For smaller plots, say 0.3 acre or less. How often do deer use your kill plot(s) on average during daylight during the hunting season? Assume whatever you have planted is in season and attractive to deer.
2-4 times per week last year for me. My plots this year are just getting going so we will see but activity so far has improved from last year.
Last year we had does and button bucks stopping by our kill plot at least once a day until they finally had it mowed down enough by the end of Oct. that it wasn't as attractive to them anymore. They still hit it but more like two or three times a week instead of everyday.
Deer or deer I want to shoot? I've got deer in my main plot every day several times a day. I'm yet to get a picture of a shooter buck though.
We had time lapse cameras setup on our plots last year and there were does and young bucks in them almost every evening at some point. It was pretty rare to not have a deer in the plot just about every day. Of all those days there were maybe 3-4 the entire fall where a shooter buck was one of those deer. I believe 2 of them were super early (first week of Oct) and the others were sometime around Nov 10-11.
I have a fence around it now but still catch the fawns in there at least once a week once the fence is down they will have it down to dirt in 10 days. They are hitting the winter rye and rape plot with no fence now
I'll be interested to see how my cereal grains do this year with the deer. Last year were brassicas and they did not care for anything but the Radish tops and a little on the turnip tops. The bulbs were not attractive for them. They actually seemed to eat more Egyptian Wheat heads than brassica bulbs.
Scott, let me know how your cereal grains do, this is my new winter rye and oats plot and deer are in it almost everyday. My top two bucks have been in it during shooting hours or right close. Very impressed with the oats and winter rye combo. Scoot
Our plots when in good shape get activity daily...of some kind. They truly become safe communication hubs for seeking bucks due to the security cover around them (especially at the Homestead prop). Now our larger brassica plot (acre) surrounded by cover and only about 100 yards from thick tall grass type swamp in the winter is at times serving atleast one deer every hour during daylight...our biggest bucks set up station on this plot the last 2 years once breeding was over and was in them well after sunrise and well before sunset.
