My Plots 2013

[WNYBuckHunter]

I figured since this is my first year really doing some plotting, I would share it with you guys partly for gaining any advice, and partly for others to take a look at.

 

First, here is the layout of the part of the property we are dealing with. Its all labeled for the most part. The only thing of real significance not shown is a smallish bean field  south of the large hay field. Some years its in corn.

 

 

So a quick rundown, Plot 1 was partially brush hogged last year, and then expanded this year, it was a mess of scrub brush. Plot 2 was first brush hogged 4 years ago, same with Plot 3. Plot 2 was never planted, Plot 3 was planted the year before last in Brassicas and Turnips with a bit of clover. Plot 4 was just hogged out this year and was a mess of scrub brush. The 2 future plots will be hogged out shortly, but wont be planted this year. If you look through the property, you will see mowed trails, which are all seeded in clover, but only mowed to keep them clear, so they get frost seeded every couple of years to keep the clover going. They are due. The cow pasture is your typical cow pasture, but it has a huge, super thick area in the center. This stuff is damn near impenetrable, and is loaded with deer tunnels, etc. It has become basically the sanctuary of the property, as nobody wants to mess with the farmer's cattle. The cows are usually taken out of the pasture around mid November, so we do tend to have a few gun stands overlooking the edges of the brush. Last year I killed my buck just on the western edge of the brush.

 

We do not have a formal lease on this farm, but My hunting partner and I have exclusive rights to put in food plots, etc. There are 4 other guys that hunt the property as well, but we dont really work with them much at all. We can pile brush that we push, and move fallen trees, but we cannot do any cutting of large timber unless specifically asked to. The work that we are doing is going to be pretty low impact, so that we arent putting a ton of money into it, and if we were to stop our "program" tomorrow, everything would grow back over in a few years.

 

Our goals for each plot are as follows. Plots 1 and 4 will be planted in Ground Hog Radish and Chickory for this year and next to break the ground up a bit, give the deer some food to munch on, and allow the root systems to die off a bit and start to break down before we till them up. Plots 2 and 3 will be tilled up and seeded, but we have not picked the mix for them quite yet. I am thinking Brassicas and Winter Peas for Plot 3 and Chickory for Plot 2, but again, thats not a definite yet.

 

We are also going to begin to wind map the property while we are doing the work this year. It looks kinda flat on this map, but its a pretty hilly piece of property, so there are lots of areas that swirl depending on the wind direction at the time.

 

 

[phade]

Good luck...hopefully the cost doesn't get prohibitive. That's alot of investment into a property with others who are not partaking and on ground with no lease/ownership.

 

Been there, done that, and been burned more times than I care to admit. I won't go that route again.

[virgil]

Is it expensive to do all this work?  I'm assuming you're doing the work yourselves and have the equipment, correct?

[WNYBuckHunter]

Thanks Phade. My hunting partner has a 30+ year relationship with the land owners. Short of something catastrophic happening, we arent too worried about losing access.

 

The work is something we like doing, and we are not spending much at all on equipment, as most of it we either already have or are borrowing from the landowner and a farmer we know. Any equipment we buy can either be sold off or used on other ventures if need be. We are buying seed and fertilizer on the cheap, and have budgeted x amount per year for it. The plots are on the small side, so the costs shouldnt get out of hand. Our biggest concern is the other group at this point.

[phade]

I'll tell you right now, I'd be sneaky dickens. That thicket in the cow pasture screams for a set up.

 

I'd go in there, cut the most small, unnoticeable opening to step in, and cut two swathes about 3-4 ft. wide and as long as seems necessary in a V shape with the bottom of the V being the set up point and in sucha  spot the wind carries out to the field. Since the cows are in there and nobody wants to deal with them...that'll keep it fresh until they are moved out. As soon as they are...I'd go in there and set up and be ready all day. Better yet, the gun pressure will push them in there before the first sit.

 

Easy (minus the blood letting) to do with a gas trimmer and a saw blade attachment. Keep it to yourself/partner and nobody will know you've got a gem spot.

Edited July 16, 2013 by phade

[landtracdeerhunter]

I give you a lot of credit WNY, and admire your motivation. Anything to improve a  hunting property is 100% step in the right direction. Already  off to a great start.

[BizCT]

Must be nice.....how many acres total is that property?

[Five Seasons]

lol I love the "ungodly thick" I so know the type.

 

check out where my gun kill buck died last year. The pictures don't do it justice. I actually lost blood eventhough it was double lung. Slugs just don't bleed. So i was still in most of my cammo with my browning crawling prone and got real lucky when I looked over and saw him. Took 45 minutes of pruning

just to get him out. This stuff is awesome bedding though and where usually the big boys hang out.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Must be nice.....how many acres total is that property?

 

This one is @ 225, only a piece of it is pictured

 

EDITED as I measured the tax map

[WNYBuckHunter]

belo, I had to crawl through it last year to track my buck. Same deal, belly crawled some of it. I ended up finding him laying in a clear cut path though, so it was easy to get him out.

[growalot]

hhmm I lost my post...try again ..That is a nice looking piece of land and I hope the owner is "younger" and has a long life line..I have to ask though just curiosity...does that creek run down into a "lake feeder"?  Best of luck on it this year

[WNYBuckHunter]

The land owner is older, but it will stay in the family. He recently put all of his land (@ 1200 acres) into the land conservancy program so it can never be developed, only farmed. The creek I drew with blue feeds a larger creek, which flows to the Genesee eventually

[gjs4]

what is on the outlying properties in terms of cover, food and season pressure/presence?

 

If there an overall plan and flow of movement here?

 

Are you adding mock scrapes or other social features? The thick early successional stuff looks nice as bedding but is it too thick? Perhaps something to check out right after season.

 

Where are your entry and exit routes? did you plant based on stand sites or the other way around?

 

Obviously the west is bedding and could be crazy w the atypical east wind. I would hunt sparingly as you are drawing from two bedding areas....one down wind of you and your plots the other directly upwind which is already inclined for nightime movement...easy to over pressure....would hunt that creek on a north wind...so sexy.

 

good luck

 

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

Out liying properties are mixed hardwoods to the north and west, a couple of large hayfields to the south, and to the west on the other side of the hardwoods. to the east is alot of hardwoods on the other side of the larger creek, with large hay fields beyond that. I think there is some corn about a half or 3/4 mile to the north east. There is a 2 or 3 acre bean patch on the other side of the hay field directly south.

 

The plots have basically been positioned in areas that are on the outskirts of pre-existing funnels that are open to sunlight. Entry is based on wind and what stand we hunt. We are looking to improve on our access by beginning to wind map the property this year.

 

Pressure is a bit of an issue, as there are 3 or 4 guys that have permission here that we have zero control over, and so far, they do not work with us. The cows in the pasture help us a bit though, because noone is allowed into the pasture while the cattle are there. Nobody really goes in there even after they are gone, except to recover deer. Neighboring property gets some pressure as well, but we have yet to speak with those guys to get a feel for what their style is.

 

We have decided not to use any mock rubs, scents, etc on this property, the name of the game is low impact for us. We are going to try and take advantage of the other guys "mistakes" for our benefit.

[josephmrtn]

I'll tell you right now, I'd be sneaky dickens. That thicket in the cow pasture screams for a set up.

 

I'd go in there, cut the most small, unnoticeable opening to step in, and cut two swathes about 3-4 ft. wide and as long as seems necessary in a V shape with the bottom of the V being the set up point and in sucha  spot the wind carries out to the field. Since the cows are in there and nobody wants to deal with them...that'll keep it fresh until they are moved out. As soon as they are...I'd go in there and set up and be ready all day. Better yet, the gun pressure will push them in there before the first sit.

 

Easy (minus the blood letting) to do with a gas trimmer and a saw blade attachment. Keep it to yourself/partner and nobody will know you've got a gem spot.

this kinda what ur talking about?

http://www.qdma.com/articles/where-has-that-darn-buck-gone

[phade]

What that article highlights is how tight to bedding bucks stay in early season. They have what they need. Hunting the food source as many do at that time of year may pay off but the closer to the bed...the much more high your chance gets at seeing him in shooting light.

Many hunting groups say that you should leave bedding alone and not pressure it at all. Well while I agree you don't want to overdo the damage...you cant kill them if you aren't in the game. Careful scouting can pay off. See how the bucks range exploded into the fall? That is just further evidence to support bed hunting early season. One or two carefully planned ventures increases odds...by simply waiting until the rut you are reducing your potential for encounters. Its all a numbers game.

The thicket seems like it could house lots of deer period. I like a v setup to take advantage of the fact nobody goes in there. A couple lanes hidden just inside the cover gives him a spot to go to early season if so inclined but especially after pressure from gun season hits.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Went down last night and worked on the plots. Started running the york rake to help clean some stuff out, wasnt worth the time so we just walked the 2 new ones and picked up any big stuff. We sprayed all of them with Round Up and got some of the edges cleaned up a bit. Plot 2 got a bit of an expansion with lots of brush bushed out on the west side of it. Basically doubled the size. We should be breaking the ground in a week.

[WNYBuckHunter]

So we ended up borrowing a Kubota RTV 900 and a cutting disc from someone and we broke ground on plots 4 and 2 on this past Saturday. Plot 4 has been planted in a mix of rape, hog radish, annual red clover (not sure of the exact type off hand) and chickory. Plot 2 is going to be a mix of feed oats and hog radish, and should be planted this week or weekend. We will also be breaking ground on plots 1 and 3 this weekend. Feels like we are down to the wire here lol. Plot 4 took 5 hours with the disc, 6 complete passes, to get it busted up. Next year the plan is to disc it up early in the spring and plant something in there, then bust it up again in the later summer for the fall planting. After that, it should be no biggie. Plot 2 was easy in the areas that had been pushed out, but the grasses and sod were thick in the brush hogged spots. That one is going to have to go through the same process as plot 4 next year. Plot 1 is gonna be the same, but plot 3 should be a cake walk.

 

We have decided that we are not going to bother with a tiller, we are going to pick up a 6 or 8 foot 3 point cutting disc instead. Much simpler and less expensive to operate. Add a sprayer and cultipacker to the list of tools and we will be good to go.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Its alive! Its alive!

 

Went down to check plot 4 yesterday, and its growing very well so far. Like a ding dong, I forgot to snap a couple of pics. Next time Im down there I will.

[Fantail]

Plot progress is cool to notice over time. Planting anything for Turkey or going mostly for Deer?

[WNYBuckHunter]

Mostly deer at this point. This farm is a haven for fox as well as yotes and doesnt hold many, if any turkey. I am not able to do anything about the fox, they are off limits per the land owner.

[WNYBuckHunter]

All of the plots are planted, now we just need some rain. Borrowed a 6 foot disc from a buddy yesterday and cleaned up plot 2, then broke ground on plots 1 and 3. I would have liked to have been able to bust the ground up a bit more on all of them, but we were working with what we had this year. Next year will be a different story. We ended up putting the same rape, radish, turnip, chickory mix as plot 4, into 1 and 2. Plot 3 got Whitetail Institute Pure Attraction, which is a mix of oats, brassicas and winter peas.

In a couple of weeks, Im going to go down and hit everything with fertilizer. Once we get a bit more rain and things really start popping, I will get some pics of everything.

A couple of things we learned this year, is that with the equipment we have, we really do need a tiller. The discs worked pretty good, but we are keeping most of the plots small, and not very wide. With the tractor we have, you cant cross cut them, as the areas are not wide enough, with the exception of plot 4. We also discovered that spraying by hand sucks lol. The goal for next year is to have a boom sprayer, tiller and a cultipacker, which should be all we need.

Heres a few pics from yesterday. My daughter was goofing around with my phone and took some pics and ended up with a neat one of the one plot with my truck in the background. maybe she has a bit of a photographic eye lol. It really was a fun and productive day. The kids had a blast wandering around, etc.

[ncountry]

Cool!! Hope it makes it a little easier to bring a nice one in..Inspires me to get going on some of my own.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Thanks, the idea of these plots is more to attract the deer to the property more. Theres all kinds of bedding and all the water they can handle, but not much for food. We figure a little deer candy will help get them to stick around more.

BTW, the really nice ones arent on this farm lol. My honey hole is a few miles away. That farm has no need for plots, its huge ag already.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Wooohooo! Its raining! Just what I need! I hope it sticks around for a good length of time today and really soaks in.

 

Lo9oks like theres a chance of rain the next couple of days too.