food plots
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 2
food plots
food plots
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I hunt on bout 120 acres in southern mo we got more than enough does and young bucks but it seems that once the bucks have reached bout 2 1\2 years they move out of the area does any body got any ideas bout how to keep them in the area or what kind of food source we can plant
thanks
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I hunt on bout 120 acres in southern mo we got more than enough does and young bucks but it seems that once the bucks have reached bout 2 1\2 years they move out of the area does any body got any ideas bout how to keep them in the area or what kind of food source we can plant
thanks
#3
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ponce de Leon Florida USA
Posts: 10,079
RE: food plots
I wouldn't doubt the bucks are going nocturnal. Put out some cameras on corn piles in different locations for a couple of weeks and I would bet the old ones will be grinning at about 2:00 A.M.
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 2,059
RE: food plots
I'd be betting that one of two things is happening. As Timbercruiser said they may be going nocturnal. The other thing that may be happening is that are becoming dominant in the area and spreading their range. The older the bucks get, the smarter they are and the less you will see them.
Dan O.
Dan O.
#5
RE: food plots
Don't forget he's had 2 1/2 years to pattern YOU! It may be that he knows your patterns better than you know his. Also, a small sanctuary area in your property where no one hunts or enters EVER will help attract and hold smart old bucks. Hunt on trails leading into and out of the sanctuary but don't try hunting in it. Just a small thick 1/2 acre, in the middle of your property preferably, will do.
#6
RE: food plots
This topic actually centers more on Buck dispersment - than food plots -
Actually - once a 2-1/2 year old buck establishes residence - 90% of them will stay there until they die - only approx 10% will re-locate - and its suggested that doe/fawn dominance of an area is the most likely cause (as it is with the 80% 1.5yr old buck dispersal).
As others have suggested - Food plots will help feed your deer - but the best way to keep them is to remove a large chunk of the doe population.
It took us 4 years to flip/flop from a mostly doe family group population - to a majority buck population. Were are now trying to learn how to keep it there.
Actually - once a 2-1/2 year old buck establishes residence - 90% of them will stay there until they die - only approx 10% will re-locate - and its suggested that doe/fawn dominance of an area is the most likely cause (as it is with the 80% 1.5yr old buck dispersal).
As others have suggested - Food plots will help feed your deer - but the best way to keep them is to remove a large chunk of the doe population.
It took us 4 years to flip/flop from a mostly doe family group population - to a majority buck population. Were are now trying to learn how to keep it there.
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John Deer
Wildlife Management / Food Plots
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09-25-2003 06:57 PM