Strategic Food Plot Designs: Try the Wagon Wheel

| By Mike Grandey
When I first began deer hunting, I would often head to the woods with a few two-by-fours, a pocket full of nails, and a hammer to erect my treestands between closely grown trees. Then I’d sit, stand or squat for hours waiting for my quarry, which more often than not never appeared. I was uncomfortable …

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Which food plot crops do deer prefer, and why?

| By Jacob Dykes, Bronson Strickland, Steve Demarais, and Marcus Lashley
“What is the best thing to plant in my food plot?” Have you ever asked this question? As University Extension professionals and wildlife scientists, we get asked that question a lot. The search for the “magic bullet” plant has yielded many great discussions, but despite deer diets being heavily studied by researchers and observed by …

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Food Plot Species Profile: Oats

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It’s no secret that cereal grains – wheat, oats, cereal rye, triticale – are popular choices for planting in food plots managed for whitetails. Cereal grains are highly attractive to deer, and they perform well under a wide range of conditions. With regard to deer preference, oats consistently rank higher than the other cereal grains …

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The Day Food Plots Almost Killed Me

| By Phil Bancroft
Editor’s Note: Eight years ago this week, NDA member Phil Bancroft of Florida nearly died while preparing food plots for hunting season. After his recovery, he wrote this story for a 2013 issue of Quality Whitetails magazine. We are publishing it online here for the first time as a reminder to all our readers to …

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