Bringing the big bucks onto your side of the property line
How do we bring in the bucks and keep them?
Accomplishing this challenge requires action all four seasons of the year. I know this sounds like a lot but do not worry! Its not as big of a challenge as you might be lead to believe. Below are a few tricks we have learned over the years that are simple and effective. The best part, it does not require a lot of money!
There is one very simple question asked every fall in deer camp. How can we draw the big bucks onto our lease and keep him on our side of the property line? Its such a simple question yet, it is extremely difficult to answer. There are so many factors that contribute to successfully pulling off this challenge. I dare say, one can never truly keep a wild mature buck on his property. However, there are several tricks that can greatly increase your chances of keeping him on your side of the property line.
What nobody talks about on TV
There are four seasons in the year. Lets break this down one by one and talk about your time spent in the woods each season of the year and more importantly where your focus is in each season. I know this might seem a little off topic, but just hang with me.
Spring
Let us begin with the spring time. Its beautiful, the season has a sense of new beginnings, and a fresh start. The wildlife begins to recover from the harsh conditions winter imposes. The trees begin to wake up and vegetation begins to sprout. The hardcore turkey hunter is focused on scouting and planning their opening day moves. Other outdoorsmen are focused on the bass and white perch span. Lets face it, unless you work in the outdoor industry for a living, the average hardworking outdoorsman is not focused on bringing big bucks onto their lease or property. How can you? We save our hard earned money all year for fall and save as much vacation as possible to hunt during the rut in the fall. These factors alone limit the time spent on the deer lease.
So, how do we work towards bringing in the bucks during the spring with limited time spent in the deer woods?
Here is what we do at AHS. We try to spend one Saturday during the month of March, in the deer woods. We take up all the feeding equipment that will not be in use until late summer, as well as most of our trail cams. While we are out there, we occasionally shed hunt. After we finish the equipment roundup, we go to the most centralized location on the entire property and put a 50lb block of salt out for the deer. The salt station will attract animals for miles. We typically like the location to be easily accessible for an atv. We also set one trail cam at the location with fresh batteries then, we forget about it until the next time we are able to get out there.
Summer
Here in the south, summer can become a very busy time of year. Fun on the lake, fun on summer vacations, and countless other activities. Mowing grass, working on home improvements with the long hours of sunlight, summer softball and baseball leagues for the kids, it can get hectic. Needless to say, for the average outdoorsman, there is not a lot of time to spend in the deer woods.
So how do we bring in the bucks for the fall?
We have a very simple trick that has served us well and will not break the bank. During the summer vegetation is abundant. There is no shortage of food for deer, especially in the south. There is one key stage for whitetail bucks in the summer. They are growing antlers which requires high protein rich food. Here is our trick, in the month of June, find black berry vines and honey suckle. Once you locate these two food sources, apply the cheapest fertilizer you can find to the vines. It does not take much, do not over do it. Just a little on the ground around the base of the vines will do the trick. You will be amazed at how well this attracts deer. Again, try to find these food sources as close to the center of your hunting area as possible and easily accessible. Accomplishing this simple task will only take a few hours out of your busy summertime schedule. This is also a great time to check the salt block we established in March.
Fall
Late summer and early fall brings the excited hunters out. There is the camp meeting with new members and work days. It is an excitement in the air and anticipation for the season about to open. We tend to spend quite a bit more time and weekends in the woods. So we can afford to put a little more effort into bringing in the big bucks. It is now time to focus on feed stations and food plots, if your budget allows.
In our years of experience, the sooner you can afford to start feeding the better the results. Once you have deer coming to the feed then, they can be patterned. Corn and rice bran is our favorite. They both are not overly expensive and they work. Rice bran, however, seems to attract bucks better then corn, so we try to all ways attempt to have it in front of them.
Some states will not allow feeding during hunting season so, food plots are a great tool to bring the big ones in. We have an entire article here for food plots and the many tactics we utilize when deciding on what to plant ,as well as, when and where to plant. Food plots have many positive benefits for attracting mature bucks.
Winter
The end of a marathon. This time of year is one of the most overlooked seasons for attracting big bucks. However, most common people with jobs have used their vacation time for hunting the rut and time in the woods is starting to come to a halt. This is also the time where all deer need food the most. If possible, try to take advantage of this season because there is a great chance the neighbors you compete with every fall will not.
Set the odds in your favor by filling up them feeders one last time on the very last weekend you are at the deer lease or on your property. If you have food plots, you are in a great position. The reason why food plots are such great tool for attracting the big ones, are because they continue to feed deer well after season closes. I realize not everyone has the budget or ability to plant food plots. If you are in this situation, try to keep your feed stations going as long as possible after season closes. Another great trick is to put protein blocks out on the last day you are in the deer woods. They tend to last longer then regular feed and they can work long after the deer eat the last bit of corn.
Summary
I realize some of you hardcore deer management guys might not totally agree with the content in this post. I know there are thousands of better ways to attract mature deer and some better tactics.
However, this post is dedicated to the average hunter with limited resources and time. Not everyone has time or money to properly manage property like often advertised on TV. The content shared in this post is based on what I have personally done in the past. There is other great ideas pertaining to this subject and we would love to hear what you guys have tried.
I hope this will help some of you guys. I know the tricks I have shared in this post might not work for some of you, however, they have work pretty well for us here at AHS. If you like articles like this please subscribe to AHS. When we are not in the woods or on the water, we try to share our info as much as possible with you.
Thanks for reading!