Hunting Season Reflection

With the 2019 deer season in the rear view mirror, it's time to sit down with a cup of coffee, beer, juice, water, whatever it may be, and reflect on the ups and downs that made your deer season a success or not. If you weren't as successful as you were hoping, here are some questions to get you thinking. Are you satisfied with the land you are currently hunting? Can you make any improvements to make it better?

It doesn't matter how large the tract of land you are hunting, there is room to improve five to 5,000 acres of land.

Chances are you've heard over the years of watching the outdoor channel or reading your favorite hunting magazine that the whitetail deer need three key components to survive what hunters and mother nature throw at them throughout the year. They need cover, food, and water. I will say it again. They need COVER, FOOD, and WATER. It really is that simple. Now with that said, I'm going to explain a little bit about the tract of land that I currently own and hunt. It consists of 20 acres broken down by seven acres of agriculture land, 11 acres of woods, and two acres where my home, garage, and pole sheds rest. I have owned this piece of land for the last five years and let me tell you, it has been full of ups and downs when it comes to hunting. Over the last five years I have shot one buck that was four and a half years old and a couple does and a fawn. Yes, I did harvest a fawn. From day one, my goal has been to harvest bucks being at least four plus years of age and to always try and harvest a doe or two throughout the season.

Ok, rewind all the way to day one of owning this property. The very first thing I did was go out and hang trail cameras and began mapping out food plots. Although in my head, I already had mapped out where I wanted to place my food plots, I considered I knew the property pretty well, or so I thought. (I will tell you a little more about that in a different blog) So fast forward a little...

The first couple years were uneventful as far as harvesting bucks, but I was picking up on a few things along the way. One thing I realized after the first couple of seasons is that I needed to plant more food plots. The first couple of years my food plot was only a half an acre and that didn't last throughout the season, making late season (my favorite time to hunt) pretty uneventful. Fast forward to year three. I planted a little over an acre of beans and that proved to be the food source I needed to be successful during the late season. That year I harvested my first mature buck on my property a four and half year old 10 that I had seen on the trail camera for the past two years. Fast forward again, the last two seasons I have planted three to four acres of food plots and have kept the deer coming to my property throughout the winter and into the spring.

So now you might be thinking that all a guy needs is a good food source and he is in for some good hunting. Yes, this may be true during the late season, but what about early season and the rut? I can tell you that early season can be good, it's not as good as it can be. The same goes for the pre-rut. I’d say right now that my property is potentially good to shoot a buck during the pre-rut, but the rut has been pretty rough the last five seasons to say the least. Why is that? I lack the cover to hold an adequate amount of does during the rut, so I get sporadic rut activity on my property.

Now the other key component that I mentioned above is water. I feel that if I had a water source positioned properly with the cover that I need, My property would have the habitat to hold more does during the rut and also throughout the whole year.

2020 is going to be a year of transitioning my 20 acres from your average whitetail deer parcel into a whitetail haven by making timber stand improvements, planting more cover with grasses, a 365 day food source and last but not least, a water hole. Follow along with me month by month to watch through videos and blogs as I'm about to have the best deer season ever.

If you are looking to turn your property into a late season hot spot, look no further than Elk Mound Seed, home of MonsterBuck Wildlife Products where you will find every seed you need to produce quality forage on your property, at an affordable price. 

What makes MonsterBuck Wildlife Products seed unique is that it is like no other food plot seed company out there.Here at MonsterBuck Wildlife Products we have three agronomists on staff that will help you with any questions you may have regarding seed and soil. 

Our seed is ordered directly from the grower and brought to our warehouse, where our crew bags the seed in smaller quantities and blends our own proven mixes. You are able to purchase more than just your typical food plot mix, but a wide variety of individual seeds by the pound that you prefer to be planted on your property.

With that said, give the experts a call at Elk Mound Seed a call to help you with all over your food plot needs!