Hunting food plots for deer

Hunting food plots for deer is how we reap what we sow, but we have to be careful. Hunting food plots for deer the wrong way and we run the risk of turning the local herd nocturnal with nothing but deer less sits to show for all of our hard work. Nobody wants to feed the deer and never get see them because they only show up at night.

Effectively hunting food plots for deer requires planning

Successfully hunting food plots for deer requires much more than a if you build it they will come attitude. The location of a successful food plot for deer is well thought out and strategically placed in relation to the deer movement patterns of the property. You have to have some knowledge of how the area deer herd uses the land to pick the right spots to build your food plots for deer. Failure to pick the spot intelligently will queer the whole project when hunting food plots for deer.

Hunting food plots for deer is a bed to feed endeavor until the rut

Until the rut rolls around, our strategy when hunting food plots for deer is to capitalize on the local herds bed to feed and back patterns. If we know their preferred bedding and feeding areas, we can create the right plan to intercept their comings and goings. After we know the bedding and feeding areas, we can pick out spots where access does not scare the deer we intend to hunt. If we can not get to and from our stands without spooking deer, our window of opportunity is going to close fast. The spot will burn out very quickly and deer sightings will be rare.

Hunting food plots for deer relies heavily on access

You are going to put a lot of work into your food plots for deer, so before you fire up the tractor, make sure it’s a highly huntable spot. Do your homework and recon to make sure you are picking the best possible stand locations based not only upon deer movement, but stand access as well when hunting food plots for deer. Failure to take these 2 factors into consider is the most common reason hunting deer food plots produces zero action for your hard work. Hunt smarter not harder is an idiom we all need to take to heart.

Hunting food plots for deer during the rut

It’s tempting to sit right on the edge when hunting food plots for deer, and if your approach and exit are undetected it’s an entertaining and effective way to hunt, but this all changes with the onset of the rut. If you are targeting the biggest deer on your property or even the neighboring land, you need to try get inside the rutting bucks head. His goal is to cover as much grounds as possible to find receptive does, and he does it with his nose and not his eyes. It’s time to change the plan.

To catch a buck cruising we can hit funnels and pinch points, or we could hunt in our downwind of bedding areas. Funnels and pinches are obvious, as our the doe bedding areas, but hunting food plots for deer takes us off the field edge and into the woods downwind of the plots. Skip the major doe trails and get 20 to 70 yards into the woods where the big boys roll with their nose in the air checking every doe in the filed without ever exposing himself. It’s only time of year when his stomach is not steering his actions, and we need to adjust tactics to capatilize.

Hunting food plots for deer post rut is the best buck action of the year

Post rut bucks are hungry, and still looking for the last few receptive ladies or yearling does coming into estrus. If the weather turns sour and those worn out bucks will be hitting the plots right along side the does and fawns. They like to feed during the nicest part of the day which is late afternoon or early evening, an hole up to chew their cud in the bitter cold night and morning. This is truly the best time of year to see and get a crack at the biggest bucks on the farm you hunt. I always make sure I have plenty of beans and corn standing when the snow piles up and the temps sink, as if I am ever going to catch him in the food during the daylight hours, December and January are the best months to be out hunting food plots for deer.