Whitetail Deer Hunting

In the begining of 2006 I joined my first hunt club. I have two youth hunters that started hunting in 2005 and after a frustrating season and no deer on public land or a few properties I have permission to hunt, I decided it was time to make a change. This change was due to the fact that I wanted a better quality hunt for myself and my kids. The prices of quality leases and purshaing my own land swayed me towards the hunt club idea. It simply was affordable. I attended my first club meeting and at the top of the discussion list was QDM (Quality Deer Management). I found the topic to be very interesting at least. The club would like all it's members to practice selective harvest, which I'm all for. After hunting public land and areas where "Brown-Is-Down" seems to be the motto, I am all for let em go and let em grow. During the discussion though, it seemed that many members were of the view point that some of the club's leases would be better for QDM then others. Because I have yet to visit all the properties I can not speak for the topograghy of the land. However the controversy seemed to be more of the fact that some of the properties bordered questionable neighbors. If we let the deer walk, the guys across the fence will shoot them. Leaving our efforts to produce quality deer null and void. To some extent this is true. OK, it is very true. It does no one any good to let deer go by just so the guys down the road can shoot them for you. So does this go to say, the guy that owns 40 acres hasn't got much of a chance of creating a better deer herd for himself if the neighbors shoot anything? Not at all, there are a few practices that can be put into place to insure your deer grow old.

Keep in mind as you continue to read, the rest of this is just my humble opinion but I think you will see it makes sense. One of the first things you can do to keep the deer on your property is to give them a place to feel safe and comfortable. This means pick out a couple acres of thick cover and make it a rule to never go there and never hunt it. If you have questionable neighbors on all sides, the ideal spot would be towards the center of your property. If the deer have a place to go where they do not feel the preasure of hunters they will continue to use that area. This is even more true when first shots begin to ring out during hunting season. They will head for safety.

Another idea is to give the deer what they need and at the top of that list would be a food source. In my opinion this idea is one of the main pourposes for food plots today, to hold deer on your land. OK, I know it costs money and there is the time and effort factor involved as well. However if you spend a little money and put in a little effort you should see the rewards far out weigh the negative. If your property happens to have some open fields you may be able to work out something with the local farmer. Lets say you give him permission to plant in your field and all you want in return is he leave a few rows of crops standing all year. Problem solved, no investment of time or money on your part. I have seen first hand how this can work. One private farm I have hunted for many years lost many deer to just such a cenario. I have hunted there for years and taken my share of deer and a few good ones. The last few years however, I have noticed the neighboring farmer has been leaving crops in the field. I have hunted this property for around 15 years and this has never happend in the past. I have seen more hunters on his proprty as well and know he does not hunt himself. My guess is the hunters on his land worked a deal with him to start leaving some crops in the field. The result, come October-November when the crops are taken from the fields I hunt, we begin to see no deer on my side of the fence. Not only do we see fewer deer while on stand but a fresh snow fall shows no sign of deer even moving on our side of the fence. That is the power of a food source.