Who talks about deer hunting during the off-season?
The dedicated deer hunter...that's who.
Deer season has long since passed. The guns have all been cleaned, the hunting gear neatly stored, and the memories of last year’s hunt have all been relegated to a distant portion of the brain ready to be relived once next year’s season starts anew. With the onset of two long warm growing seasons ahead, both devoid of deer hunting, there’s no need to think about next year’s hunt for at least another six months. Or is there?
It’s not difficult to tell the die-hard deer hunter from the weekend warrior type when it comes to deer hunting. If the hunter spends all or a portion of their fall hunting deer on private land, all you need to do is find their summer vacation plans. If at least a weekend or two is scheduled to their favorite hunting ground for some not-so-relaxing “work days”, you know that person cares about their deer hunting. And those are the people who tend to be the most successful deer hunters of all.
Why
is that you may ask?
It is because those men and women tend to manage their deer rather than simply hunt their deer. They spend some of their off-time doing any little bit they can to improve the habitat their elusive quarry resides. They know that by doing the little things they can greatly improve not only their chances of being successful but may even improve the quality of the animal they lay their sights on. And considering the vast majority of land in our state is privately owned, those are the people that have become the true managers of our state’s wildlife.
This is the point where many a hunter will stop reading. They have seen all the shows and have read all the articles. They know that unless you have about a thousand acres of land and a few hundred acres of highly nutritious food plots the odds of producing and killing that truly magnificent deer fall somewhere between slim and nil. That, my friend, is a myth that needs to be dispelled.
Land management on small farms is a fast growing concept reaping tremendous rewards. Although it is common knowledge that deer ranges can be as vast as thousands of acres, habitat improvements on small tracts can greatly improve the chances of deer utilizing or traveling through those smaller properties. Therefore, before we get into the “what to do” everyone needs to understand the “why to do.” Luckily this is the simplest of all to explain.
Though you may own or lease only a small tract of land for hunting, unless you’re in a major metropolitan area, you are completely surrounded by deer habitat. It’s all around. Steep or flat, wooded or cleared, white-tailed deer seem to be everywhere and although your property may be less than one hundred acres, if it has something the deer likes, the deer will be there. The key to all of this is that you have to give the deer a reason for wanting to be there. This is where you have to start thinking outside of the box, or more importantly outside of your property.
Before rushing blindly into any habitat improvement plan, begin by looking at the surrounding properties. Look closely to see what each property offers but try to look at it from a deer’s point of view. Instead of trying to find what the surrounding properties have that the deer like, look to see what they don’t have that the deer need. This is what is defined as the limiting habitat factor. This is what the consummate deer hunter and wildlife manager focuses on to try to improve the habitat to attract deer or any other game to their properties.
What it all boils down to is that there is a whole host a small habitat modifications you can attempt on your property that will make your land that much more enticing to deer and other game and in affect improve the quality of hunting found on it. All you need is the willingness, a little hard work, and a few easy to come by items and you too can possibly turn your property into a hunter’s paradise.
Cheap, easy and effective projects.
Clear cuts
One of the easiest ways to provide terrific bedding areas within a few short years is to open up small areas of the forest through selected clear cuts. The advantage to this is that they not only provide ample cover but they provide ample forage as well. Although clear cuts are made simple with large earth moving equipment they can also be made with a little know how and a basic heavy-duty chain saw. Depending on your property these can be as big as a few acres to as small as a quarter of an acre. The key here is to provide a large enough opening in the canopy to let the natural seed bed burst forth with early successional plant growth. The resulting “jungle” can be classified as a deer haven since it provides nearly all of the deer’s requirements for food and shelter. One thing to keep in mind though, if you want these areas to hold deer on your property, treat them as sanctuaries. Never go in them unless absolutely necessary because as soon as a deer begins to feel uncomfortable in his bedroom, he’s going to go out and search for a whole new house.
Food plots
No I’m not talking about acres and acres of soybeans or corn. In fact, studies show that deer prefer smaller food plots over larger food plots. That means anyone and everyone can put in a food plot to the benefit of the deer on their property. Many of today’s seeds can even be planted using simple and cost effective equipment. Modified ATV’s and even hand spreaders can effectively create wonderful food plots. The best source or information and equipment will always be your neighborhood co-op or farm supply store. Not only can they provide you with the seed but they can also provide you with the know-how on how to plant the seed. Keep in mind, before planting anything, it is always recommended to get a soil test done first to figure out the necessary steps required to prep the soil. Unfortunately liming is often required on most Tennessee soils.
A few helpful hints when creating new food plots:
- Long linear strips provide more access points for the deer to enter the field than round or square fields.
- Fields with soft edges (i.e. brushy borders) offer more comfort to animals entering the field rather than hard edges (i.e. mature forest).
- Type of food within the plot will greatly affect its utilization. Try to pick food items that are not only healthy and nutritious to the deer but ones that is not readily found in that area (i.e. a bean field plot in a county full of bean fields is not very attractive).
- Don’t try to have a manicured food plot with neat little rows of plants; believe it or not weeds are good unless, of course, they choke out the primary plant. The weeds will offer additional food choices and improve the overall attractiveness of the plot.
- Food plots in close proximity to heavy cover tend to be the most utilized.
- For information on growing and managing successful food plots visit: http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/pbfiles/PB1743.pdf
Here's the kicker...don't plant food plots expecting to grow bigger and healthier looking deer. Though there are countless studies showing the nutritional content of various plants, there are very few studies that show significant gains in body or antler characteristics from food plots. This is because deer are constantly browsing as they go, they are literally feeding all the time; therefore, food plots usually only play a minor role in their overall diet. Having said that, food plots play an extremely important role in harvest management. They put deer and hunter in the same location, so they are extremely useful population management tools.
The easiest habitat modification is to do nothing at all. You can reap tremendous rewards by letting old fields grow up naturally and letting the greatest wildlife manager of all take over, Mother Nature. She has been providing food and shelter for deer for a lot longer than any man has and she’s been doing it a lot better than us for eons. Contrary to what some hunters think, naturally occurring plants, or weeds as some would call them, are some of the best food items of all for maintaining healthy deer populations. Now here’s a simple secret for making them even better…fertilizer. Just as the tending farmer fertilizes his crops for a higher yield, you too can fertilize your weeds for more productivity as well. These added supplements may not only increase the biomass of the natural plants but may even increase the nutritional value of them as well. Providing this little bit of extra food may be what it takes to keep or attract deer to your property.
Unless you or somebody you know has been trained to properly execute a controlled burn we do not recommend anyone trying to use fire as a way to improve the habitat on their property. If, however, you have the expertise available, fire is one of the most effective and cost efficient habitat management tools. Not only does fire eliminate the not-so-desired plant species of any given area such as fescue but it usually kick starts the natural seed bed and within a few short weeks luscious green sprouts of naturally occurring plants start poking their heads through the charred soils.
These are but a few of the cheap and easy projects you can undertake on any property regardless of its size and, YES, they will cost you a few weekends of your summer. If, however, you want to become a better hunter and a true wildlife manager, you have to start thinking of deer all year long, not just on opening day.
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Daryl Ratajczak was the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's Big Game Program Coordinator from 2004-2011. He received his degree in Wildlife Management from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY. He now resides in the Rocky Mountains serving as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Forest Service.
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