Food plots are planted for a couple of different reasons. One reason is to offer nutritional food that is off-limits to hunting. A sanctuary if you will. Other food plots are used to draw deer in for a shot, along with providing a food source. Food plots planted for this purpose can be as used as a funnel. When hunters/landowners plant food plots that are meant to be hunted over, they should take into consideration where the plot is planted and the size of the plot.

When I plant plots that I will hunt near, I try to make them in, or as close to, cover as I possibly can. Deer seem to visit my food plots under the cover of darkness. For that reason, I hang my stands on the trails leading to the food, rather than right on the edge. Hopefully I am able to ambush a buck as he is heading to or from the plot.

A few years ago, I logged off several trees out of a tract of timber on the farm. After the logging crews made roads for their equipment through the timber, deer quickly began to use them as their own trails. Thinking I could coax even more deer to use the “trails”, I went and planted white clover on the road. Before I knew it, deer were not only walking down the road, but also spending a lot of time eating the lush plants that now grew in the road. Since the food plot was surrounded by vegetation, deer would come out earlier and stay later to eat.

The awesome thing about hunting such a plot is that there is never deer out of archery range. Set up your stand 10 to 15 yards downwind of the trail so you are not too close that the deer will bust you. Even if you are 15 yards off the trail, the furthest shot will only be about 20 yards.

If you have not had a logging company on your property recently all that you need is a chain saw, brush hog, and of course, permission to build your own road, and not to mention one heck of a funnel.

Deer season is still months away, but now is the time to start thinking about attracting and hopefully holding deer on your property.