Providing the variety of nutrition necessary to cover a whitetail’s needs for the entire year is important. With all the changes happening in the whitetail’s world you need to provide a food that gives them what they need regardless of the time or conditions.

I love bowhunting mature bucks! This “home grown” Minnesota buck was aged at 6 ½. This was so cool - but what made it so much sweeter was the fact that I watched this buck grow up on my property!  Did I get lucky? I’ll argue NO. I work hard at managing a property. Why was this buck here? Because, it seemed every other deer in the county was also in the area! Why? Because my property is a whitetail paradise – why would they want to leave? I’m here to tell you, if I can do it, so can you! I don’t care if you have 40 acres or 4,000 acres you can dramatically impr

ove the amount and size of the bucks on your property, make hunting them a lot easier, and make it so they will never want to leave. Here’s how to create your own big buck paradise.
If you receive this magazine you’ve undoubtedly heard of the “food, water, cover” F+W+C formula. It really can be that simple, or that complex, depending upon how you look at it. I will add “pressure,” or should I say “lack of pressure” to that modus operandi. If you have F+W+C working for you on your property but you are tromping through every other day to find one more rub on a tree that you didn’t see on your last scouting trip two days ago, or you tend to “over-hunt” an area, or you are a sloppy hunter…all your work can go for not.    

All three components are very important, so which should you start with? Although water might be the most important component, if you have whitetail in the area, there is already a source of water somewhere nearby. So, my suggestion would be to start with both the food and cover portion of the puzzle. If you are in the Western US where things can get much dryer, then I would put water higher on your list. If you truly want this to work you don’t want your herd to have to hop the fence for anything, everything needs to be available for them on your property. This is where there is a difference between 40 acres and a 4,000 acre parcel. With only 40 acres you will probably have to share, or borrow, some of your neighbor’s assets. Even though that is the case you can still make your property the “place they want to be.”

Here’s the mature “home-grown” buck that the author was referring to in the opening. He was aged at 6.5 years old and had over 9 inches of mass above his left G-2

Speaking of energy, a blend with a high concentration of small grains; like oats, wheat, triticale or rye is also on the list. These provide good nutrition and are very attractive, but they loose both their nutritional value and attractiveness as they mature. On average they are the most attractive for their first 45 days of growth. These are most often planted as a pure attraction play during the late summer or fall, but they can also be added to perennials as a “nurse crop” to help protect the perennials from weed competition and browse pressure while the perennials establish their root systems.

When it comes down to harvesting a mature buck on your property moving in to strike at the right time and in the right place is important because mature bucks won’t put up with much of a disturbance. Scouting is one of the most important essentials that contribute to success. Gather as much information as possible from trail cameras and glassing before you create your ambush sites.

In addition to the above, I will plant some lablab and soybeans to help the perennials in their job of supplying nutrition from spring through early fall. As I mentioned, I will typically add soybeans to the corn, but I may also plant them separately. Some late planted Winter Peas also make a great additional source of attraction.

Food plot design is somewhat an art. Every property is unique. I tend to separate my plots into two categories, “feeding plots” and “hunting plots”. There are exceptions to the rule, but for the most part I don’t hunt the feeding plots. My goal is to provide as much nutrition to as many deer as possible and I want them to feel comfortable about accessing this nutrition whenever they want.

In my “hunting plots” my goal is to draw them in so I can kill them, or to use it as a magnet so that I can intercept them on the way to the plot. If the plot is large enough I try to provide the variety necessary to keep them coming to the plot all season long. If you plant only one thing in a specific plot you are limiting the attraction time. I will probably divide a specific hunting plot into several sections, depending upon how large the plot is. You must obviously have adequate acreage to do this “variety tactic” justice. For instance, if you have only a ¼ acre plot, you are probably better off planting just one blend. Otherwise, when a specific cultivar becomes palatable there’s not going to be enough to keep them coming back, they’ll wipe you out too soon. With small plots you have to be very specific about the goals for the plot and what you will plant. You can get away with a bit more variety in smaller plots if you have numerous small plots, if you dedicate many total acres to food plots, or possibly in an agricultural area where you have cash-crops to back you up.

For plot placement and design I rely on aerial photos, topographical maps or satellite images. For those of you who are “computer friendly” you can get amazingly clear satellite images at http://maps.google.com or simply search “Google Maps.” It depends upon what you have to deal with for topography but most managers will be content to use swamp edges, meadows or natural openings for their food plots. If you are in the “big woods” and need to use a “dozer” to create an opening, I would examine things very carefully. Note what the prevailing winds are and pick your treestand trees before you choose your exact plot layout

Scouting will tell you where to set up your ambush. As far as making the kill on a mature buck, scouting is the number one most important detail. If you are very careful about limiting pressure on an area, you may be able to set up right on a food plot’s edge and harvest a Pope & Young buck. More often than not, however, when talking about mature bucks, it’s best to set up several hundred yards off of the plot. The plot is still the “magnet” and the reason he’s in the area, but your chances for a shot during legal-light will typically be better the closer you get to his bedding area.

During the chase phase of the rut I like to set up in funnels or “pinch-points” between several food plots if possible. Bucks will cruise downwind of the plots scent-checking the plot for hot does. Typically in a funnel their movement is restricted to a smaller zone so it’s easier to position yourself to play different winds.
Food plots are going to decrease the home range size of every animal on your property, and in doing so will increase your property’s carrying capacity – if you do things right, possibly significantly increase your herd numbers. One of the main points to stress is, along with all that great food, if you don’t also supply them a “spot to live” your impact probably won’t be what you expect.

While standing on the ground in your hunting area, if you can see clearly for 75 yards or more in several directions, chances are your property is not holding many deer. A whitetails’ world exists from six feet high to the ground. If you want to increase your property’s carrying capacity I suggest getting busy with the chainsaw. Besides creating cover for “housing,” regardless of how much food you plant in your food plots, deer still must also have their natural browse.

I’m not saying that you want to go out and do a clear-cut either. Whitetail like a balanced mix, they like edges and diversity. Quite honestly, unless a large tree is producing some type of mast crop or fruit it’s probably not doing your whitetail much good at all. Anywhere that you can let the sunlight hit the forest floor your deer herd will benefit from it, even if you aren’t planting food plots. Do your woods-work in steps - having trees and plants in all stages of growth is healthy for your woods and for your whitetail.
If you have an abundance of mature trees, depending upon the variety, you may consider having it professionally logged. You will likely earn enough to pay for your other management goals.

One of the most important aspects in producing trophy bucks is leaving a sanctuary for them. Once all of this work is done, and you’ve got your property laid out how you’d like, make sure you leave a safe zone for them. This spot I do not enter unless I’m tracking a wounded animal, or possibly once a year to do work or to make sure everything is still on track. If you wish to hold mature bucks on your property this is especially important!

If you are serious about getting close to mature bucks, to go along with your sanctuaries, minimizing pressure on other parts of your property is also important. Older bucks will not tolerate much before they change something to avoid making contact with you. Some managers deem their entire property as a sanctuary and use a minimum impact hunting style.
Back to water - as I mentioned, if you have whitetail on your property now, there is a source of water somewhere nearby. Even if that is the case, make it easy for them. This is one of the most overlooked pieces of the puzzle but possibly the most important. What happens if the ol’ creek dries out during a drought? I would suggest having several back-up sources.
Livestock water troughs or cutting a large drum or tank in half and burying it can do the job. Fill the tank if it runs dry. In most parts of the country the natural rain water will keep them full enough. If you want something a little larger, it’s amazing what a person can accomplish in one weekend with a “front-end loader” and some pond fabric.

Even with ample water sources on my home property we decided to put in 14 acres of ponds. We have finished with the first 5 acre portion of the project and are 75% complete on the last 8-9 acre piece. My daughter’s call it the “poke” since it’s too big for a pond and too small for a lake. With the fill being sold to local construction the project pays for itself. We also manage our property for waterfowl and this will be turned into optimum puddle duck habitat when we’re finished. The deepest portion is a little over 30 feet deep and we’ve also started to stock it with fish. So this “whitetail water source” serves many purposes.

I understand that with smaller parcels it’s impossible to hold whitetail at all times. But I am sure that even with smaller acreage if you provide them what they need in the food, water and cover departments, and you allow them to live as undisturbed as possible, you can create your own big buck paradise.