Unless you manage the risk of the 5 best deer hunting improvements, you will never experience predictable hunting season rewards. Here are my top 5 riskiest deer hunting improvements, as well as their level of potential reward….
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You know we're always trying to relate Habitat improvements deer habitat Improvements and hunting improvements Uh to actual risk levels and how you can Actually install some of these features On your land without smoking the deer Because if you have 40 acres and you Improve 40 acres for deer and Attractions everywhere well then you Can't possibly step foot on the property Without smoking deer whether it's in the Morning afternoon evening and if you Spook deer your property quickly becomes Nocturnal and what I found is deer can Relate to a difference of 100 yards so Your neighbor's 40 that is unhunted more Of a park-like effect but on haunted no Hunting pressure yours is high hunting Pressure well the deer are just going to Live all over neighbors during the Daylight and you don't even need an Attraction over there so the lowest hole In the bucket is how you hunt and your Hunting pressure and how it's projected On the land so each one of the Improvements you make has a risk level Someone to talk about those risk levels And the reward that though each one of Those improvements has so that you can Balance what's important in your land And really how you manage your hunt Because if you look at each one of these Features of where you can apply pressure And where you can't and the risk for
Ward level Then it helps you understand how Critical it is for you to go onto your Property and offer your property how you Move around your property and I'm Talking to your hunting season because If your season opens October 1st You start slowing your activities down Around Labor Day your cease activities By September 15th you can have a great Run on what you do in August July January February March has nothing to do With how good of a hunting season you're Going to have we're all over our Property here in Minnesota and partially Wisconsin Through the off season we do anything we Want on it because we're building a Property for the fall and not for the Summer spring and winter it's great to Find sheds for example antlers but I Don't want to build a property that's so Good in February March and April that we Attract all the in late January that we Attract all the sheds in the area and Shed antlers because typically if you Have that great winter parcel with lots Of thermal cover that's not where those Deer are at during November and December And October so bottom line is though Let's look at each one of these Attractions I left the most attractive Highest Potential reward for the for the Last and if you look at these kind of
Rank them in order where I look at risk And reward it's pretty interesting Because a water hole for example Fairly low risk on the scale of risk but Pretty high reward as it works for Attraction during the hunting season so I want you to think about that but Number one a bedding area you create Cuttings create hinge Cuts total canopy Removal hardwood Harvest Timber Harvest You're changing the timber for the Better you're getting more stems per Acre more hardwood regeneration Woody Shrub tips Briars whatever might be You're getting diversity in there and That can be great but the thing about a Bedding area is it's very Broad You could have average betting quality Habitat spread in the right areas of Your property and it can be an Incredible parcel because you manage Your hunt you manage the food sources You manage how you project your hunting Pressure on the property it ends up Being a great hunting parcel even if you Don't have the best abetting areas so That's why I give it a 5 out of 10. You have to have some type of cover to Hold deer But the cover isn't necessarily what Drives a deer herd a lot of times There's cover somewhere there's good Cover somewhere but it's that Combination of everything you need for
Whitetail habitat and hunting and to Find a good herd and attract a good herd That it takes to actually attract deer As opposed to just batting but betting You know mid-range for reward you have To have some type of betting and there Are some really good betting areas think Upland cover Combination of shrubs conifers grasses Briars hardwood regeneration maybe some Older trees mixed in that gives you the Best of everything and you'll find What's pretty cool about that you're the Best Wildlife Area not just deer when You find a great Wildlife Area and you Leave it alone it can be a great deer Bedding area and some of those bedding Areas can be a higher attraction level Than that five I'm just talking in General and it's very broad it can be Acres and acres and Acres not a defined Spot where you're putting a bone stand Out you look down and get a shot Hey thanks for watching the video and We'll be right back but this is very Important it's very important Announcement We have our camp kicking bear event we Have it on Father's Day it's more of a Habitat day we're going to see a feature Of habitat improvements how they will All relate to a bedding area a water Hole food plot bedding Point morning Sands evening stands and then we get to
Take a tour around the majority of the Property too bottom line is 350 per Person times 50 people we highly Encourage you to bring your kids after All it's Father's Day 50 those 50 spots Always sell out very fast on that same Day it's from 10 o'clock to four o'clock In the afternoon we have speaking events All my sponsors kick in for that so We'll literally be giving away a Matthews boat a gilly blind and so one Person will win each of those for about 13-14 people will win really good prizes I could list them all but check it out We also have our 100 times 100 hunt Raffle to a lucky Hunter that'll come Hunt with us the end of September for Three nights So really check out all that information Look at the link in the description you Can ask Jesse she'll help you out with Any scheduling of that and look forward To seeing you guys there it's a great Event every dime that's earned goes Directly to Camp kicking bear and even a Little extra on top of that so look Forward to seeing you there Mark scrape I love mock scraps we have a mock scrape At every stand location but we don't Find that deer go 50 yards out of the Way just to hit that mock scrape what They do often do though it's a great Place for trail cam location it's right In front of the tree stands within bow
Shot and every gear that goes by goes to That and so a deer that wanted to go Through the area within 20 yards 10 Yards 15 yards 30 yards he goes to that Scrape and just that's the trailer uses It defines one trail out of three one Trail out of four But it doesn't take a deer that's down At the bottom of the hollow 100 yards Down up to that scrape and back down Again doesn't have the power to do that Like a water hole does you know water is A little bit different when they're Cruising they're thirsty they want to go Get it and they'll go find it it doesn't Attract more deer to the lamb though Just like a mock scrape it defines Movement a mock scrape defines movement And it's more of a 5 out of 10. that's What I mean it's within a small area it Might attract a lot of deer give Yourself a great bow shot it distracts Deer they're not looking at your trail Camera they're not looking at you in the Stand get a shot I encourage you mock Trip at every stand location and no more Mock scrapes Dylan ripped a mock scrape Down today we are talking about summer Trail cam location not a mock straight But it's a natural scrape so we had a Camera on the scrape the bow shot is Right there Dylan was 10 yards further And there's a natural scrape hanging Down I don't know if there's a branch
With a little teeny Vine hanging down is That what it was one little busted Branching or a bucket pulled it down and Snaps those hangers yeah and we don't Want deer over there for one when I get A picture of them but but most Importantly it's taking them away from The stand location I've been to properties where there's a Mock scrape every 20 yards down their Central Access Trail that's a really bad Thing your act you're entracting bucks To your access and then you're spooking All those deer away then to where There's 50 mock scrapes around a food Plot with the thought that you know the Food plot's not attractive enough let's Put a bunch of mock shapes around it and We put 50 around we'll have every Buck Within 10 miles there because of all the Scrapes in one spot it's not how it Works they Define movement moderate Attraction but still very very low risk Mock scrapes can be anywhere in front of Your stand location now if you're Putting that Max drape out into a food Plot that might change the risk we'll Talk about that in a second water holes Like mock scrapes Very very low risk Seems like the less time a deer spends In that area as part of their daily Daily travel the lower the risk level For example water hole they might stand
Around and drink for a half minute Minute they're just hanging out then They move through say in the Mock's Great they come they rub their Pre-orbital glands on it And they're gone in fact a lot of times They might come into a water hole Take a couple drinks The camera goes off there's a one minute Delay the buck leaves to go make a mock Scrape and it's gone before the camera Goes through its cycle of 45 seconds to A minute delay and that's how long it Took for them to hit the water hole and The mock scrape combined it's just a Quick stop and they're on the way Through so they're both about a similar Risk level when it comes to assessing The risk and how you Actually view that in the woods in your Hunt I like I prefer to hunt low risk High Reward areas a water hole during the Cruising times in the Rut even in December if it's open and you have open Water and you're the only open water in The area for whatever reason boy not Only box but does fawns and all Critters In the woods birds and creatures they go To that water they're attracted to that Water so very very high level of Attraction you can even say eight to ten Out of 10. for attraction levels so Pretty cool spot to be now contrast that
With an orchard Orchard I think is more Value than a mock scrape in general Because deer are coming to that area but It's for a a smaller amount of time Sometimes if it's a large area it's less Defined and we'll put a stand location Here we're going to shoot here there Could be apple trees 70 yards over there But bottom line is pretty decent Attraction but it's a limited time of The year It's also a higher risk level anything Associated with food is higher risk Anytime a deer is going to sit there for 25 minutes it's almost like they're more Careful going into that location The problem is is Hunters let's Establish these eight apple trees right Here in this little Meadow and we're Going to hunt it and then they hunt it They spook deer off it once or twice now It's not a low risk feature it's a high Risk and finally it's even magnified Much much more when it comes to food as An actual food plot a food plot is the Highest form of risk when it comes to a Hunting feature where you want to Attract deer it's The Highest Potential Reward it's 10 out of 10. it's the most Attractive feature that you can add to Your land More powerful than a water hole because If you don't have food on your land why Are they going to the water hole they're
Not going to be attracted to your land Because of the water hole they will be Attracted to your land because of the Food plot if no one in your area has a Food plot program And somebody Three quarters of a mile to a mile away Puts in seven quality Acres of food Plots and they they slant that towards Fall and they leave it alone they they Give the deer the impression they're not Being hunted guess what you're not going To see that many deer it might pull half The deer away or more sometimes people Wonder I don't know why we're not seeing Any deer this year Well they don't have food if you pull up An aerial photo you look at Hunt wise You can see food plots did you know your Neighbor had this food plot what kind of Food plot is that do you know your Neighbor all of a sudden come to find Out that a mile away their their Neighbor put a bunch of food plots in or Even a half mile away that's where all The deer went that's where they're all Going it's a high level of attraction But because of that risk level It's the one you have to be very very Careful with high risk High reward And that's why when you take a really Low risk High traction feature like a Water hole You combine that with a food plot very
Bad thing because a food plot is very High risk Water hole is very low risk so when you Combine water on a food plot what does It do It takes that water hole and brings it To the risk level of the food source now Dylan was talking about And we do this often depending on the Layout location he has a a spot where It's a small hunting plot and he's Talking about adding a water hole off to The side well hunting plot is a lot Different than a two acre feeding plot Where deer are very worried to come out In the open you put a water hole to the Side well they're probably not going to Come there during the daylight but some Of these little hunting plots Dylan You've probably seen that a lot like a Little hunting plot they'll hit that During the daylight even 11 o'clock a Buck passing through a mature buck and The way I'm screening it off I'm really Hoping it's gonna it's gonna be more of Just a pass through whether they're on Their way to food in the evening or even Mid-morning they're just on their way Cruising it's going to be a focal point And I think that that water it's like a Light snack and water yep at the Screening that I'm going to be putting In there will really make them feel Comfortable and we've done that with
Like almost a magnified water hole area Where it's water holes the base but then There's a 20th of an acre around it That's in Clover and there's mock scrape Off to the side and it's kind of a One-Stop shop for just a quick snack Through but when you're pulling deer Like for that length of time where it's Going to be a half hour they're going to Sit there and feed that's where you Don't want that water hole that's high Risk Area and you're hurting the water hole Because of that now a mock scrape if It's a stand location I encourage mocks Great it's not going to hurt you or help You in that case it's just defining Where the deer might go in the field Location but they're not coming to that Food plot because the mock shrapes there They're already coming to the food plot It's a little bit different you know the Power of water if you I encourage a mock Trip for every stand location there Might be 10 stand locations on 40 acres You're not gonna have 10 water holes on 40 acres you're over saturating the Attraction and that lowers the power of Each water hole on 40 acres three water Holes too depending on the layout and Location of other and surrounding water Holes around the area what's this all Mean though be very wary you know water Hole is great you can pop in there for
The afternoon or morning just a quick Stop if you actually add a mock scrape On it on a funnel or cruising point Quick morning hunt afternoon hunt you Can get right in Orchard it might be in There in the morning feeding when you go In so it eliminates a morning hunt Food plot Unless it's a small hunting plot like Dylan was talking about you have a major Food source 200 yards away 100 yards Away and you can get into that while Deer out in the major food source in the Morning it's not a morning spot small Hunting plot might be but those bigger Food plots you can't you can get in There in the afternoon evening and Hopefully you can get out in the Afternoon you know when it gets dark and Get out so think about each one of these Bedding areas more morning hunt because You have a hard time getting out or Getting into it in the afternoon you Don't know where deer are at where if You've been in there in the morning and You want to get out you have the luxury Of being there for three or four hours In the morning in order to your ad if They just pass through if they're just Feeding through you know what direction To get out because you've been there in The woods and you're aware of your Surroundings you know where deer are at So it'll be easier to get out afternoon
You're going in blind you're eventually Going to Spook a lot of deer so these Wrist levels are very important to Understand you have to have food plots On private land that's what drives your Orchard can't drive a deer herd water Hole mock scrape bedding air that can't Drive a deer herd food can drive deer Hurt but it also is the highest risk Level think of that balance between risk And reward next time you're out hunting Bottom line is everything you do on your Land think about am I going to Spook Deer because of this Improvement if the Answer is yes you're probably better off Not having the Improvement shrinking the Improvement relocating the Improvement Screening off the improvements you can Get by without smoking deer but you just Can't afford to Spook deer doesn't Matter if you have 500 Acres or 50 or 5 Acres you can't afford to do it you know I think sometimes there's you know Wealthy people that have a couple Thousand acres thousand acres big AG Rich area like Iowa Kansas Illinois And almost because of their hunting Mistakes and the way they lay out their Habitat they need that amount acreage Because it starts to begins to Encompass Their mistakes when you start to get Into 600 800 acres larger meaning you Can blow off the deer on this to 300 Acres but you still have four or 500
Acres over here to hunt in that same Weekend so you can kind of hunt Haphazardly and still future success but I want to see you take 100 acres or 50 Acres and do the same that someone else Does with six to eight hundred because Most people have those large Parcels are Taking ATVs or spooking deer And you can do so much better by just Really taking a risk assessment Balance your risk and reward hunting Smart don't improve every square inch of Your parcel make sure you have food on Your personal and you can develop a Great hunt this fall manage some high Risk but a high reward attractions by Letting the deer think that it's a lower Situation when they move through the Woods right in front of your boat stand For a shot this fall now I don't know if You've checked out our main website Lately whitetailubattetsolutions.com but We've really had a lot going on Including hats books our web class and Certainly our new seed company whs Wildlife Blends when you click on seed On our site it'll take you right to our Brand new site for the seed company we Have all 12 Blends available so check it All out though I encourage you I Appreciate you checking it out whether You buy anything or not really Appreciate you visiting the site and Seeing what's going on and continue to
Watch because we have big things coming Later this year