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Ryan's fall food plot 2014

rsmith

Member
1,835
52
hello everyone, I have been trying to put in a lot of time and effort this year to get some of the bucks and does to stay around on my property this year. I recently have cleared out a huge amount of brush and mowed it all down and am now planning on planting two different food plot mixes in one location. the first is the Antler King Honey Hole mix, that will be on the opposite side of the bigger cleared out circle/oval of brush on the right hand side, and will wrap around some more brush, and the other bigger part will have Mossy Oak BioLogic Hot Spot. My theory is that having two different blends of food will be perfect for a all season buffet of food for them, including the 2 corn feeders I have. i still need to till it but i was planning to have it in by the 2nd week of august so i can give them time to relax and get comfy again from me being out their every afternoon for the past 4 days. the pics were taken from the stand, if you look in the second pic in the middle of the pic in the tree that has a bend in it that's where it is. let me know what you guys think or any suggestions you guys may have.



 

rsmith

Member
1,835
52
red is where the Antler King Honey hole will be and the yellow is where the hot spot will be. the blue dots in the second pic indicate where my stand is at.



 

rsmith

Member
1,835
52
Please tell me you used something other than the push mower for all that! rotflmao

Looks good!

i used a 2 gallon sprayer with round up, hedge clippers, a weed eater with a metal head, a rake, and yes a push mower. 4 days 6 hours a day and here we are today. my buddy has a tractor with a tiller thank goodness than i will be all good to plant. I got to do what i got to do to try and get a good plot. and i didnt want to ruin the brand new blades on my tractor so my old mower ate all kinds of sticks, rocks and brush and killed those blades.
 

MK111

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"
Supporting Member
6,551
66
SW Ohio
Looks like a deer killing location!! Can't wait to see how it comes in for you! Any reason you kept some of the bigger brush in the middle like that instead of hogging it down and giving yourself more planting area?

I'm wondering the same thing. Maybe ran out of energy? If you have a tractor I'll take a picture of my chain brush puller I made. It's slick and the design doesn't allow it to slip.
 

rsmith

Member
1,835
52
I was going to tear it down but I wanted to make it almost as a "room" for them and that brush also forces them closer to me and creates a good trail for them to travel. Also it houses a lot of blackberries. I only have a lawn tractor so a push mower and a metal bladed weed wacker is my bestfriend.
 

MK111

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"
Supporting Member
6,551
66
SW Ohio
Not a expert by any means but it won't take the deer long to eat that small plot down to the ground. I planted 1/2 ac. of forage oats in 2013 and it took the deer about 3 weeks to eat it down to the ground. Had upto 10 deer at a time on the oats.
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Another thing I would do is tuck your stand in the timber a little more. That tree doesn't have any cover and if the goal is to kill a buck the does will be out first which means a lot of eyes to hide from.
 

rsmith

Member
1,835
52
Another thing I would do is tuck your stand in the timber a little more. That tree doesn't have any cover and if the goal is to kill a buck the does will be out first which means a lot of eyes to hide from.

I will try and take a better pic of where my stand is at, the way it sits is right in branches, it looks really open from that angle but it isn't that bad at all
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Another thing I would do is tuck your stand in the timber a little more. That tree doesn't have any cover and if the goal is to kill a buck the does will be out first which means a lot of eyes to hide from.

What he said. I'd hide is as well as you can hide it. Also, how do you plan on leaving in the evenings without spooking deer?
 
Another thing I would do is tuck your stand in the timber a little more. That tree doesn't have any cover and if the goal is to kill a buck the does will be out first which means a lot of eyes to hide from.

What he said. I'd hide is as well as you can hide it. Also, how do you plan on leaving in the evenings without spooking deer?

Now that I look at the pic some more, is it in that crooked tree there where the blue dots are?? If so I completely agree with those ^^ guys! I've made that mistake before and wondered why I wouldn't see deer or have deer pick me off fast. Back in the shadows is my philosophy. From the pics there are several other trees I can see that would be tucked back better. Also, what kind of entry/exit do you have to the stand like Jesse asked?
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
There looks to be a split tree, or at least two trees close together, behind and to the right of your tree. If that is a split tree, I would hang in it. Put the sticks on the backside of the tree and hang the stand facing towards your back trail. For me, I'd stand nearly all the time when hunting this spot because deer are going to be in your lap by the time you see them, so I would want to minimize my exposure and movement.
 

rsmith

Member
1,835
52
What he said. I'd hide is as well as you can hide it. Also, how do you plan on leaving in the evenings without spooking deer?

I will move the stand this evening, also there is a very clear trail that leads to and from my stand that leads right to the back side of the crooked tree
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Hope you didn't take offense to my comment, just trying to save you from a year of getting busted and educating deer.... eventually you wont even want to sit over the plot. Your going to want the plot to be a destination spot where the deer gather and "you" are going to want to find an acorn flat that a buck can hold up on until it gets dark enough that he feels comfortable coming to the plot. I would check out Google earth and try to figure out where they are bedding and find a great transition spot so your not blowing deer off the plot when you enter and leave. Just years worth of mistakes I'm trying to save you that I learned the hard way on good properties.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Hope you didn't take offense to my comment, just trying to save you from a year of getting busted and educating deer.... eventually you wont even want to sit over the plot. Your going to want the plot to be a destination spot where the deer gather and "you" are going to want to find an acorn flat that a buck can hold up on until it gets dark enough that he feels comfortable coming to the plot. I would check out Google earth and try to figure out where they are bedding and find a great transition spot so your not blowing deer off the plot when you enter and leave. Just years worth of mistakes I'm trying to save you that I learned the hard way on good properties.

What he said. We've made ALL the mistakes, so any time we have a chance to help someone avoid them, we speak up.
 

rsmith

Member
1,835
52
thank you all very much for all of your help, the reason i posted this is so people will be able to help me out and be able to give me insight on what to do. I truly do appreciate all the advice given from everyone. the tree that looks like a split tree is two seperate trees infact but I am going to try and move it to a different spot once i figure out where. the reason i put it their is because if you look in the first pic they come from the opening to the top right of the pic, about 1 on a clock, and leave at the top left hand side, about 11 on a clock. so i figured i can see them come in from a distance and get up and draw, than once they come in pull the trigger. but after evaluating it i may just move it to the ground with a good old ground blind and tuck it in the brush. would that be a better choice?