(P) Fall Food Plots are Finished and Buck Pictures

We finally headed to the farm and finished planting our 4 fields of food plots today. I even had enough time at the end of the day to hang 2 more stands. Dad plowed all of the fields last weekend. So today he disced them while I fertilized each field and broadcast the seed. Dad is a lot older than I am, but I say he can still out work me.


The first field we worked on was a small 1 acre food plot in the middle of the woods, located to the west of a bedding area that we constructed this winter. We planted Imperial Whitetail Clover in the whole thing. This should produce for us over the next 4 years if we continue to fertilize the clover twice a year.
The second field borders CRP grass to the south. We planted 1/2 acre of Whitetail Institutes Pure Attraction and 3/4 of an acre of winter wheat. We planted them next to each other in long strips approximately 30 yards wide.

The third field and forth field were planted in 1/2 acre of Whitetail Institutes Pure Attraction. The deer hammered this stuff last year all season long. We used extra fertilizer this year to make sure it came up strong and fast.

It sure feels good to be done with the food plots. All we have left is to finish some brush hogging, cut the existing clover fields next month, and hang a couple more stands. We will definitely be ready for opening day. All we need is the rain that was promised to arrive in 4 days. Time to start shooting the bows and preparing them for broadheads next week.

Here are a couple of buck pictures on our clover food plot in the middle of the woods. It is interesting that the bucks were coming to this field when it was nothing but fresh dirt (it was plowed a couple of days earlier).



The first and second pictures are of a buck we call the Crab Claw 10. He is a 4 1/2 year old deer. If Dad or the landowner see him this fall, it might be his last.


The third picture is of a small 8 point that lives close to this field (I have tons of pictures of him). Notice the Crab Claw 10 to right in this picture. There is also a small buck in the background, to the left. However, look at the monster in the middle of this picture by the tree. We tried to zoom in on him to make out his rack but the lighting is just no good. He towers over the other bucks in the field. Definitely a mature deer.


Here is a tip for you: Position your trail cameras so as pictures are taken of deer in the foreground, you can still see what is in the background. I have positioned this camera intentionally like this for the last three years and it has paid off numerous times showing numerous bucks in the background. Two of the bucks in this picture never walked by the trail camera but it was nice to still get a picture of them.

4 weeks until opening day!