Are You Hunting a Ghost?

Ask the Staff: I’ve been seeing your advertisements for your clover for several years now. I’ve heard some people swear by it and that has me curious. Explain to me why planting your clover would be any better that what I plant now. At my club that borders the Tennessee River in northern Alabama, we currently plant soybeans, a lot of winter rye and some alfalfa. All three crops readily draw deer into our food plots. I can’t imagine your clover could draw deer any better than what we plant. These three crops are relatively easy to plant and the rye is cheap to plant. Planting clover looks like it takes a lot more work and is more expensive. We don’t have any real monster deer on our property, but our bucks are as big as anyone else’s around here. How could planting your clover be any better than what we’re doing now?

James Gable, Birmingham, AL

Your questions are very similar to those we receive from hunters across the country. If you’re satisfied with having average-sized racks on your bucks and all you want to do is plant crops that will draw them into food plots so you can shoot them, the program you’re using will obviously work. Research has proved Imperial Clover is preferred on a year-round basis over anything you’re presently using. So, by using Imperial Whitetail Clover, you will see even more deer along with a host of other benefits.

Many landowners and hunting club members have hunted average-sized bucks for so long that they have come to expect it. They have never learned what it takes to produce true trophy racks and how easily it can be accomplished.

We’re guessing that you’re not satisfied with hunting average-size bucks, however. We imagine that, like most hunters, you’re after that golly-whopper buck. We’re guessing that no such buck exists on your property and, like most hunters, you spend countless hours hunting a ghost.

Some explanation is in order. As you’ve probably read somewhere before, true trophy racks are the result of the Big 3: age, nutrition and genetics. You have the potential to control all three.

The easiest and least expensive of those to control is age. You can control this simply by not pulling the trigger on young, 1 ½ and 2 ½ year bucks with small racks. By allowing these bucks to live to see other hunting seasons, their racks receive additional growing time.

Genetics is a little more complicated to control, but it can be done. Bucks with inferior racks, say four points on one side and two points on the other, should be harvested to prevent that genetic trait from spreading. This should be done only if the landowner or hunter is assured inferior racks are the result of genetics. However, this is not always the case. Studies by leading researchers have shown high-protein foods will often turn inferior racks into symmetrical trophy-potential racks as soon as the following year.

This final factor – nutrition – is the most important and the most misunderstood. Granted, the soybeans you plant is an excellent food that is high in protein. It is also excellent forage to attract deer to your food plots. The major drawback, however, is that it is not available during most of the critical antler-growing period.

Racks do not just suddenly appear on bucks the week before the hunting season. By the start of your hunting season in November, a buck’s rack size has long been determined. The rack’s width, mass, symmetry and number of points were determined during the critical 200-day growing period that began in early spring. When the soybeans you plant finally appear and are edible, the 200-day growing period is virtually over. All that your soybeans are contributing to that buck, basically, is body fat. Antlers are the fastest-growing bone known to man. This rapid growth is fueled by protein. Imperial Whitetail Brand Clover is high in protein, but just as important, it is a high-protein forage that is available to deer during spring and summer – the critical period for antler growth.

It’s also important to note that high-protein foods are worthless if deer won’t eat them. Imperial Whitetail Brand Clover is high in sugar, and is tender. That makes it much more desirable than many tough-stemmed, sour-tasting native browses that have less protein.

Now, for the final part of your query. Planting clover is not a difficult chore. It requires good soil preparation, including fertilization and, if necessary, liming. These basic planting practices are also necessary for planting rye, soybeans and other food plot crops, if you’re doing it correctly.

In summary, if you want more deer – and better quality deer – on your property, Imperial Whitetail Clover needs to be your planting choice.

Sincerely,

The Whitetail Institute Staff