October 2007 Food Plot Update

Digital Trail Cameras - Locking Devices

A Great Day in the Woods

We finally got some rain in October but most of it came late in the month. I think it helped pull our new food plots out of the dirt but they are still not thriving.

The deer finally came and ate our annuals that we had been watching, but once again we weren't there and our cameras had filled their memory cards before the big feast so we didn't get photographic evidence.

We've only been able to spend a couple of days hunting so far and in this short time the food plots have not played heavily in deer movement. Our digital trail camera photos had showed us that the activity around most of the food plots had lessened so we’re not counting heavily on the food plots to draw deer past our stands.

Oldhouse Food Plot

The deer finally came and ate the sorghum late on the weekend of the 13th and 14th. I have trail camera pictures from the evening of the 13th showing most of the seed still on the sorghum. By the time I arrived on the morning of the 16th it had been cleaned up. The memory card in the digital trail camera had filled up on the 13th and I missed the eating frenzy.

To my dismay this plot will provide little if any draw over the next few months, but there isn't anything I can do about that now. I didn't want to disk it up until after the deer had eaten the sorghum and by the time they did it was too late to plant anything else.

I'll now look forward to spring when I'll probably plant a perennial here again.

The cornpatch food plot looks real rough. Most of the plot is dead grass. I'm hoping the clover can bounce back strong in the spring. I hadn't planned on re-planting this plot in the spring but I may have to.

We planted Provide Clover mix in the old garden plot in September and then it was very dry for a while so it looks pretty rough right now.

The clover and chicory inside of the exclusion cage show us what would have happened if the deer had left the plot alone. If it hadn't have been for the exclusion cage I would have thought that the dry conditions had ruined the plot. Although it didn't thrive in the dryness it did try to grow.

In early October the deer were often seen eating in the plot so we also had the visual evidence they were eating it. We hadn’t been seeing much deer activity in this plot in the late summer.

It sure did look like the chicory in the seed blend outperformed the clover in the dry weather. I think we’ve learned something here.

The small strip of sorghum got stripped off clean in the same short window that it did in the oldhouse food plot.

Middle Clearing Food Plot

The Monster Mix doesn't look too bad now that most of the weeds have died. The clover and chicory is now visible in the plot among the fall leaves that have fallen.

The grass that we had sprayed has also died so there are signs that this plot could come back strong for us next spring.

As with some of our other plots the difference inside and out of the exclusion cage reveals how the deer have kept the clover and chicory eaten.

Whippoorwill Food Plot

The story in the whippoorwill food plot is similar to the middle plot. Now that the weeds have died you can see the clover and chicory. This small plot has fared well for its size. I shouldn't have to worry about this plot in the spring other than some maintenance.

Hayfield Food Plot

The Durana that we planted in the spring is holding its own, especially since the grass has died and the weeds have been killed by cold temps. The deer have continued to feed in the plot but not quite to the extent they were earlier in the summer. The difference inside the exclusion cage is remarkable. This part of the plot should do well next spring.

The Alfa Rack looks a little better since the weeds and most of the grass has died so I'm hoping it will come on strong next spring.

The Durana we planted in September has popped out of the ground but that's about it. It took the rain to get the clover to pop up. For a while I thought that it wasn't going to grow at all, but the late October rains helped it out.

The Monster Mix we planted in September mostly consists of chicory right now. The chicory outgrew the clovers during the hot dry weather we had through late September and early October.

I'm hoping that both the Durana and Monster Mix got enough of a start to make it through the winter and will thrive once spring comes around.

Right Of Way Food Plot

The right of way plot couldn't be considered a food plot at this point. I can't find any evidence of any clover or chicory in the plot. I suppose if I got on my hands and knees I might but I didn't go to that extreme.

I think I'll use this plot to experiment next spring. I'll wait and see what seed products come out and decide later what I'll do here.

A summary of our 2007 food plot experiences would have to include:

The perennials we planted in the hayfield, middle and whippoorwill plots did well and I think they provided a lot of good food for our deer. The older perennial plots struggles but we still saw a good bit of deer activity in them as well.

The small amount of annuals we planted grew well, but I think I’ll depend on annuals for a very small amount of our food plot acreage until we get more acres in solid performing perennials. Once the annuals are eaten the deer leave them completely.

The exclusion cages have been a great addition. They are the best way to really get a feel for the capabilities of a food plot without the grazing pressure. I finally got one right here after putting it off for too long.

We have to attack the grass more aggressively with herbicides.

The dry weather sure did show me the value of chicory in a food plot blend. The chicory was all we had growing for a while until we got some moisture.

This will be the last Food Plot Journal for 2007, I don't want to fill your e-mail boxes with worthless junk. I don't expect much more to happen with our plots until late winter. We'll let you know what is going on when we get something started again. Have a great hunting season!

Since we enjoy testing digital trail cameras I thought that we would detail some of what we have learned by taking a look at a different subject each month.

The fifth column in our chart is locking device. This category takes into consideration the capability of locking the camera to the tree as well as the overall ease and capability of attaching the trail camera to the tree.

Over the years I've been using digital trail cameras I've grown to like the Python locking cables. I've not found and easier way to both attach and lock a trail camera to a tree.

The next step includes those cameras that have a strap that attaches the camera to a tree that is easy to use. They do not lock to the tree, but they are easy to strap to the tree and are relatively hassle free.

There is one camera that includes mounting straps (strings) but they are so frustrating to use that I have now replaced them with small bungee cords. They definitely were not hassle free.

The lowest step includes those that cannot be attached using the Python cable, there is no strap included and they are also difficult to attach using bungee cords. Some have screws that you can use, but I'm not going to carry tools into the woods with me to attach the camera to a tree.

I don’t see many advertisements talking about the tree attachment systems but if you move your cameras much at all the system by which they attach to the tree can be a big consideration.

You can take a look at our digital trail camera reviews here.

I’m usually quick to say that any day in the woods is a great day, but on the morning of October 30th I had what I might even call an exceptional day in the woods.

The temperature was in the 30’s and there was little to no wind and no rain. Although my toes got a bit cool this was great weather to be in a treestand.

I spent a little less than three hours on stand that morning and it was a morning I’ll not soon forget.

I saw five bucks and several does. Every buck that I saw reacted positively to both grunt and/or bleat calls and a small four point even came in when I made an attempt to rattle a 10 point back in.

The first buck stopped at a grunt and came up the hill when I bleated. The second buck, a 10 point, turned and came within 20 yards when I grunted and then circled around when I bleated. The third and fourth bucks came my way when I bleated and one of them came back and went right under my treestand when I rattled. The fifth buck, a big 12 point, came to within ten yards when I grunted.

The bucks weren’t chasing the does although there were both does and bucks in my view on several occasions. I told my wife they reminded me of teenage boys walking around but too embarrassed to talk to any of the girls.

You can read more about my morning on stand and take a look at the 12 point buck in the October 30th Deer Season Journal.