Which size of deer waterhole is best for you? From 27.5 gallon tanks nearly 20 years ago to our massive 300 gallon waterholes we use today, here is the best size of waterhole that I recommend for all of your deer hunting pursuits…
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Now I spent a long time coming with These water holes and creating tank Water holes for deer and I think there's A few advantage of them but we really Need to talk about the size and we'll Get to that the size what's worked first Over the year we have 20 years Experience of putting these water hole Tanks in and the first one we started With was a half barrel 55 gallon drum so We're using 27.5 gallons and we quickly Learned that that wasn't even close to Enough even though they're free free is Not always better but outside of that We'll talk about the size and what we Think is Optimum which is this right Here Um here in a second but let's talk about Some of the water hole rules for one we Want this in a remote location this Features a very low risk to Deer so I do Not want to add it to a food source that Has a high risk to Deer that's why they Only hit there an hour before dark Typically on a daily basis where bucks Are hitting this all day does fawns they Hit this all times of the day because It's very secure to them I lower the Level of security for a water hole when I add it to that food over there so That's one great reason for keeping them Separate not to mention this is a great Daytime cruising area that open food Source over there is not so I really
Like separating these these water holes I want to make sure it's by a bow stand We shot two bucks in this location last Year that was really critical I never Want a water hole drawing deer away from My boat stands and I can't hunt it if There's no bow staying out that's a Really bad thing you have to have very Defined wind here we know in the morning The wind's going to come over that rise Right there and it's going to head back Up that draw over there so very easy to Say we can hunt this with this wind even Though it's Hill Country and it's been Down low and figure that out you have to Have a critter stick in here so that Squirrels and other small mammals Chipmunks can get out of here if they Fall in and not sit here and rot and die That's a really bad thing Don't worry about mosquitoes who cares The mosquitoes that are that are growing In this little water hole area that's Natural out in the woods for actual mud Holes to have mosquitoes in them it's Not really a big deal I wouldn't add any Chemical to try to get rid of them I Want things more natural out here now No drying cracking mud so that means That there's a lower chance of EHD That's what propagates that's where the Midge develops and propagates within That mud the bottom line is talking About the size of the tank it's critical
You understand the sizing of these tanks And why 27.5 gallon tank not enough We've gone to 80 gallon tanks not enough There's even some out there that are 80 Gallons and they're only 12 inches deep 100 gallons 12 15 inches deep and that's Too shallow because you get evaporation On these right here whether we use 150 Gallon tank even 100 gallon tanks 24 Inches deep the 150 is 25 the 300 gallon Which is this this size right here is 25 Inches deep just a lot bigger and so What we find is that with the water Holes when you get around 100 gallons We're finding that during drought during The season and decent deer use then We're finding about 100 gallons every Three to four weeks is lost and so if You have 100 gallon tank it dries up in Three or four weeks deer stop using it Takes two or three weeks to re-establish That pattern to use tried 150 gallons Obviously a lot better but with drought Again after a month there's only eight Inches of water down the bottom and They're having a hard time we've Actually had deer step in the 150s or Get down on their knees but still They're having a hard time getting that Water when we have this 300 gallon tank Which we started to migrate to Throughout the years back to all of them We replaced in in 300 this year we I Think we did seven or eight last year
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 dollars Per person times 50 people we highly Encourage you to bring your kids after All it's Father's Day 50 of 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 100 gallons is only down about Eight inches 200 gallons down about 15 Inches deer can easily get at it they Can step in it and drink they can get Down on their knees still but more Importantly they can step in they can Get the water really easily even if it's Just an inch of water down the bottom This is that tank size where you get to Where we don't want to come down here in This really remote area So this is that tank size That we found we can put water in here In September and it'll last all the way Until it freezes in December and he said We haven't added water this year this is A new water hole last year we shot the Two bucks out of here John and I And then We had filled this Let it go into the fall rain snow Moisture staying here throughout the Spring and this is what we have during The summer time Now at this point I like coming in here And raking it out getting the vegetation Debris one water hole in Valley we Have walnuts in we want to get out every Year sticks leaves just get out so it's Somewhat clean but bottom line is size Water hole don't be fooled that you know
250 gallon tank would be okay but not if It's 12 inches deep like a pool a kiddie Pool kiddie pool sounds good but they Don't last like a Rubbermaid we've never Had a rubbermaids fail and I've been Doing this for 20 years so and not even Just Rubbermaid just a cattle tank you Know cattle Pond we've never had them Break when we're digging them in here we Really like to dig them below ground Level this one's actually starting to Rise up a little bit we could actually Put some grade soil around here instead Of funnels in a little bit better But if we can do a little get get a Little bit lazy when it comes to the 300s because we know if we fill them up One time we're good to go through the Season and they'll continue drawing deer Not dry out and when it comes to your Water hole tank size really really Important that you consider these gowns What we're going through I had clients Last year they have these flatter open Water holes that are 12 inches deep 15 Inches deep 80 to 100 gallons and They're drying out in two weeks in heavy Deer use and that's just not enough we Experienced trout for sometimes four or Five weeks at a time in the fall and That's not a bad thing that's just the Way it is so really consider 300 gallons 250 gallons consider the overall depth Because
The larger and more surface area there Is the more evaporation there is this 24 25 inches seems to be a good balancing Point and if you can't afford something This big these are about 250 260. they Have 110 gallon tank at TSC what I like About that is it's 22 inches high so 100 Gallon Rubbermaid is 24 inches high but Your 10 gallons last for this is 22 Inches high 110 gallons more than 100 so You get a bigger top to the opening but Not too great it's still 22 inches deep Now one if you fill it keep your eye on It we've had times where we haven't had To fill them for two years and other Times you have to fill them twice in the In a hunting season because it's so Droughty but if you keep an eye on it 110 gallon tank is a bare minimum in the Best of conditions but when it comes to The perfect size I think we found it We're fine we're coming up all the way This year where we'll try to heat these With a cattle tank heater and we have Certain ways we're going to do so Non-solar panel we found the solar panel On battery I think it would take is just Just incredible but what we found is we Enjoy a lot watching wildlife and all Winter long if this is open we couldn't Do it down here we're not uh we're not Near any kind of electrical source but Keeping these warmer And actually opened during the winter
Time every Critter in the woods will Will hit these and we have a reveal Camera right over there by Dylan we love Watching our water holes because of the Hawks Owls Fox Bobcat coyote raccoon possum Deer Birds everything that comes to it All season long so aside from the deer Hunting and make sure you get the right Tank size and understand that that ratio Of height to depth and width then boy What a great spot to watch all Wildlife Which is what we're about out here All year long 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