Corn Conundrum. Mow it or Leave it Corn is one of the most, if not the most, widely planted food plot crops across the US. Every year thousands and thousands of acres are planted by hopeful hunters trying to lure in a mature whitetail buck. There is little debate corn is a fantastic food plot species. However, there is some debate about what to do with the corn. When the fall finally arrives, and the time comes to hunt over the corn plot, is it better to leave the corn standing? Or mow it all down? I Stand with Corn Standing corn provides numerous benefits throughout the season. There are few other crops which attract deer during the late season...
Rutcation Reflection During the last week of October and first week of November, my two brothers and I were able to spend 8 days hunting our family farm in central Minnesota. Although we have hunted many seasons together, this was the first year we were able to coordinate a “Rutcation”. What is a Rutcation? For those of you unfamiliar with the term “rutcation”, it is a combination of two words. Rut and vacation. Instead of going some place warm and relaxing for our vacation, we wanted to spend our time in frigid central Minnesota getting outsmarted by whitetails. Our hunting trip started on October 25th and went through November 3rd (two of us had to work the 28th and 28th...
There are few things I look forward to more than the opening morning sit each year in September. Waiting and working all summer, letting the apprehension build each week as we get closer and closer to opening day. When opening day finally arrives, the last thing I want to do is wait another 10 hours to go hunting and skip the morning sit. But is that the smart move? Should you hunt mornings during the early season? No sugar coating it, popular opinion votes against morning hunts before mid-October (see articles here, here, and here). According to these articles, the main arguments against morning hunts during the early season is they put pressure on deer which negatively impacts the typically...
7 Benefits of Shooting Does During Early Season “In order to exploit the maximum potential of their herd (hunters) must first focus on harvesting does. The truth is “(doe) harvest” is one of the most vital aspects of managing your herd correctly” -Andrew Walters, Deer Management 101: The Importance of Harvesting Does Early There are numerous benefits of harvesting does. Increased buck to doe ratio. Decreased browse pressure. Shorter, more competitive rut which leads to increased fawn survival rate in the spring. The list does not end there. Every hunter knows the importance of harvesting does, but when is the best time to do it? Most agree the rut is the best time to target a mature buck. As...
How do you scout your deer throughout the season? For about 300 days a year, we run multiple cameras on our properties. The majority of our cams are set up on easy access routes, not disturbing the woods when we enter to change out SD cards. When we close in on hunting season, we focus our cams near our stand locations for quick SD card checks. But are we really seeing everything on our property? Why You Need a Cell Cam While many hunters have heard about cell cams, many haven't tapped into their potential. Until 2019, we didn't utilize cell cams solely based on price. As stated, we run multiple cameras averaging $140-$170 per camera. Hunting properties under 25...
