KnA2523

OK people i have a question. I am starting my management plots and had a few things i was wonderin about. I am from new york and the hunting is not the best around. I have tons of state land that is very overhunted. The city boys come down and drive almost every day. I came across some land and was goping to put in a food plot. It is a 47 acre area mostly fields. I have some woods in the back and some promising signs of good deer action. I was planning on planting biologic on 2 acres of a one field. The field is surounded by woods and hedge rows. Now my question is should i put stands on the surrounding woods and in the field or not. There will be 4 people hunting this area. IS It SAFE? SHOULD I LAY DOWN GROUND RULES? and if so WHAT RULES WOULD BE GOOD? Now remember i am just starting this and am not a seasoned pro. I just want good food and good trophies. THanks
Kenny

bowkill144

KnA
Myfirst suggestion would be to start reading some books on the subject there are some good ones out there. I would start with the book by Niel Dougherty it is called Grow'em Right. I now will tell you I have 300 acres of private landin wny that I maintain about 7 acres of food plots on for the last 4 years with marginal results for the effort put in. We do see more deer and a few more 2.5 yr. old bucks but very few to no mature trophy bucks so I would keep your expectations on the low side. I think our biggest problem is the hunter mentality on the surronding propertys which are all private land's, They just kill any buck they see and alot of them and there is not much you can do to convince them to change.I also will tell you if you hunt right on these food plots to much the deer will become nocturnal and not use them during legal hunting hours. I would suggest to hunt the travel routes they use from bedding ares to the food plots and never hunt them when the wind is wrong for the setup you plan to hunt. If you do not hunt smart and clean you will educate the deer in your area very fast and they will realize in a hurry that these are not places to eat just places to get killed.
Good Luck
Gene

Buy the way if you want a trophy I think your best shot is to save your money and travel to where there are a higher density of trophy animals as the saying goes location, location, location.

yeoman

I'd create 10 acres of sanctuary out in the middle of what is now field; two 5 acre areas of tangled brush connected by 100 foot width of same. I'd plant autumn olive and your fastest growing evergreens and let nature fill the voids. I'd try to orient this santuary SW to NE, then put food plots on the east sides of the santuary. I'd plant small areas of vegetation on the east corners of the plots to one day screen your blinds or become natural blinds. Your prevailing wind is no doubt NW, so your approach to the blinds would be upwind. You might consider planting corn east-west to screen your approach to the stand locations. As to rules: no entering the santuary untill post season unless you are recovering a deer. No antlerless deer taken until the rut is over. Only antler restriction outside the ears (15 inches) if you can sell it to the group. Sounds like a dream.. if you can keep the public out! Good luck.