codsterboy

I live in north east Ohio and hunt 100 fenced in acres. A farmer farms corn and soy beans in about 40 of the 100 acres. He alternates about every 2 years on what he plants. I have about 30 acres of chopped up woods to hunt in and the rest is grass and houses. There are other hunters that hunt all around the property. My question is how to keep the deer in my hunting area and what kind of food plot I can plant and use in the wooded sections in the area? Also there is a stream that runs through the woods and property, can I plant something to keep them close in the hunting area? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!!

GR8RALLY

Since no one has responded, I'll give you my .2 cents worth.

It's going to be very difficult to compete with the soybeans and corn your farmer is planting. Not knowing if the rest of the surrounding area outside the fenced 100 acres is hardwoods or farmland as well, I'll assume its both like what you are hunting on.

Deer in general, more so with bucks, want a thick cover to bed in, so you need to scout and see if that is being provided. Just because you have the 30 acres of woods, does'nt mean its good cover. So I would look into finding the bedded area, or create a sanctuary so deer can go to and feel safe. This will help to keep the deer on your hunting parcel. Keep in mind that deer will bed in the corn field also, but depending when the farmer harvests the corn, that will soon be gone and the deer will disperse.

The deadliest ambush site on a farm is undoubtedly a funnel that channels deer from one wooded site to another. Deer are really attracted to edge habitat, ones that are soft or have a buffer zone such as a ring of saplings that seperate an abandoned field from a woodlot. Look for these.Deer will weave back and forth between these two types of habitat all season long.

The farmer has a great source of summer food, you may want to look into enhanceing native forage. Native forage enhancement can be defined as, "The art of manipulating native habitat to augment the nutitional quality for wild inhabitants", in this case, deer. One technique is to cut down some none valuable timber to allow sunlight to reach the forest ground floor and allow native grasses, brush forage to grow. If you do this in strips, this will attract deer to utilize as a trail and you can also plant various seed blends such as clover, chicory etc. in these stripes or just fertilize the strips, increasing both density and nutritional value of the herbaceous layer.

The creek is a good water source for the deer, walk it and look for trail crossings and areas that deer may gather for drinking.

Along with any clearing that you can do within the woods, you can create a "Honey Hole", "Harvest Plot" or "Hotspot" that you can hunt over during hunting season. Many of the commercial seed companies sell such seedblends that you can plat in the fall, around Aug. and have the crop ready to hunt. (depending on you hunting season) WTI has Secret Spot, Biologic has Hot Spot, Plotspike has Quick Stand, Evolved Habita's has Easy Plot and so on.

Don't forget to put down supplements in the spring and summer in the wooded area. This will also attract deer and possible with the right formula of thick cover, farmer crops, natural enhanced vegatation and your own 1/4 honey hole(s) food plots, may retain the deer in your area.

One last tid bit, it's very difficult to manage a deer herd with only 100 acres, I have 92. The best you can hope for is to attract them and offer them an sancutary to hide once the pressure of hunting season starts.

Good luck.

codsterboy

GR8RALLY, Thanks so much for the great info. I thought no one would answer. I really like your input and will put it to the test next season. I think it may be a little too late to try it this year. I think for this year I will try C'MERE DEER in the area of the creek and see how that works and work on developing some kind of food plot next year in the spring and fall for the following deer season. There is a patch of cleared area all along the fence that was put in 2 years ago, but I worry that if I put food plot stuff down along the fence line that it will only help the competion of the surrounding hunters of my dad's property that I am hunting.Also at the very back of the property the back neighbor had some of his woods pretty much clear cut about 5 years ago so it is pretty thick there, so I would assume the deer are bedding there.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!

for the info and I will get back to the FORUM after deer season and let you know what happens.

Any other feedback would be greatly appreciated.

PS. Let me know how your hunting went.

GR8RALLY

Sounds like you have it under control. I watched a show this week on the Outdoor Channel, I believe Hank Parker? They spent an half hour discussing the C'Mere Deer product and how effective it was. Never used the product, but plan on doing a little research and maybe even purchase some and do a field test this year on it. Maybe after deer season we can compare notes. Good chatt'en with you and good luck during the season!!

Turkey Ridge

You might also try Brassicas. I've had great results with Biologics Maximum. The deer won't hit alot until it gets cold. I'm in Ohio also & come mid November until after Muzzleloader - they cannot resist a good field of this. Last year bucks and does were in my field all times of the day and night. I planted about a 2 acre field and it lasted until mid-winter. I was very impressed.

Uncle Bob

Deer unlike humans will seek out the highest protien source they can find. If you put in products that are ready for them to eat at diff time sof the year they will come to it lik ea magenent!!! we are in NW Il the biggest grain lot in the country and I watch deer walk through corn and beans every day to get to my food plots. Good luck !