loaded_gun_45 Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 Hello.My brother in law his cousin and myself have recently stumbled across two bordering property owners who bought 110 acres between them.They have informed us that they want to grow a crop of swet corn and an assortment of other goods for a tax writeoff.They do not live in the area and kindly gave us written permission to hunt there land and requested we remove ant trespassers.I took it upon myyself to offer a helping hand when they start planting the harvest and asked if i could start a food plot on the bottom 5 acres that they do not plan on utilizing and they agreed.so this coming spring we start the grunt work and i am looking for some advuce on what to plant.i have started tilling in the lime to stabalize the soil over winter but i am still undecided on weather to go with biologic,rack attack or whatever else is out there.i am also pondering the thought of winter weat.any suggestions are greatly welcomed.thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotashRLS Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 I am partial to the Whitetail Institute's products. You can see some pictures in a few of my blogs and other food plot posts. The best advice I can offer is to figure out what food sources the deer have within a mile or so of your property. Then try and offer them something they don't have, especially if there is a lack of perennial legumes (clover, alfalfa etc.) Warm season plots, while not overly hot tickets during prerut/rut hunting, are the staple of your deer herd's nutrition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 yea Potash has some good advice. remember to cage in a 4' x 4' area or so to allow you to see just how hard the deer are hitting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 don't forget to have a couple thick areas of cover on your property in the middle. if you have some that are already used by deer then perfect. stay out of them and hunt the edges. it'll help take some pressure off the deer and being on your in the middle it'll keep other trespassing hunters away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaded_gun_45 Posted December 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 There are alot of oak and white oak in the area.There are also 3 bordering hay fields but no alfalfa clover or anything like that.next year there will be sweet corn and a raddish garden for the landowners tax writeoff.there is a large patch of pines we arent disturbing on the south end and a huge thicket of blackberry bushess on the northwest ent that covers 2/3 of a step down teer halfway down the hill that we have seen deer in and out of early morning and late afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotashRLS Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 What is the hay if not alfalfa/clover or similar? Sounds like set aside or CRP if not alfalfa. The deer and raccoons will hammer the sweet corn and he likely won't have much of a crop unless you have a small deer population. Get some aerial photos and start mapping the bedding/sanctuaries on them, planning your in/out hunting routes and proposed food plots. Then walk the property with the map to see if your plans match the field conditions. After that, plan your mix of perennials and annuals for planting and the size/location of each. It sounds like the thicket of blackberry brush is a natural sanctuary. Give it a buffer and stay out. It will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaded_gun_45 Posted December 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2011 we have gotten a good look at the property on google earth and walked the whole property boarders.the coon population is quite low there are a few avid coon hunters that keep them at low numbers.there is a herd of approximately 20 that maintains good numbers that traffics the property any on the farmers property on the other side of the dirt road there is a countless number of deer and 8-10 bucks harvested every season.what i want to do is get the herds from ascross the road attracted to our area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted December 14, 2011 Report Share Posted December 14, 2011 first you've got to determine if deer cross the road and venture from your property to the other. pending the place is a close drive, look when there's snow on the ground for fresh tracks that might be crossing. also deer won't just cross anywhere. the smoother the transitions or slopes on either side, the better the chance deer will cross. also, i've found that edges of fields or brushy draws leading perpendicular to the road are usually hot spots for crossings. even more so if there's corn or a food source to give them a reason to cross. relying on them to they get thereyou don't want deer hanging around by the road side and get hit. that said it's much easier to better what you've got and give deer more of a reason to do what they already are doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotashRLS Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 what i want to do is get the herds from ascross the road attracted to our area. Provide them with sanctuary and food/water in close proximity. The sanctuary should be off limits except when shed hunting in the spring. Deer will migrate to areas of lower human intrusion. Also try to provide some sort of barrier between them and the road right of way. Plan your warm season perennial plots and cold season annual plots away from the road (larger acreage) and identify a couple smaller "killing" plots closer to deer havens. The "killing" plots must have a way for you to enter/exit without the deer knowing you are there otherwise they won't work well. Start some mineral sites between bedding and feeding areas and use them for warm season deer cam surveillance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrown Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 I'd recommend alfalfa. If you could find a no-till seeder, you'd be money! You'd be able to no-till oats or wheat into the alfalfa during the late summer and have a summer/winter plot in one. We actually have a no-till seeder here that the ag extentsion office has your allowed to borrow. Also, you'll want to round-up the plot area a week or two in advance to planting. Help increase soil moisture and decrease the risk of weeds coming in early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 .........Start some mineral sites.... Yea try avoiding this. Here NY we can NOT legally use any sort of bait or food year round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 for smaller plots covers and tree foil work well. there are probably bigger alfalpha field close by. remember offer something that isn't around. you could even try soil beans if you have the ability to plant them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrown Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 Soybeans are good too, but that'd be a late summer early fall food plot. You probably want a periannal. Something that'll give them protein during antler developement. I don't know of any other food source that a deer will choose over alfalfa in spring-summer time. Even if there are larger fields, alot of the times your bigger bucks will choose smaller plots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 Soybeans are good too, but that'd be a late summer early fall food plot. You probably want a periannal. Something that'll give them protein during antler developement. I don't know of any other food source that a deer will choose over alfalfa in spring-summer time. Even if there are larger fields, alot of the times your bigger bucks will choose smaller plots. yea now that i go back and read, there's apparently no alfalfa around? maybe the hay fields are all stuff like timothy and brome or just older fields? ...abrown is probably right with some alfalfa. if you can create a field that's easy to get to with prevailing winds. make it hourglass shaped so you can hang a stand in the middle. in smaller secluded plots, i'd do a clover mix. where this place is, the problem isn't food. like many places, the problem is getting the deer older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaded_gun_45 Posted December 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 I really do appreciate all the advice! If any of you would like to get a better look at the property look on google earth or yahoomaps at the property between darfler road and little burch hill on the little burch hill end.thats granville ny 12832 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 some questions I've got: so how far toward rt 31 and into the big section of timber is the southern eastern boarder? where is this 5 acres you're going to work? already a hay field along darfler? where they planting the sweet corn? ...by the way if you'd like any info can be sent to or from you in a personal message so it's not out there for all to see. also, Bing Maps birdseye view will serve you well. that's what i used to look at it. looks like a decent spot though with hedge rows for access to protential stands, some ridges, natural funnels, and other good stuff. plenty of spots that look like potential deer crossings, especially along darfler. not sure where the specific crossing you were talking about is. another note... once you decide if you want to plant a whitetail mix like biologic or something which is very conveniently premixed and treated. look to see what it's got in it and in what percentages. most of the stuff an Agway or place like that can get much cheaper. there's one in Fort Edward or places in Cambridge and Greenwich. you then mix it with the same ratios yourself to save some money. my family's got a camp on the west side of Cossayuna and I've got a cousin who built a house on Barkley Ln. He's hunted by his house and has seen decent numbers of deer, so the hunting isn't bad up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrown Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 The best advice that I can give, is just get out there and hunt it. Find out how the deer move. Deer move different ways different times of season. Topo maps do help in understanding how a buck might run, highlighting the ridges and natural funnels, but what they don't show is native forage and browse. Deer are browsers not grazers, they love white oaks, green brier, sedges, several other natives. Also hunting pressure has ALOT to do with how machure bucks move later in the year. I hunted a stand 6 times this year, only saw deer out of it three times, the last time I harvested a doe and 133 in buck all on the same day with a bow. I harvested a 140 in last year also with a bow out of the same tree. Awesome late season stand because of the hunting pressure pretty sure! This might help in trying to figure out if you want a summer plot or if you just want something to catch the big deer that are pushed off the neighbors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 throughout the Realtree website there's some interesting stuff. came across something that might help with ideas given your situation.... The Ultimate Deer Hunting Property | Realtree ® Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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