Pros vs. Cons of Oats, Clovers, Corn, Beans for Bow Season

[phade]

What the's best return for the effort/investment in your book for a bow season food source (plot wise) in October and November for a single variety?

 

Corn is nice, especially when it's not around the area. But, it's also very labor intensive. Same with beans, and there's some downtime from yellowing to late winter attraction. Oats can draw in big, but can peter out with a frost pretty quickly, leaving not much around in some years. Clovers pretty much the same thing - seems like you get a week or two of draw at the start, and then it drops off fast as deer move elsewhere.

 

Obviously natural browse and mast are a factor, as are location, and a billion other inputs. But, push comes to shove, what's the best bang for your buck and time? I have limited experience with oats - some but not much - and oats seem intruiging to me. I know they don't seed well without covering, but some people report they have luck with it. Corn has been king in my area, but with so much of it in prior hunting locations, it has never been planted as a food plot, and it's too labor intensive for my preference from an implement, time, and cost perspective.

[G-Man]

By far bang for the buck is clover, mix it with some winter rye,or wheat. So that the grain is only about 4 in tall come middle of October and clove 4 to 6 inches tall as well ,I cut my clover down to 4 inches 2 weeks before opener so it's all new fresh growth.

Edited March 10, 2015 by G-Man

[phade]

By far bang for the buck is clover, mix it with some winer rye,or wheat.

 

For bow season? That's what I am specifically looking at. While clover maintains some draw in bow season, I see utilization drop like a rock after about mid-Oct.

[growalot]

I really like the clover/chicory/brassica/winter grain mix....

[NYBuckHunter27]

Turnips and brassicas seem to work well for me, they love the fresh green leaf right through the season and than will dig up the turnips and radishes after the season and will be a helpful food source to get them through the winter if you can plant a large enough area.

[ATbuckhunter]

Well I know that deer will hit clover and chicory for most of October and then shift towards corn and other late season foods come November. How big is your food plot going to be?

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[G-Man]

Brassica is nice but takes a lot out of soil and is costly as you need to fertilizer and replant every year. Clover is great draw early Bow and the winter rye wheat will become a draw a little later in October. November most mast is falling and fields will be empty , but bucks will still cruise the inside edge of fields in woods looking for a doe out there feeding.

For plot longevity and ease of maintance ,and possible overseeing a winter hardy grain it is the best bang for a buck.

biggest draw may be turnips and corn bot are much more costly and are annual.resulting in a much higher cost and labor.

[phade]

Actually been looking at the throw and mow method that is becoming popular.

 

Not a huge fan of brassica for October and November...had very little utilization of it at that time. Most action I have witnessed has been Dec. and Jan. use.

[SplitG2]

I think a good blend for oct/nov bow would be clover with brassica(turnips and rape).  if you want more draw from brassica, than put more rape than turnip.

[growalot]

I have to ask how many times in that particular area did you plant the brassica? Also not all are equal, some have a natural sweetness before a frost...causing the deer to utilize it more...now a good place to read about that would be in a more southern geographical area...Find what types they may grow seeing they have less chance of frosts earlier in the fall/winter

[growalot]

for the perennial clover/chicory...I add small burnett deer love it....

[SplitG2]

if you want the best bang for your $, oats and winter rye blend.

[phade]

I have to ask how many times in that particular area did you plant the brassica? Also not all are equal, some have a natural sweetness before a frost...causing the deer to utilize it more...now a good place to read about that would be in a more southern geographical area...Find what types they may grow seeing they have less chance of frosts earlier in the fall/winter

 

Kales come to mind having the sweetness factor beforehand, but I have never once grown kale. Not really sure why it's not more popular from a brassica perspective. I know some have a longer growing season.

[JR60]

Winter peas  planted the last week of August , has good growth by 1st and 2nd week in October , deer and bear are in the field constantly.

[NYBowhunter]

White ladino clover works for a draw in my plots all year round. The problem with brassicas in my area is that deer never get the memo to wait until the first frost before they should start devouring it. Deer by me devour any brassicas i plant well before any frost. In my opinion, cant go wrong with a good quality large white clover. Keep it mowed to 6" high, fertilize and deer will continue to feed on it throughout the year.

[dbHunterNY]

for our situation timothy, brome, and alfalfa for bigger fields.  we bail and sell it as well as feed the deer.  corn is also there as that's the same thing.  for smaller plots it's mixed clover for yield and grazing pressure.  cost of planting and up keep are key on a working farm in our situation.  annuals have more pull but more cost to put in the ground every year.  I know it's not really the answer and context you looked for but yea.

[dbHunterNY]

Actually been looking at the throw and mow method that is becoming popular.

 

Not a huge fan of brassica for October and November...had very little utilization of it at that time. Most action I have witnessed has been Dec. and Jan. use.

 

seems whenever I plant them they aren't hit until too late in the season to be of any use.  after the season I had close to 30 deer in one trail cam pic on a plot of less than an acre.  problem was the picture was taken in the first week of Jan.

[WNYBuckHunter]

On our place this past year, the Groundhog Radishes got hit hard during bow season, as did the 7 card stud mix (radishes, red clovers and a couple other things), and the Winter Rye was getting hammered at that time. Come gun season the WR was gone, so those plots lost alot of the action they had during bow season. During gun the focus was any standing beans, corn and PTTs, etc.

 

This year I will have more WR planted.

[phade]

That is interesting with the WR, I always see WR be a second-tier attractant during the actual hunting season, but wow does it pull deer in at green-up. Did you have oats at all?

[growalot]

A fall pea/tritlage  of winter trictical and winter peas  is also great I mix in clovers for the spring and PT...you can do the same with the WR or WW...I happen to like tritical...

You can also buy a spring one if you plan on doing an annual field for a fall perennial planting...high protien short season..great soil builder when cut and disced in

Edited March 12, 2015 by growalot

[WNYBuckHunter]

That is interesting with the WR, I always see WR be a second-tier attractant during the actual hunting season, but wow does it pull deer in at green-up. Did you have oats at all?

 

 

Yeah there were some oats in the 7 card stud mix IIRC. They got hammered pretty good too.

 

The WR literally got eaten to the dirt. Ill see if I have some pics...

[WNYBuckHunter]

These are the same plot. You can see how its growing pretty good in bow season, then not much come gun opener, then gone down to dirt by the end of the season.

 

Halloween

 

 

Gun Opener

 

 

End of season

 

[Fantail]

Honestly I'm not thrilled about mixes. They seem more like placebos in hopes something will work.

On the other hand, a clover mix in a plot, with clover varieties kind of makes sense. AK's WR has a marginal mix of peas, now, I dig that stuff. I have some plots of that and Clovers bracketing one another but not mixed. In the NZ by the time gun season opens most of the clovers peter out. But for Archery through Muzz seem ok. WR, I'll just say will always have a plot on my jazz.

[dbHunterNY]

noticing no talk of chufa.  never tried it.  anyone using it this far north? results?  maybe you'd have to cultivate it in fall at minimum depth to expose the good stuff so it's not worth it?

[G-Man]

Chufa has to be worked up(exposed) and in an area where turkeys frequent for it to be used. It's not native to area and they won't scratch for it,until theybare use to finding it. If you want turkeys,let oats or buckwheat go to seed late Sept early oct....they will.be in it every day till its gone.

Edited April 9, 2015 by G-Man