Secret Spot Experiment

[Jrs5144]

First let me start off by saying I have been following this site for about a year or so now, but this is my first real post.  As a little introduction I am 24 and have only been hunting for a few years ( parents didn't hunt). I am also a full time nurse practitioner student so I don't have much time dedicated to anything other than that.

 

About a month or so ago I noticed another post about a no till experiment and I was inspired to give it a try.  The spot I chose has some history to me.  Out of the 90 acres I have to hunt, only about 10 acres of it is hardwoods, with the rest being farmed fields (soybeans), and 30 or so acres of thick brush that acts as bedding areas for most of the deer on the property.  Last year I Spent the majority of my bow season trying to out smart a fairly nice 10 point.  The opportunity I was giving was in the block of hardwoods.   Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a shot because of bushes and branches being in the way. 

 

This is pretty much what it looked like before I started clearing out the area.

 

This year I decide to clear it out and plant Whitetail Institute secret spot in hopes that I may be able to draw that deer in for another opportunity. On a side note I never got an trailcam pic of this deer last year, but I did find half of his rack in the shed hunting season.

 

Not the best picture but it is all I have at the moment.  G2 and G3 are 9.5" and 10" respectively.

 

Any way so about 3 weeks ago I cleared out all the bushes and small trees, until it was bare dirt and look like this.

 

 

I sprayed round up on all of the small weeds and waited a week, then spread out a 50lb bag of pulverized lime, and a 25lb bag of 10-10-10.  I know I should have probably done a soil test but I don't have a lot of time to really dedicate to prep work so I just tried my best to do what I can ( full time student and full time work).

 

Then about two weeks ago I planted the secret spot before all the rain was due and then checked back only 3-4 days later and already started to see a small amount of growth.

 

 

I have a trailcam placed over the plot since I was last there (10 days ago or so). I cant wait to check back this weekend to see how much progress it has made and hopefully what visitors I may have.

 

p.s. thanks to whoever had that original post about the no til experiment, I wouldn't have thought about this option without you!

[Sparke2]

Nice job on the clearing , Try Winter greens and turnips next year and if you can open the canopy up and get soil test then watch out. great start!

[ny hunter]

Real nice job. I hope all this work pays off come October.Goodluck..........

[PREDATE]

Looks good!

With soybeans and a 30 acre bedding area, you might not even need to plant anything, but it can't hurt either.

 If this spot is exclusive to you, you may wan't to think about some fruit trees!

If you get some early scrapes going you should be able to hold the buck in the area and hopefully harvest him. They might be using the hardwoods as a bedding area in early Oct. to stay out of the heat.

[Jrs5144]

I am the only one who has access to the land, the surrounding land is minimally hunted. I thought of fruit trees after reason some other posts. Should I plant in the fall? Wait til next spring?

[apoallo]

wow nice job. I bet this work will pay off for you. come this season.

[PREDATE]

Might be best to wait til' early spring, but late fall should be okay. Just be sure that you pick a good spot with adequate sunlight, moisture, and air drainage. Lots of good info on the web.

[deerpassion]

Looks like good little kill plot... Just enough for them to pop by n nibble before goin out to the beans or corn whatever they plant on ur property ... Those little plots in the middle a the woods in my opinion are gold... Secluded little spots for them to mark there territory n come through scent checking for doe's ... Few seconds is all ya need Be interested to here back from ya this fall n see what it produces .. Good luck on that ten ! Looks like he made it n by the looks if it he should be a dandy this year, hopefully he's got some good velvet already on that cam ya got soakin...

[Jrs5144]

Thanks for the advice guys. Ill check the can on Sunday and hopefully have some nice pics for you all

[Jrs5144]

So i got out to the property today to check the two cameras i have up, place another recently acquired camera,  hang some posted signs, and check on the new food plot.  Before i got started i noticed a road kill deer right in front of the entrance...i was very disappointed to see it was a young buck.

 

 

After the initial let down of the dead deer, I went on and finished the posted signs and ended up at the newly planted plot.  It looked great! It wasn't overly saturated, which i was fearing, and the card showed i already had 54 photos, which is the most i had this year after one week.

 

No deer in this photo, but it shows how much growth the plot had at the beginning of the week.

 

Looks like a bigger deer compared to the first couple. noted by his sagging belly.

Also looks like a bigger deer. probably the same as above

For a week filled with a lot of rain and not much sun, I was happy with the amount of growth.

 

I am not convinced that any of these deer are the one i was chasing last year, but time will tell.

 

 

 

[PREDATE]

You done well my friend and hey, it looks like they got a little water hole. Not a bad idea!

Good pics!

Is the deer in pic#4,5 and 6 the roadkilled one?

[Jrs5144]

Thanks, im really happy with how it is turning out so far....I'm not sure if it is the same deer or not. It very well could be. The only reason I'm not convinced is because the road and this spot is approx 1/2 mile apart. I also saw another buck today that had similar growth to the one in the pic so its a toss up. Future pictures will hold the answer.

[ny hunter]

Nice spot looks like a lot of action so far...

[2012_taco]

great job, try to resist the temptation of visiting the site too often, leaving too much scent could spook the bucks from the area.

[Jrs5144]

How often is too often? Every week? Two weeks?

[Zag]

I would limit it to once a month or more. It pretty fun starting a food plot. Then u wanna hang a cam. Then everyday your consumed with hows the plot doing and what kinda pics did I get. Then u end up going there way to much and hurting your spot.

[PREDATE]

I'd say 1X/week is ok for now.Just wear rubber boots and let the pics tell you what time of day to visit the cam. When season gets closer you shouldn't enter very often

[PREDATE]

The deer will tolerate some summertime activity, they're accustomed to it. Between hikers, bikers, fishermen, dog walkers, kids, atvs, wild food foragers, farmers, trailcam checkers, hunting scouters, treestand set-up, clearing shooting lanes, Etc. 

 They aren't gonna run to the next county because they smell you.

Try to check cams right before or during a rainstorm so your scent will dissipate.

[Jrs5144]

Ill try and hold off as long as I can, it is never more than once a week that I check.

[deerpassion]

Ya I agree u can get away with summer traffic a little more than during season! I got one soakin now n I'm itchin to check it but have to let it lay cause I was just there less than a week ago, I ran into a big bodied buck on the way back to the truck with 10 or 12 inch beams , 3 inch brows , g2s probly a good six inches already and I could see the ends if his beams starting to split ... Good news with still a lot a growin time left ... Dyin to see if he frequents the cam and stays around for season ...

[Jrs5144]

Wow! Sounds like he will be a bruiser. Hope you post the pics if you get some.

[apoallo]

wow very nice I have never had a trail cam beofre. I have always went into an area found deer signs and then started hunting there. I couldnt help but to notice that those deer are very consistant every day with the same time frame each day. Looks like a trail camera is on my shoppin glist for the near future.....

[RangerClay]

I'm glad you are having success with your new plot.

 

Here is my suggestion since I have a plot almost the exact same size in hardwoods like you.  Open up the canopy and you will not believe the amount of growth you will have.  A couple hours of solid direct sunlight works wonders.  If the canopy is too high for a saw and ladder you can do 2 things.  I would either hinge cut a few trees away from the plot.  Or girdle a few trees so they don't get leaves then cut them up for firewood.  Sell the firewood to pay for seed and such.