9 Easy Steps to Growing a Successful Whitetail Food Plot

I am by no means a farmer or biologist, but being able to grow things from Mother Nature has always been fascinating to me. This year I decided to roll-up my sleeves, get my hands dirty and try to plant some small food plots to help enhance my Whitetail hunting success this fall. I felt I had done my homework, researched enough and had plenty of knowledge to give this a try. But I quickly learned that all the knowledge in the world would not help if you don’t follow a few critical steps!

After weeds started taking over my plots I wondered how that’s possible when I did everything I read about. Missing one step (or not knowing about a step) can cause months of work and preparation to be all for not.  For you beginners out there who are interested in planting food plots for the first time, I wanted to help you learn from my mistakes so you didn’t make the same ones yourselves.  So, here is a simple, step-by-step process you can follow to get your hunting food plots off to a good start!

1. Get a soil sample and determine your crop.  Neutralizing the pH of the soil is one of the most important determinants in planting a successful food plot. You need to have a fairly neutral pH to grow anything. Your soil sample will tell you the pH level and the amount of lime to add to neutralize it. Different crops do grow better when the pH is higher or lower, but rule of thumb is to shoot for a neutral pH. Most agricultural feed stores can do soil samples for you at a low cost (I got mine done at a local feed store for $12 dollars).

2. Mow the area where you want to plant the plot.  Mow it as short as possible without messing up your mower deck.

3. Spray the future food plot area with a commercial grade weed/grass killer.  I would use a grass/weed killer that has 41% Glyphosate. Your local home improvement store sells this type of product.
 

4. Wait 10 to 14 days and then spread your lime and fertilizer as recommended by your soil sample.  There are 2 different types of lime, pulverized and pelletized, and both have different affects on the soil. 

Pulverized lime is the most common type used in planting because it keeps the pH neutral for a few years. You should re-test your soil yearly to make sure it is at the level where it needs to be. You can get pulverized lime spread right on your plot by a lime truck. Your AG store can help with this.  Or, you can also get pulverized lime in bags, and that’s when you don’t need a lot or can not get a truck to your plot. If you are going to be planting food plots for many years, then pulverized lime is the way to go.  

Pelletized lime only comes in bag form and only neutralizes the pH for the growing season - which is typically about 6 months. You will need to add pelletized lime to your plot every time you plant something. I used this form on my first plot because it was in bag form and easy to spread. I will be using pulverized next year.

5. Disk the lime and fertilizer into the soil.  I used a small disk attachment for an ATV, but there are several options for doing this.  For example, if the plot is small then renting a nice size tiller could be a good option for you.  Or, if it is a bigger plot, some local co-cops will rent tractors and plows for this type of small, “one-off” project.  You might also try talking to your local AG store to see if they can get you hooked up with a local farmer who you could pay to do the disc work.  AG stores can be a great resource for helping you contact people willing to help.

6. Smooth the area to prepare a good flat seedbed.  I would recommend using a cultipacker if you can access one, but dragging a chain-link fence with weight or roller will do.

7. Wait 10 to 14 days for new vegetation to grow then burn it again with the same weed/grass killer.  When you disk the soil you are essentially re-germinating the dormant weeds. This is where I made the mistake on my first food plot and did not kill the dormant weeds. After this grass/weed burn do not disk or mess with the soil any further.

8. Wait 7-10 days then apply your seed.  You must get good seed to soil contact for your plot to be successful. This is where a cultipacker is highly recommended. The cultipacker will push the seed into the soil giving it very good contact. Plus the cultipacker will not disturb the soil causing more dormant weeds to grow. Doing this step right before a good rain will also insure good seed to soil contact — so check your forecast and plan accordingly. Finding and using a cultipacker was another step I did not properly prepare for on my first plot. I used a water filled roller and it worked ok, but I felt 30% of my seed never did germinate.

9. Watch you hard work come to life!  Once your plot gets going you may want to treat it with a grass herbicide such as Select, Arrest or Poast a couple of times throughout the growing season. This will help control weeds. Mowing will also help control weeds and promote new growth that is more palatable.  However, not all crops suggest mowing, so read up on your specific crop type before making that decision.  

I hope these simple steps help you get started in planting your own food plots and make you more successful next hunting season and for years to come! 

by Jay Clawson

Trail Camera Tips for Serious Whitetail Hunters

As the old saying goes, “luck is where preparation meets opportunity”. There is no place where this more true than it is in hunting trophy whitetails. Using a trail camera properly will help you better prepare for your hunts and choose ambush locations that can provide more opportunities to see big bucks. If you follow some of the tactics discussed here, and the new ones you discover along the way, maybe you’ll get lucky this season and take home the trophy of a lifetime.
Setting Up Your Camera:
Not setting the camera close enough to the desired subject is the biggest mistake people make when using the scouting camera. Scouting cameras can differ from model to model in the distance they recommend and the width of the angle of their lens — so check your product manual to find out the distance the manufacturer recommends setting the camera from the subjects. A typical range given might be 10-20 feet. Try sticking with the low end of the range at first. Then, as you get a better feel for the capabilities and performance of your camera, you can try other distances, angles and placement heights.
If possible, face your camera in a Northward facing or Southward facing position. This will help prevent the sun from backlighting your subject and making it a non-descript silhouette in the photo.
When placing your cameras make sure you keep a low-profile and stay as scent free and quiet as you would if you had your weapon in hand. Make sure you wear rubber boots and find the most low impact route you can to the camera’s location. Also, spray down the camera with a scent killing spray, but make sure not to get spray on the lens, since those sprays can leave behind a residue that can cover the lens and blur your pictures.
Leave It Be:
If you’re going after mature bucks, leave your camera alone for at least a week, and even up to ten or 12 days if you can stand it. That will give the area enough time for all human scent to disappear and give mature animals enough security to start using that area again. I know it is tempting, but checking too often can litter an area with scent, and may keep big bucks from using that area entirely. As the saying goes, “Curiosity killed the cat. But if you check your cameras too often, it just might save the buck. Stay disciplined.
Just One Piece of the Puzzle:
Trailcam photos should be used as one piece of information in a larger strategic puzzle. Some hunters think that because they’re capturing photos of a good animal on their camera at night, they should set up to hunt that animal in the location of their camera. Well, that spot should be considered based on the information you get from the pictures, but don’t automatically set your stand at that spot without considering all the information you have. Odds are, if the animal is being photographed by your scouting camera at night, you won’t be able to kill him there.
Once you have the picture of a good animal ask yourself questions like:
- Where do I think he’s bedding down? If you don’t know, use the digital scouting tools available on ProHuntersJournal.com, Google Earth, or other aerial photo resources and terrain maps to help you make and informed “best-guess”. Knowing where he’s bedding down is valuable information and will help you better determine his travel direction and the best spot for your ambush.
- Did I get pictures of the animal at night? Is the animal moving around at all during daylight? If he is, chances are he’s moving somewhere between where you captured photos of him in the dark and where you think he’s bedding down.
- Did I get any pictures of the animal in the morning? If so, you need to get further in and up the trail you suspect he’s using — so that your odds are better of intercepting him during daylight hours and before he returns to the bedding area. Mature bucks do most of their moving around under the cover of darkness, so you have to use all the information you have to help increase your odds of seeing him in the light of day.
Keep A Running Journal of Your Photos:
Almost all modern, digital scouting cameras have a time/date stamp feature that will let you know exactly when each picture was taken. Some of them even report the moon phase on the time stamp. All this information is extremely valuable — and one of the smartest things you can do to improve your knowledge and skill from year to year is to keep good records. The journaling features provided by ProHuntersJournal.com provide the perfect tool for organizing your scouting information, and making it useful from season to season. Over time you will see patterns emerge, and you’ll be able to better predict animal behavior at different times of the year.
If you use a digital scouting camera, we recommend you get an extra memory card, so you can swap in a blank one in the field and take your photos home for closer study and record keeping. Upload your best photos into the PHJ Journal as a scouting record. That will let you keep an organized, searchable record of your photos, and will allow you to easily keep track exactly where they were taken, when they were taken and other observations or lessons you learned from the evidence the photos captured. Not only that, but you’ll be able to share photos with your buddies on the site (only if you want to of course…make sure you don’t give away too much information or you could create unwanted competition for yourself). If you use a film based scouting camera, ask the photo developer for a digital copy of the images on a CD. That way you will also be able to add your photos and records to your PHJ Scouting Journal.
Do you have other scouting camera tips or strategies? Have you learned something new since using scouting cams? Please share what you’ve learned with other site users by posting a comment in the comments section below

DuckBuckGoose -PHJ ProStaff - Cincinnati, OH    

Maine turkey hunter, shot in eye, recovering

A Standish, Maine man who was shot in the left eye by his son while they were hunting wild turkeys Monday said he is more concerned about how his son is feeling than his own injury.

Monday was the first day of wild turkey season, which ends June 2.

"My boy is torn apart. He has been in the woods since he was knee high to a grasshopper. I told him, it was a full-fledged, 100 percent accident, and not to worry because it was my bad eye," said 61-year-old Joseph Kennedy, who lives on Deerfield Circle.

Kennedy said that with the exception of limited peripheral vision, he has been blind in his left eye since birth.

He underwent eye surgery Monday before being discharged from Maine Medical Center. He was recovering at home Monday night, but said the injury remains painful. Kennedy said he may need additional surgery to repair the damage.

An avid outdoorsman and former bow-hunting instructor, Kennedy has been hunting and fishing with his son, 29-year-old Kevin Kennedy of Westbrook, for years.

Kennedy said he and his son were in the woods hunting about 4:45 a.m. Monday. According to a news release issued by Cpl. John MacDonald of the Maine Warden Service, the Kennedys were hunting off Anderson Road in Windham when they decided to split up about 9:45 a.m. to pursue different flocks.

After hearing a gunshot, the younger Kennedy began walking toward the sound. He spotted two turkeys and fired his shotgun three times at one of the birds, MacDonald said.

The older Kennedy was standing behind evergreen trees and could not be seen by his son at the time. One pellet lodged in his father’s left eye, MacDonald said.

Kennedy’s son drove his father to Maine Medical Center in Portland, which by law had to report the shooting to authorities, according to District Game Warden Peter Herring, the primary investigator.

Herring said he returned to the scene of the shooting with Kevin Kennedy. Herring said Kennedy’s father was standing behind several evergreen trees when his son shot at the two turkeys.

The shells were filled with bird shot pellets, which spray at a target. A single, copper-plated pellet passed through the trees and hit his father.

Herring said he was surprised that only one pellet struck Kennedy. He also said that wardens wearing fluorescent-orange vests could not be seen when they stood behind the evergreen trees.

"His father was not in plain view at the time," Herring said.

Herring said his agency will conduct an investigation before presenting its report to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, which must decide whether to press charges.

"It’s a matter of protocol that we present the evidence to the district attorney," Herring said. "Someone has to be found criminally culpable before any charges can be brought."

As for the elder Kennedy, he remains hopeful that the district attorney will not press charges against his son.

As far as the hunting went, Kennedy said he and his son came out of the woods empty-handed.

"The only turkey that got shot was me," he said.

by Dennis Hoey

Turkey hunting becomes man's passion

It was a late-blooming romance for John Zuelke, but it certainly has been a robust one for the native Toledoan. His love affair with hunting wild turkeys has carried him back and forth across the North American continent and into the record books of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Zuelke, who did not shoot his first turkey until he was 60 years old, has completed the Grand Slam, Royal Slam, and World Slam of turkey hunting. That more or less makes him Babe Ruth in the turkey hunting ranks, and he is working on multiple repeats of those accomplishments.

The Grand Slam is achieved by harvesting the Eastern, Rio Grande, Merriam's, and Osceola subspecies, while the Royal Slam includes those four plus the Gould's, and the World Slam adds the Ocellated wild turkey to that group.

Zuelke, who operated B&B Beverage Center on Broadway before his retirement, had tried turkey hunting in Ohio back in the 1960s, with no success. "I hunted for 10 years and made every mistake in the world. I couldn't buy a turkey, so I quit," he said. "I was convinced there just weren't any turkeys around."

He continued to enjoy hunting, and pursued deer, pheasant, elk, and caribou for many years before deciding to again dabble in that ultimate test of a hunter's patience called wild turkey hunting.

When a friend leased some property in Nebraska a little more than a decade ago and Zuelke was invited to hunt it, he found himself in a turkey hunting mecca and was seduced back into the sport.

"The mountains were getting steeper, and I was getting older, and I found that turkey hunting was something I could still do," Zuelke said. "The next thing I knew, I was going all over the map trying to shoot turkeys. I guess I got the fever pretty good, for someone as old as I am."

Zuelke, 74, has retired to Devils Lake in southeast Michigan's Irish Hills, but the pursuit of wild turkeys goes on. He just returned from spending three days at a 6,000-acre cattle ranch near St. Cloud, Fla., where he bagged another Osceola.

The turkey hunting in Ohio has improved significantly since Zuelke's early forays, and the spring season opens next week. Michigan's spring season also opens next week in certain areas.

While he prepares for the spring season, Zuelke is working on turning the 30 acres he owns across the road from his home into ideal habitat for deer and wild turkeys. His relationship with the persnickety bird, which is native to North America, took on an almost spiritual tone recently when Zuelke, on his way to church, spotted five jakes (immature males) in a neighbor's yard.

"I guess you get hooked on something, and it just shows up all around you," said Zuelke, whose home is decorated with a number of full-mount trophies from his wild turkey hunts.

by Matt Markey

Shot placement on a turkey - Where to aim.

In speaking with turkey hunters, I have found that a lot of them do not know where to properly aim on a turkey in terms of bowhunting. Obviously, with a shotgun you are best to aim at the head and neck area. I use a 12 gauge fully choked and loaded with #5 turkey loads and it gets the job done.

For hunting turkeys with a bow it takes a little more skill and knowledge about proper shot placement. You can use a large turkey broad head that is meant to lob the turkey’s head off by aiming at the neck and have great success. It also makes for some really neat footage but it isn’t for everyone.

If you are shooting traditional broad heads such as a fixed head or even a large cutting diameter retractable head, you need to know exactly where to aim on a turkey for a quick humane kill. As a rule of thumb, the bigger the broad head the better when it comes to turkey hunting. You may very well want a bigger cutting diameter head than you might use for deer hunting as a turkey’s vitals are a much smaller target.

The nice thing about taking a shot on a turkey is that you do not really need to wait for the perfect shot like you would on a deer. As long as a gobbler is within bow range you can take a shot at him broadside, facing you, facing away, or even quartering as long as you know where to aim on the turkey’s body.

The most common shot on a turkey with a bow would be the broadside shot. There can be some varied opinions depending on who you talk to. Some turkey hunters will aim just below the wing taking out the bird’s legs. This way the turkey can’t run off or get a running start to fly away. They are pretty much immobilized.

I like to aim straight above the legs, assuming the bird is completely broadside, but up a little higher on the wing. Look at the wing like a deer’s shoulder and put it on the money. If the turkey is quartering you need to compensate for that.

Also, he may be walking with his head in line with his body, he may be standing taller with his head up, or he may have his head down feeding – regardless of his body position on a broadside shot aim for the front part of the wing where its shoulder would be. A well placed shot here with a good sharp broad head will definitely do the trick.

A face on shot should be placed a 1/2″ to 1″ above the beard. If the turkey is feeding, it’s better to wait for him to bring his head up. Give him a light chirp with a mouth call and he’ll stand up straight for you. You can however, aim right between the wings which in this position almost look like shoulder blades - if you don’t want to wait for the turkey to raise his head.

Again, if the turkey is quartering one way or the other you need to compensate by aiming slightly to the left or right. Head on shots are tough just because it is hard to get your bow drawn without getting busted. But if you can get to full draw, a fast approaching arrow is the last thing he will see.

A gobbler that is facing away from you can also be a good shot to take as long as you know where to hold. If the turkey is strutting and all you see are tail feathers, aim right at the rectum right in the center below the tail feathers. This is known as a Texas heart shot on a deer (which I don’t recommend), but it can be vital and ethical on a turkey.

If the turkey is not strutting and has his tail feathers down then you are almost going to aim at what most would call the lower back region. You want to aim just where the wings attach to the lower part of the bird’s backside. There is a noticeable spot where the tail feathers and wings all meet that makes a distinct line that will give you something to aim at. This may be a more frequent shot than the head on shot just because the bird is facing away from you so practice this shot often.

Like with any type of hunting, it pays to do a lot of practicing prior to the season. Shooting from a seated position through a blind at a 3D turkey target can mimic a realistic turkey hunting situation and will make you a better shot.

Every turkey hunter should know where to aim on a turkey long before entering the woods. The key to your success this season will hinge on good shot placement on a turkey whether you’re using a gun or archery gear.

by Hunting Freak