I’m in a deer hunting club in Georgia, and every year the hunting seems to improve for big bucks. I think it is due to the owner and his son, and the rest of the members in the clubs effort to improve the property. There are many different ways to improve your property. Here are a five good ways to improve the quality of the habitat and the herd on your deer hunting property for big bucks.
1.Control burn- Every year around February or March we control burn our hunting property. We plow fire breaks and clean the brush out from around our deer stands, then we wait for the conditions to be right and then burn. We have to obtain a permit to be able to burn. You need to make sure you have the proper permit when burning. Each state may have different requirements so be sure to check with the proper authorities in your location.
2.Food Plots- I believe that having food plots is the number one thing you can do to improve your hunting property for big bucks. Deer eat five to eight pounds of food per day for each one hundred pounds of body weight. Food plots provide quality nutrition at the times of year when the deer need it the most. During fawn bearing, antler growth, and winter when food is scarce. Providing food plots will improve the overall well being of your deer herd.
3.Manage the herd-Buck to doe ratio is important. With a one to one being ideal. One to three is acceptable. Increase your doe harvest and decrease your buck harvest depending on the ratio of your herd. Protect your yearling bucks. Let bucks grow to three and a half years old at least, with five and a half being preferred. Impose size restrictions on bucks. Set a width and number of points restriction. A lot of clubs have restrictions of as wide as its ears and eight points or better.
4.Supplemental feeding-High protein is very good for antler growth. During the winter supplemental feeding can help deer survive the harsh winter. We have three feeders on our property. They are a great place to set up trail cameras. You can see that trophy buck up close and personal. We’ve had a nice 140 class buck on camera for several years. He is just to smart for us though.
5.Plant trees and shrubs- Some of the popular trees and shrubs are saw tooth oak, wild plum, crabapple, persimmon, honeysuckle, Hawthorne, dogwood, apple, pecan.
You can really improve your hunting property by doing these five things. If you hunt public land then you don’t have to worry about this stuff. In some states the public land is being managed very well to ensure a healthy deer herd. With some really nice bucks being harvested.
