Hunting Over a Food Plot: All you need to know about

huntong over a food plot Hunting Over a Food Plot: All you need to know about thegearhunt.com

The description that suits hunting over a food plot differs from the natural arable land plot in many distinct ways. While hunting over a food plot, you are concerned with a smaller land circumference than the open wild. The size of land to use comes to anything up to half an acre or less. This land area makes it easy to set up your hunting stand in an ambush spot that could be strategic. This pattern of hunting is better directed when bow hunting the bucks.

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The spots to look for include spots where peas are found, annual clovers can be seen, and food species are plenteous or even a combination of these clues. The smaller land space makes it possible for you to sneak into such plots and make a kill.

While many options exist on how to hunt over a food plot, many hunters believe that what you should do in larger hunting fields should differ from actions taken in smaller plots. On larger plots, you can direct the plot towards a centralized area that could be a sort of sanctuary for the bucks.
On the whole, the following ideas are proven and productive:

Plant your food plot

If you are able to identify a veritable spot where the prey gets attracted to as a food source, then it is possible to launch a food plot. The possibilities are rife in the woodland opening, a farmed expanse of land, gains field or similar scenarios. Having located where the prey is attracted to, you need to clear a spot at a secluded corner, which you can use as your attack point. You will have to remove the existing vegetation and clear out the hunting stand. The tip you need here is to keep some foliage around the edges of your food plot to serve as a decoy to the prey.

Having cleared your spot, make sure you remove the debris that ensues so that the residue can be discarded. You can choose to shove under the soil or burn it off. Once this gets done, carry out a soil test to determine the Ph so that you can ascertain the extra lime to add to the soil. Generic fertilizers are also recommended to raise the concentration of nutrients in the soil.

The next step will be to plant the cereals that will become the attraction to your prey of choice. The other point you should note as you go about this is to consider the outset of the archery window. Leave about three to four weeks interval after the season opens before you go bow hunting.
In an actual farming technique that should sync with your hunting plot, be sure to mark when the cereal you choose to plant will mature, and use this as a guide for the actual planting. You can also choose to pick a late planting date so that the young plants can be an attraction on their own.

Minimize your hunting pressure

Hunting over a food plot requires that you minimize disruptions to the hunting field. This can practically ensue by getting dropped off at the spot early, and get picked after your hunting ends for the day. This tip will help keep human scent at bay before the prey congregates around the plot. Never forget that human scent will repel your targeted bucks from the plot. When walking to the hunting stand cannot be avoided, learn how to walk away from the wind, so that your scent doesn’t get swept onto the nostrils of the bucks.

Making your way to the stand should be a stealthy activity to keep you out of the glare of animals and minimize your bruising of the plants that line the pathways.

The stand can be two

If you have two stands as you hunt over the food plot, this will aid your success in evading the wind. As the wind direction changes, you can elude it and go into the opposite stand.

As you see the young bucks appear initially, you can size up your shots and take a deep breath till the big bucks appear on the scene. Remember to site your stand away from the direct path used by the prey to the lot. This will give you the advantage of taking the prey unaware with your kill-shot. Standing in full glare of the bucks or giving them a reason to believe that danger lies ahead, will reduce your chances of successful hunting.

Choosing the hunt hours

While it is perfectly okay to get to your stand early in order to avoid distracting the hunting plot, it is always best to hunt over your food plots when it is afternoon.

For hunters who love the morning hunt, it is better to allow the shooting light to appear so that you will have a perfect view of the plot. Shooting in the dark will lead to the bucks getting bumped out, even when unintended. With the privilege of lighting, you might be able to shoot the big buck as it approaches the food plot.

The variable season

During the early season, you will be able to see a large herd of deer feeding out there. You have a chance to come across the bucks as they feed within the hunting hours at the onset of the hunting season.

The mature bucks begin to sense the hunting pressure as the hunting season goes midway, and at this time, staying in the stands will give you a better shooting chance of success. When you use the fringe stands at this period, you will be better placed to hunt mature bucks as they come in from their bedding space. The bucks might not arrive at the food plot as routinely as it was at the season early days.
The late season comes with its allures as the inclement weather drives out the bucks to go after food remnants and open fields. This is another chance to hit the big buck without fail.

Never forget that the need for food is part of the survival extinct common to all animals, and the prey can be trapped based on this understanding.