DEER HUNTERS!

[The_Underground]

Here is a detailed month by month to do list of how I aproach each season

http://whitetailunderground.com/blog/tag/month%20by%20month

[Outdoors Junkie]

Thanks for sharing. I'm checking out your blog now.

[deadeye]

I read your blog posts and viewed the pictures.  For a while I thought I was reading mine, lol.  I even could relate to the pictures and was thinking, these look just like a lot of mine. Then I see you are from central MN and that's where my land is located.  We may have to swap stories sometime.  Welcome to the site.

[Boar]

heres.a q. im.currently working on a stand in the middle.of our 80. near a bedding area. i wanna know if putting in a small.food plot would be worth it. and by small i mean small. or would creati g a mineral site be better. on eithside of the 80 is agracultural rotation of beans and wheat

[deadeye]

Boar,

100% mineral. Sooner or later all the deer in an area will pass by to check it out.  I have quite a few and they all get pounded at certain times.  What I would do in this area is make a small clearing (25-30 feet) and leave a small tree in the center.  This will act as a natural scrape and licking branch for all deer.  Does and fawns use these as well as bucks. A good example is in the pictures below. I simply cleared a small area around a small oak tree. This was along a wheeler trail so I mow it in August and once mowed, the deer flock to it just to check it out.  Many does, fawns, big and little bucks stop by to check it out. I plan to make a few more of these just for the fun of it.  This is NOT a mineral lick as I like to keep them away from main trails and do not mix them with these special marking spots. Yes, that is a deer stand in the background.  I wanted to get a picture of me in the stand with a deer at the tree but it didn't happen. However, my brother shot a big 10 point from this stand that I have pictures of visiting this tree.

[glenn57]

Sweet pictures deadeye!

[Boar]

thanks deadeye. i 2as eaning towarxs that also. i.fid a mineral sit two years ago to try it. i used that deer.co-cain. and just like the manufature stated the deer literal dug a hole.about 3 feet.around and a a foot.or.more.deep. i cant remeber are mineral.sites  illegal.to hunt over? i think salt blocks are but mineral.sites are kinda different arnt they? how would one removed the mineral deposite that has leached into the ground.

[glenn57]

You'd be best served just going to a deer farm!

[Boar]

I refuse to encroach on yur area of expertise.

[deadeye]

You can hunt over a mineral lick but the mineral cannot have any organic parts such as crushed corn oats etc. I use minerals from Marties which does not have any contents that make them against the law to use.  Marties is in St. Francis, Elk River and Monticello.  I do have stands near a few mineral licks, but for the most part, deer don't seem to use them in the fall.

Here is an example of a well used mineral location
 

[The_Underground]

Boar,

In my opinion if you have a good bedding area in the "middle" of your hunting area I would keep away from that area at all times. Reason being, crawling through your property to get into the middle could e counter productive during every part of the season but the rut
Instead I would try get a food source in the timber 20-75 yds off of you current agricultural plantings. This way your deer will have a great staging area to stop at before entering the main food sources. You will also create a natural area for bucks to scent check during the rut while cruising for does between your bedding and you small kill plot.

[Boar]

I appreciate the advise, I dont hunt bucks I hunt meat. my main prey for deer is 1.5-2.5 for table fair.I hunt bear. deer dont really do it for me. once the shooting starts around here it dosent matter anymore where a person is anymore, and what we've noticed is, shooting starts, the deer hang tight in the thick stuff in the middle of our 80 were its quiet. they get up and bbrouse and lie back down. I sit on the feild edgs and let the pop out and boom, game over. simple. im creating a stand site to watch and enjoy the wildlife and if deer come thru which they will great if not no biggie. they arnt going anywhere. i come in they get up and wander off and come back when im gone. its what ever.  this site is primarily a little park for me and my kids.