Smart Food Plot Tactics Outwit Cautious Whitetail

By Brad Herndon

            Arlyn Heath is 70 years old and has spent many years in Wisconsin’s fall woods pursuing the majestic whitetail deer. Yet despite his years of experience, Heath’s heart raced last year when he first viewed a tremendous buck. Most hunters could understand why. The large racked deer actually had a third main beam growing from the right side of its head!

            Interestingly, there’s an odd twist to Heath’s tale about the trophy deer he saw, as there is about many of the huge bucks seen for the first time throughout our nation in recent years. Here’s the catch. A surveillance camera he had located on his property revealed the presence of Heath’s megabuck to him.

            I’ve written many stories about surveillance cameras throughout the years, and the value of using them. In the many interviews I’ve conducted, I usually ask the person using the camera if, when scouting or hunting, they had ever seen any of the big deer they get on film? Amazingly, the hunters I talk to tell me that they are oftentimes shocked by the trophy deer pictures they get from their surveillance camera setups. The reason? A full 50 percent of the trophy deer they photograph are ones they had no idea were even there!

The Value Of Sound Hunting Strategies

            Yes, there are hunters scattered throughout North America who think they’re killing the best bucks on their property, when they really aren’t. Older bucks get smart as they age and are rarely seen. Some become legends to the hunters who pursue them. And even the surveillance camera setups have to be positioned with care. Often a huge deer that has never before been sighted on a hunter’s land will appear on camera, and then never be seen again.

            I believe repetitious deer hunting methods--and not paying enough attention to wind directions--are the cause of most hunter’s failures when it comes to killing trophy deer. So while I don’t profess to know the property containing your food plots better than you do, I nevertheless believe I have information gathered by myself and many other hunters that will up your odds on getting a real wall hanger this coming fall. The same hunting methods, by the way, will also enable you to more efficiently keep your entire deer herd in balance.

Repeat Hunts And The Wind

            “It looked like a cattle trail going to my tree stand. I saw a couple doe and a small buck and that was it.” I’ve heard statements similar to this one from more than one hunter who has gone on a paid hunt for high scoring whitetails. Yes, guides can and do over-hunt stand sites, resulting in poor hunting success rates. Many food plot managers do the same. I know I have in the past. And it’s something we all have to guard against. Sure it’s tempting to go to our favorite stand site every day, one where we have tasted success in past years. Yet by doing so, the deer, both doe and bucks, are patterning us and can easily avoid our stand position.

            They are tipped off to our stand position in two basic ways. First of all, once we are through hunting for the day, the deer, as they meander around during the night, will discover how we entered and exited our stand site. Rubber boots, cover scents, scent-locking clothes, and other precautions will lower our chances of getting caught this way, but it doesn’t eliminate it. Likewise, unwise use of the wind on the hunter’s part will allow deer to pick out stand site locations very quickly. Again, they will avoid these positions.

            This is why it is important to always use the wind to your advantage, and to mix up your tree stand or ground blind positions when hunting. Consider how much disturbance you will make when entering and leaving your stand sites, too. The most discreet entry and exit method will usually result in the highest success rates. Also evaluate each stand site and determine the best period of the year to hunt the position.

            Many videos on the market capture on film huge deer being taken from food plots. It seems like a simple task to pull off - and it does happen. But keep in mind that thousands of failed hunts aren’t documented. When hunting right on food plots, make sure you use the wind properly and hunt the plots lightly. Even after doing this, oftentimes the older bucks won’t show up during most time periods of the year until after dark. But they may during the peak of the rut because they will follow an estrous doe out into the food plot when she goes to feed. As I said, determine the prime time to hunt each location on your land. And consider the weapon you’ll be using as well.

            For example, a buck in the middle of an average size food plot is easy pickings for a rifle hunter. For the archer it’s a different story because of his limited shot distance. During the last year I know of at least three archers who have taken mature deer by hunting from a commercial ground blind positioned in the middle of their food plots. By placing the blind in the food plot weeks ahead of time, the whitetails get used to it being there. In addition, many commercial blinds are fairly tight from a wind flow standpoint and this helps keep your scent from being dispersed to any large degree.

            By entering the stand at the right time, such as early in the afternoon, you’re then in position when Mr. Big comes traipsing along behind a hot doe that afternoon. Being in the middle of the plot, of course, increases your odds of a deer coming by you unless the plot is unusually large. The ground blind in the middle of a food plot is a neat trick for the archer to use.

Staying Away From The Food Plots

            Sometimes the best way to hunt a food plot is to not hunt your food plot. I know, that sounds strange. Keep in mind, though, that while you may take naive doe and fawn from or near food plots, the old master of the woods won’t be so easy. Sure, he’s still out cruising, but he knows how to avoid the speed traps-hunters. In the situations where you’re after a real buster buck, back off from the plots and hunt the key funnel locations on your property between the bedding areas and the plots.

            My wife Carol, for instance, loves to hunt an inside corner that’s not near a food plot. It contains very little deer sign and most hunters would never place a stand in this position. Despite this, she knows during the peak of the rut mature deer out searching our region for receptive doe will many times come through her little inside corner, which is actually a half funnel. During the past four years she has taken three mature bucks from this location and missed opportunities at two others. All movement was during the peak of the rut in mid-November here in Indiana where we live.

            I’ve had success on mature bucks during archery season the past two years by hunting another inside corner, although my situation is very different from Carol’s hunts. Both of my bucks were arrowed in an inside corner during early January, when the rut was long gone. Both whitetails were killed approximately one-half mile away from the “food plot”. I highlighted food plot because the food draw I used on this particular lease was not Imperial Whitetail Clover, Alfa-Rack, or another product associated with most food plots. Instead, it was corn, a high carbohydrate food source deer are drawn to during the frigid winter months in our nation’s northern tier of states.

            On this particular piece of property there is absolutely no place I can plant a food plot so I pay the farmer to leave me a couple of acres of standing corn. It works great, drawing deer in late season like a magnet draws metal shavings to itself. The whitetails coming to this corn in the evenings, however, are primarily doe, fawn and yearly bucks. I actually go up a steep hill, walk a ridge for some distance, and take stand in the inside corner very near a brushy bedding area. Even then, both of my mature bucks were taken in the last ten minutes of shooting light.

            This shows the importance of hunting some distance from food plots, if need be, in order to take an older age class of bucks. A couple of years ago when I was talking to Don Kisky, a well-known trophy hunter from Iowa, a statement he made stuck in my mind: “Usually, to kill the really big bucks, you have to get back in the woods to pick them off. Most of them won’t venture out into my food plots before it gets dark.”

Try The Midday

            Another method of hunting you may want to try on your property-if you haven’t already-is hunting the midday period. From keeping Pope & Young statistics for years, my research has revealed very few hunters hunt the midday period. My research also shows that this time period will give you the highest odds of success during the peak of the rut. Let’s go back to Carol’s inside corner for an illustration of this.

            Her three mature bucks from this stand position were taken at 11:08 a.m., 12:55 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. During archery seasons, she has missed opportunities at two mature bucks from this stand site at 10:30 a.m. and 10:35 a.m. All of this activity has occurred during the past four years. As you can see, the midday period has been very good to her. My midday hunts have proved to be equally successful during the noontime hours, with my best bow kill coming at 11:45 a.m.

            Once more I’ll stress that midday hunting is best during the rut, with the tail end of the rut being tops. This is true because the bruiser bucks are out searching for the few doe still remaining in heat. If your property is relatively flat, inside corners, heavy fencerows connecting two tracts of timber, timbered waterways connecting woodlots, and other types of funnels should be hunted.

             In hilly regions hunt saddles (low spots in ridgelines), converging hubs (places where several ridges come together), inside corners, or any other terrain feature that will put you and a trophy deer close together. While it is imperative that a bow hunter get close to a whitetail to have a high odds shot, it can also help the firearm hunter in many circumstances. Close still counts!

Create A Sanctuary

            The property we lease here in Indiana is hilly, containing beautiful, but open, hardwood timber. This means we have to be very careful about how we go to our stands since the deer can see so far. Despite this fact, we have found ways to hold deer on our property in addition to the use of food plots. For example, we totally avoid the few areas on our land, which contain cedar trees and other brush during late summer and the entire hunting season. This creates a small sanctuary for the deer. We oftentimes kill our best deer fairly close to these areas.

            I say fairly close because we make sure we never get close enough to the sanctuaries to tip the deer off to our presence in any way. Although it takes patience to back off from these hot locations, it has paid off for us big time. I’m sure most of you can find at least one location on your property where you can set aside a sanctuary zone. If you own your own property, you can even create one by utilizing good timber management practices.

            How you hunt your land, of course, is ultimately your decision. However, always keep in mind there is more to learn about this fascinating sport. That’s what makes it interesting. Ask yourself, “Is there a monster buck lurking around on my property that I don’t know about?” Who knows? there may be one. And it may have a third main beam growing out of the side of its head.

Top Ten Check List For Hunting Food Plot Property

1. Use the wind to your advantage.

2. Be patient. Don’t over hunt your favorite stand sites. Deer will pattern you very quickly if you do this.

3. Don’t walk around scouting too much during hunting season. Learn your hunting property in the off seasons.

4. Use low impact entry and exit methods to your stand locations. The fewer disturbances you make getting to, and leaving your stand, the better. This may mean entering stand after daylight on some mornings.

5. Determine the best time of day to hunt for each stage of the year. Midday can be great during the rut and tail end of the rut. Late evening can be best during very early and very late hunting seasons.

6. Leave a sanctuary zone for your deer. Leaving at least one area of your hunting land completely undisturbed, regardless of how small it is, can help hold deer on your property.

7. Don’t allow too many hunters on your land. Fill your property with hunters and you will find your success rates will go down. This occurs because the disturbance the hunters create will put the deer on high alert, or may even force them to leave your property. Even among family members, it’s a good idea to divide up hunting time if you have a small piece of property to hunt.

8. Try novel methods of hunting your food plots, especially if you’re a bow hunter. A commercial ground blind in the middle of a food plot is one example to try.

9. If need be, pull back from your food plots and hunt strategic terrain features such as inside corners, saddles, and other funnel areas your property may contain.

10. Use surveillance cameras to help you find out what size bucks are really using your property. The results may surprise you!