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re: Supplemental deer feeding opinions needed
Posted on 1/23/18 at 8:14 am to TheDrunkenTigah
Posted on 1/23/18 at 8:14 am to TheDrunkenTigah
I can honestly say Protein feeds increase bone on your place no matter what the biologist says. LSU-AG biologist came to our place every year and drove around for about 2 days and reviewed our kill log and had done it since back in the 90's old DMAP days.(FYI DMAP IS A shite*TY SYSTEM and he will tell you that). He had made suggestions thru the 90"s and early 2000's that never panned out and hurt us so we took it up on ourselves. We have been feeding Lone Star Horns Plus 18% for about 10 years from February Till September. We let family start corn feeders, rice bran and whatever else they wanna feed in September thru Jan. Before supplemental feeding we had never taken close to a 130 class ever on our family land and we have hunted it for over 40 years before protein pellets. 6 years ago we killed our first 130 class and we thought was a monster. We have learned when and where to feed on our place and that is important to learn there habits and not try to force feeding habits on them. This season we killed our first 160 (162 3/8) class buck, and 2 high 140's (148 1/18 and 145 5/8). These were also the only 3 bucks we took off the 2700 acres. We have also planted persimmon, plum, muscadine vines, mayhaw and musk melon vines all thru the swamps edges. We have 12 feeders and feed about 1000 lbs a month during there peak eating. We use to take what we thought were considered CULL Bucks off the place. We stopped that 5 years ago and do not take any "CULL" animals at all short of a wounded or hurt deer. We take about 5 to 7 Does a year as well. Great herd, healthy animals. Our kill weights are on average a little bigger than others we see killed in our area. It works for us and we are happy with results
2
Posted on 1/23/18 at 8:39 am to ChandlerB03
Chandler, you are the new guy. Seldom is the new guy able to come in and sway members to his way of thinking.
Whatever y’all do, you need to come up with a plan and implement it. If y’all aren’t working together, there will be problems.
Whatever y’all do, you need to come up with a plan and implement it. If y’all aren’t working together, there will be problems.
Posted on 1/23/18 at 9:27 am to Boat Motor Bandit
quote:
These were also the only 3 bucks we took off the 2700 acres.
quote:
We take about 5 to 7 Does a year as well. Great herd, healthy animals.
This doesn't compute man. The bucks does, but only 5-7 does off of 2700 acres doesn't seem like a very healthy herd to me especially if it's not a square plot of land and you are killing a good portion of deer that wander around outside of your own acreage?
Back to the OP, the hardest part about killing mature bucks is you have to be a hell of a lot more patient and hunt a hell of a lot more. Guys that routinely kill 4.5+ year old deer on your average farms (i.e. Not Texas) hunt a lot. Way more then your average lease member.
I just see so many guys think they can all the sudden add 20 inches of bone by feeding animal corn and protein which is extremely unlikely. You gotta let those nice 3.5 year old bucks walks.
Posted on 1/23/18 at 10:02 am to baldona
Yea it's fairly square with a creek bordering our east side property line. We choose to take what we take. I can guarantee you I did not sit 3 hunts all season and not see multiple deer. Only days I can recall not seeing deer is the first snow day this year and the Friday after Thanksgiving. We pas A LOT of small bucks!!! Bucks I see folks on FB hang on there wall. Its hard but pays off
Posted on 1/23/18 at 12:53 pm to Boat Motor Bandit
Boat, sounds like you and your family have a great piece of property. The timing of when y'alls bucks made big jumps in antler size seems to follow research conducted in Mississippi by the Deer Lab. That research basically proved that a bucks antler size is dependent on his mother's overall health during pregnancy. When starting habitat improvements or supplemental feeding, it takes 2 deer generations (8-10 years) to really see big improvements. A doe needs to grow up with a feeding program before she will produce fawns with higher potential. It's the second generation and on that show the true potential of habitat improvement/feeding.
Could you elaborate on why you and the LSU-Ag biologist don't like the DMAP system
Could you elaborate on why you and the LSU-Ag biologist don't like the DMAP system
Posted on 1/23/18 at 1:34 pm to ABucks11
ABucks we were taking too many Doe off the property according to there standards. First 3 years they wanted like 25 a year. So we piled them up Back in the early 90's to get what to a better ratio. The next couple 3 years was a ghost town. NO DEER not even small bucks. Place became an over grown thicket because nothing was there to eat the browse down. About 98 or 99 we burnt the place it had gotten so bad. Early 2000's we logged it over about 4 years and replanted and changed to managing it like we felt like from what we were seeing each year. 2006 or 07 we stumbled across feeding protein pellets out in West Texas and started trying it here. took over a year before they all were eating it good. feeder station shy for a while. It took until about 4 years ago to get population back up to where we are seeing deer majority of hunts. Our biologist always followed protocol for DMAP and Ag center specs. But we both were always in agreement it wouldn't work in pine forests with a small creek bottom area. It didn't, it decimated our land. Hated we ever let them DMAP our land. And that we were ignorant enough to blindly follow
Posted on 1/23/18 at 8:40 pm to ChandlerB03
Our club is 3000 acres with both personal food plots and club plots. Guys have feeders on personal plots but the rule is no feeders on club plots, just grass. Wonder what would happen if we just stopped feeding corn and protein and only planted grass? Fewer hogs for sure....
Posted on 1/23/18 at 9:44 pm to TheDrunkenTigah
Good luck keeping deer on your property during the season if all your neighbors are throwing corn and you aren't
Posted on 1/23/18 at 9:50 pm to lsu1987
Fewer hogs = less pressure on deer
From what I’ve read and noticed over the years it’s about 3 things...Food, Water, Bedding.
Protein, calcium, potassium, magnesium are going to get your best results. As mentioned before in the thread, once you get your soil tested you learn what your land needs and can fertilize the plots based on that. I think if you can make your plots as healthy and beneficial as possible to the deer, that they would continue to come in to that plot.
From what I’ve read and noticed over the years it’s about 3 things...Food, Water, Bedding.
Protein, calcium, potassium, magnesium are going to get your best results. As mentioned before in the thread, once you get your soil tested you learn what your land needs and can fertilize the plots based on that. I think if you can make your plots as healthy and beneficial as possible to the deer, that they would continue to come in to that plot.
Posted on 1/23/18 at 10:28 pm to ChandlerB03
quote:
ChandlerB03
I am going to give you some free advise here, no matter how much corn you put out once the acorns start dropping they will ignore it and the corn will sour on the ground.
Having spent my entire life very close to the area you are in I feel fairly confident in telling you "your" deer are patterned to move to areas of higher mast crop production during certian times of the year.
If there is a property within 10 miles of you that is dropping lots of acorns (there is) that is where "your" deer went.
While deeer can certianl live in a 70% pine enviroment they dont normally choose to and will mostly use it for bedding areas during the summer and early fall.
As to the nocturnal part never feed after noon, if you must use feeders only have them run in the morning, force the deer to come when you want or miss the free meal.
Posted on 1/23/18 at 10:41 pm to cave canem
Yep I know that. I know they deer stick to the hardwoods when the acorns fall. In the OP, I explained that some of the members were hanging feeders at every plot. To which I think is very unnessicary, and IMO, is not “hunting”. You’re creating a bad pattering habit for the deer when you feed that much.
I was just hoping to get some pointers to get that message across to the other members as well as what other OBers thought about the corn buffet vs soil testing and managing your property to best suit the deer. Not to mention harvesting mature deer.
I was just hoping to get some pointers to get that message across to the other members as well as what other OBers thought about the corn buffet vs soil testing and managing your property to best suit the deer. Not to mention harvesting mature deer.
Posted on 1/23/18 at 10:48 pm to ChandlerB03
quote:
explained that some of the members were hanging feeders at every plot. To which I think is very unnessicary, and IMO, is not “hunting”. You’re creating a bad pattering habit for the deer when you feed that much.
The coons and birds will approve of their actions, depending on exactly where you are the hogs and bear may as well.
Posted on 1/23/18 at 10:51 pm to cave canem
We’re not quite to hwy 33. My sons grandfather hunts not 7miles from us, their camp has killed their first hogs this year. So they are not far from us.
Posted on 1/23/18 at 11:08 pm to ChandlerB03
quote:
We’re not quite to hwy 33.
Sorry missread your original post and thought you were west of 61, poits are the same though.
quote:
their camp has killed their first hogs this year. So they are not far from us.
Then you will have them soon enough with the bear as well, as a kid many years ago I saw a bear once, now they are everywhere in my area, giant shithead coons is what they are.
Posted on 1/24/18 at 9:21 am to lsupride87
quote:
Good luck keeping deer on your property during the season if all your neighbors are throwing corn and you aren't
I disagree. How many guys routinely get large bucks on game cams over feeders? As in multiple nights/ days a week? Very very few.
The key to routine big bucks is very low pressure, thick bedding areas, and good browse/ acorns while letting them live long enough.
Does will hit the same corn feed almost daily. Bucks are a different story once they hit 2.5-3.5. They just don't go to them routinely in most instances.
Eta: not Corning imo is just an easy excuse for the bucks disappearing when it's likely something else. More often then not its pressure imo, something pressured them and pushed them away. Could be a neighbor, farmer, logger, poacher, yard dog that got loose, etc. could be a new tree started dropping acorns or another food.
This post was edited on 1/24/18 at 9:24 am
Posted on 1/24/18 at 9:24 am to baldona
quote:If you dont have alot of acerage, and your neighbors are feeding and taking your does, that means your bucks will follow those does during the rut.....
Does will hit the same corn feed almost daily.
Where we hunt (Louisiana) everyone feeds their asses off. We tried no feed and the deer basically told us to frick off
This post was edited on 1/24/18 at 9:25 am
Posted on 1/24/18 at 9:29 am to lsupride87
quote:
you dont have alot of acerage, and your neighbors are feeding and taking your does, that means your bucks will follow those does during the rut
Yeah but unless you are talking about 1000s of acres, you can still hold the deer and kill the deer no matter where they feed.
Imo the number one underrated way to hold big bucks is unpressurized thick bedding areas. It may take 2-3 years for bucks to find, but once you have an established buck bedding area it's usually fairly consistent to have a mature deer there every year or 2 depending on size.
In my experience the more most average lease guys corn, the more dumb crap they do like drive 4 wheelers all over, squirrel hunt before the rut, etc.
If you want to kill a big buck routinely you need to have somewhere on your property they are comfortable sleeping.
Posted on 1/24/18 at 9:31 am to baldona
quote:I would agree with this as well
Imo the number one underrated way to hold big bucks is unpressurized thick bedding areas. It may take 2-3 years for bucks to find, but once you have an established buck bedding area it's usually fairly consistent to have a mature deer there every year or 2 depending on size.
In my experience the more most average lease guys corn, the more dumb crap they do like drive 4 wheelers all over, squirrel hunt before the rut, etc.
If you want to kill a big buck routinely you need to have somewhere on your property they are comfortable sleeping.
Posted on 1/24/18 at 9:31 am to lsupride87
quote:
your neighbors are feeding and taking your does, that means your bucks will follow those does during the rut.....
This is not entirely true. The does patterns change too in the rut, and once they're truly ready to breed they will look for the thickest shite they can find to go lay up while paired off.
I feed plently, because for most of the season it's true that if I don't then they'll just go to the next corn pile over. I spent five days in the woods last week during peak conception dates for my area and I've never seen corn pile up like that. They just weren't interested in feeding. I usually get thousands of pictures a week and in that time I only got a few yearlings at night. All the mature does had left their groups and disappeared.
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