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Deer have a certain comfort level; understanding what they are willing to put up with is an important factor in shooting big bucks. As I have improved the habitat at Fairchase Outfitters over the years I have learned what works for me and what doesn’t through trial and error. When I first started designing interior food plots I began with small plots and I would pile the timber from clearing around the plot so the deer had to enter from only two or three areas. I thought bottleneck entries and small plots would ensure the hunter would be able to shoot any deer that entered the plot. I was right, the deer did enter through those spots like clock work, the problem was that only a few does and fawns would feed in the plots during daylight hours, never any big bucks.

 Hunting my new interior food plots, that I had spent so much time creating, was disappointing to say the least. I ran into the same issues with my exterior bow plots, they were too small and didn’t have enough drawing power to support the kind of hunting I was dreaming of, the kind of hunting I knew we had the potential of producing. The problem I learned was that I was hedging the odds too greatly in my favor. Each time I put in a small plot, I thought we really got em now, and the bucks would serve up yet another batch of humble pie. After 10 years of trial and error my approach is very different, and we are getting more shots at the biggest bucks on the property. 

In 2011 we had our best year yet and the reasons are now very clear to me; there are a few strategies I now use when I am bow plotting inside or outside the woods. The first strategy is to keep interior plots easy for deer to access, don’t block any entrance. The second strategy is to make your plots big enough so you can’t shoot across them; if you can shoot across them they are too small.  In order to get bucks within shooting range on a large plot, I will put a water hole in. Even if water is prevalent in the area deer will use the water hole, it’s a matter of convenience.

Big bucks feel much safer in a large plot because they have enough room to use their defenses. Think about this, if deer feed in a plot the size of your garage, they don’t have time to react to an attack. Small plots also leave deer competing for a limited amount of food; this keeps most of them out of the plot looking elsewhere for food. As I made my plots bigger, more does and bigger bucks began using them on a daily basis. More food, more deer, and more shot opportunities at the biggest bucks on the property! It has taken years but we have been able to change the habitat at Fairchase, mostly through trial and error, so much that we have increased the properties ability to hold monster bucks while increasing our shot opportunities on those big bucks simultaneously!

John Redmond

When I began Fairchase Outfitters 10 years ago the deer population on the property was well beyond the healthy carrying capacity for the 4,500 contiguous acres; there were lots of does and a small number of bucks most of which were weak antlered 8 points. The changes that have taken place from over populated to well managed have been an eye opener in regard to understanding Whitetail deer management. When I first put the place together I thought I would struggle finding enough trustworthy hunters to help me shoot a substantial number of does but not shoot bucks. Well the worries’ were all for not, I enlisted the help of the neighbors on the surrounding properties and they had groups that had hunted with them for years and were as trust worthy as anyone you can find. The last weekend of gun season each year I hunted 60 to 70 gun hunters throughout my land and kept each group in their own designated areas.

On average we shot 125 does each year for 4 years. About 30 of those does were taken early season with archery equipment; our gun hunters took the rest. The cull buck hunting was most effective with guns. The cull bucks we targeted were the ones with poor antler development, mostly week brow tined eight points. 10 years later we are very close to 2-1 doe to buck ratio and we are producing 1 ½ year old ten points with long brows and long G 4s instead of 8 points with short brows. The habitat has rebounded and has more carrying capacity from the lack of browse pressure. Because we shot cull bucks with weak genetics along with the does, our deer now have the genetic ability and the resources to grow into true trophy class animals.

With a healthier doe to buck ratio, the rut now has a definite peak. and the bucks have to put up more sign and defend their territories because there is more competition. Because there are fewer does and more bucks, calling is effective during the rut, in the past bucks didn’t respond to calling at all because there was no need to compete for does to breed. The does are now bred on time, which means they will fawn on time and their offspring will have time to build up proper body weight before the harsh Minnesota winters. Decreasing the doe population and shooting short tined 8 pointers has turned the property into a buck factory. Proper deer management takes time, it’s all of a 5 to 10 year program but it’s worth the time and effort when you finally turn that management corner and start to see the fruits of your efforts. Bite the bullet in the beginning and your efforts will be rewarded in the years to come.

John

The combination of clover and water is magic when the weather is warm. Warm spells are one of the toughest conditions to deal with when you are hunting any big game critter; whitetails are especially hard to hunt during because they don’t want to move in the heat. There are two things I know, when it’s warm deer like greenery and water. The greens are easier to digest and the need for water needs no explaining. I started to put clover plots and water holes in the woods years ago when Fairchase Outfitters was just starting out. After years of squandering time and money I have finally found out how it works.

Early on I would just put clover in my interior plots and water in the same area but not in the same exact place. That worked ok for getting close to the does but I almost never shot bucks there. I was splitting my time between clover and water and getting marginal results and the bucks were slipping through the cracks. Now I put water right in or on the edge of the clover plots and it has more than doubled my chances at does and bucks. When deer go to a water hole they spend a minute or two drinking, when the water and clover are connected they spend 4x as much time there. Bucks have to drink and check does; having the plot and water in the same place provides a concentration point like no other in the woods. I have a magic place I call the Cabin Ridge food plot; it was the first interior clover plot where I connected a waterhole directly to it. Hunting this plot, my clients have taken 12 Pope & Young bucks from the same stand over the years. Whenever I am putting in a new interior plot, I try to replicate the Cabin Ridge plot design.

Combining clover and water creates high percentage areas; staying on those high percentage areas until a shooter buck makes his rounds is all there is to it. You can never guess exactly what night he will be on Cabin Ridge food plot, but chances are a shooter will walk by in a week of hunting. Staying in the same stand also keeps the rest of my land an untouched sanctuary for the deer. How do you stay on stand that many days without burning it out?  Jam Em!!!

John