Food Plots!

Mike Fontaine · Mar 30, 2006

Just wondering how many of you fine hunters out there use food plots??? Please let me know what part of the country you are in and what kind of luck you have had. I am from the N.E. and have had wonderful success with my own blend of seeds for moose, deer, and turkey. I have found that the blends provided by many of the big name companies (e.g. Whitetail Institute) to be very expensive and not that effective. I have experimented with grasses, snow pea, clover, etc. and have had great success. Unfortunately, my proof of success are the pictures from my game cameras and not what's in my freezer! :wink:
Mike

rick smith · Mar 30, 2006

Been using food plots for years here in SC. Plant twice a year, spring and fall. Tried the seed combos from several companies and they all work but as you noted, they are expensive. I now buy seed in bags to mix myself. Works just as well and save some money. I plant soybeans, cowpeas, clover, oats, wheat, rye, chicory, sunflower, millet, milo, blue lupine, and a few others that don't come to mind. We have killed deer in all the food plots. Just keeping some green plants there year round helps hold the deer in the area plus it gives them good nutrition. All the other animals also enjoy our efforts. Well prepared soil, proper ph, fertilizer and rain. I will begin planting in May for the summer crops. Overseed in August and plant again in October-November.Rick.

Reloder28 · Apr 1, 2006

My food plot has contained only Mustard Greens in the past. The Whitetails loooooove me. They leave Thank-You notes in my stand. I plan to mix in some Chicory(spelling?) and something else I can't remember right now, this upcoming season.

Richracer1 · Apr 3, 2006

Food plots??? Sounds like a politically correct wording for baiting.

CamoWildcat · Apr 3, 2006

Baiting? You shoulda seen the food plot I made for black bear - some people called it the city dump. :wink:

Reloder28 · Apr 3, 2006

In Texas we call it food plots & it sounds like food plots and it looks like food plots.

CamoWildcat · Apr 3, 2006

Do you shoot the deer while they are in the 'food plot'?

rick smith · Apr 4, 2006

Food plots are no different than hunting over some farmers soybean field or corn field. The food plots are ther year round and the game get to eat when we can't hunt. Some states won't let you put out food but will let you hunt farmers fields, don't understand the difference. Any dove hunters out there? Yes, we do shoot deer in the food plots.Rick.

Richracer1 · Apr 4, 2006

I was having a little fun. No bad feelings towards those that can and do hunt food plots. I'm assuming back east that this is basically keeping the deer herds fed, am I correct on this assumption?

CamoWildcat · Apr 4, 2006

And what about baiting bears?
Opinions?
:?:

Mike Fontaine · Apr 5, 2006

Wow, didn’t think that the discussion would go in this direction. My initial plan was to create food plots to offer better nutrition for all wildlife on my property. This was a recommendation made by a Forester and several of our State Game Wardens. It has really helpful in “creating” larger and healthier animals. Hunting over a pile of corn that you put out the morning of a hunt is, to me, baiting (not that I have a problem with that). Hunting in an area that an animal feeds is what we all do, isn’t it? One side benefit is that the moose and deer have left my newly planted saplings alone and have a high quality protein source as an alternative. I would appreciate feedback on food plots not baiting. I guess baiting should be a seperate discussion.
Thanks

Bigcat_hunter · Apr 5, 2006

Baiting is not hunting in my opinion. Either is feeding deer all year and then shooting them. That just kind of takes the wild right out of it, but thats just my opinion.

rick smith · Apr 5, 2006

If you find an oak tree that is dropping acorns and the deer are feeding on them, do you hunt that spot? Ever shoot any game over a farmers field? Hunt pheasants in a corn field? Shoot geese coming into a cut corn field? Hunt doves over any fields?
Placing food plots in your hunting area benefits all the game animals, they have a ready source of food 24/7, 12 months of the year. Our club spends several thousand dollars a year on food plots not counting the man/tractor hours. In three years we are seeing more healthy deer, bucks with larger racks, weight of deer is slowly increasing. No one in our club shoots any deer they see. We are working with several adjoining clubs trying to follow a quality deer management program. If you read Quality Deer Management then you will have a better understanding of what food plots are about. They are not just places to go shoot deer.
Your opinion is your own but I feel it is coming from lack of understanding of the reason for food plots.Rick.

JD338 · Apr 5, 2006

Well said Rick.

JD338

Richracer1 · Apr 5, 2006

I agree with Rick Smith, whether you planted the food they eat or mother nature planted the food, we all hunt over some sort of food plot. SOme have taken it a step further to assist mother nature in keeping the wildlife with enough food to exist.

My opinion on baiting (such as bears), if your state allows it, then go for it. If you don't like it then don't do it.

Bigcat_hunter · Apr 6, 2006

I Dont know, I guess from what I have seen of feeders is from the hunting shows I have watched. Some of the feeders are like right next to the road, with the farm house in the back ground. I think its kind of funny. They are there picking between like 5 different bucks the week before and then they just go out and shoot them. Doesn't seem like much sport to me. But to each his own I gues.

Reloder28 · Apr 7, 2006

Them "Shoot 140+ Bucks while they are standing in the Food Plot Leases" run in excess of $1500 and get all the way up to $5000 annually. If'n I'm paying that kind of money....I expect to see some Deer standin' in the food plot.

Reloder28 · Apr 7, 2006

And another thing. There are places in the country, even in Texas where you can put up 1000 feeders in 10 acres and never see a Whitetail. Feeder presence does not force Whitetails out of the woods. My $1500 Trophy Lease is low fenced. The deer taken each season are rarely under 200 lbs. The deer are free to range at will. THey choose to stay. Though we harvest close to 20 Bucks annually, the biologists still have us all take 3 Does each to keep the ratio correct.

THe W.T's are free to leave anytime they so desire.

Mike Fontaine · Apr 8, 2006

Good points everyone but the original post (from me) was about food plots and not feeders. Please read postings #1 and #9. One thing that I would like to note is that I have never killed a deer in a food plot (not that I wouldn’t if I had a chance) but in this part of the country the food plots are usually under 2 feet of snow during hunting season. Most of the deer are feasting on young saplings. Wait a minute, hunting-forest-trees-food??? Well I guess wherever you’re hunting (with the exception of the parking lot at Walmart) you’re hunting in a food plot. :shock:
Thanks, Mike

SakoL61R · Apr 18, 2006

Everything Rick Smith said applies to whitetail hunting and quality deer management (QDM) in Georgia as well. We do the same thing on our club of 3K acres. +1 Rick!

Having grown up hunting in So. Oregon, I completely understand the ???'s from some folks on food plots and hunting over them. Come to think of it though, hunting a food plot in the SE is about the same as hunting a seeded burn or clearcut in the NW. It's all about groceries in both places.

Mike-check out
http://www.cooperseeds.com/pages/wildlife/
for info on seeds and plots.
Sako