try to do this when the ground is damp or there is a slight wind to hide your sounds and smell.
You're going to bust right in where you "think" a bedding area might be... or "sneak" in I should say. LOL! The plan is sneak into the area being almost invisible. What you WANT to have happen is move deer right out of their beds; at the last moment. If you enter the area making noise and having your scent drift ahead of you while there, they will move out long before you get there and you may not even know there were deer there. When you do it quietly, with the wind in your favor, you can hopefully get a visual confirmation what is there.
Do this in the middle of the day when they are suppose to be bedded. If you do it too early in the morning or later in the afternoon, they may likely be up and moving around already... especially if the weather is to their liking... like colder temps, cloudy, slight rain, storm front moving in, etc.
It helps to be camouflaged too. Pretend you're hunting them!
This plan not only will get you visual evidence what is there, but it will get you the practice to still-hunt deer. Still hunting is really sneak-hunting slow through the woods.
If you really want to go all out and have even more fun, take a camera with you and try and get a picture of a deer while it's bedded!
Take care and have fun!
iSnipe
P.S. "Make sure you don't tramp around that small piece of property too much or they will either move elsewhere or become even more cautious and move under the cover of darkness."
Here's one tip about finding bedding areas:
Be sure to have the wind in your favor. Also, try to do this when the ground is damp or there is a slight wind to hide your sounds and smell.
You're going to bust right in where you "think" a bedding area might be... or "sneak" in I should say. LOL! The plan is sneak into the area being almost invisible. What you WANT to have happen is move deer right out of their beds; at the last moment. If you enter the area making noise and having your scent drift ahead of you while there, they will move out long before you get there and you may not even know there were deer there. When you do it quietly, with the wind in your favor, you can hopefully get a visual confirmation what is there.
Do this in the middle of the day when they are suppose to be bedded. If you do it too early in the morning or later in the afternoon, they may likely be up and moving around already... especially if the weather is to their liking... like colder temps, cloudy, slight rain, storm front moving in, etc.
It helps to be camouflaged too. Pretend you're hunting them!
This plan not only will get you visual evidence what is there, but it will get you the practice to still-hunt deer. Still hunting is really sneak-hunting slow through the woods.
If you really want to go all out and have even more fun, take a camera with you and try and get a picture of a deer while it's bedded!
Take care and have fun!
iSnipe
P.S. "Make sure you don't tramp around that small piece of property too much or they will either move elsewhere or become even more cautious and move under the cover of darkness."
09-14-2009, 05:52 PM
#10
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 277
I'm an Alabama hunter as well. Food plots at times can be a nice place to catch a buck, but I would tell you to find your acorns. Look for your White Oaks first. They will be the most desirable food in our part of the country. If you find these nuts, then you will see high numbers of deer. Food plots are good for late season or when bucks are cruising for does in the rut. I don't know what kind of land you hunt, but keep in mind that those big mature bucks will lay in the thickets 95% of the year. Pine thickets or clearcuts are where I have the most success. Bucks will move through both of these during daylight hours.