Food Plots 2 time trying a small field plot

[Tacoma123]

Hello Everybody
Over the past several years i have been hunting on 10 acres it is surrounded by other woods that other people hunt and we all know each other on this 10 acres there are white oaks and the majority of the acerage is a big pine thicket. Last year i hunted this area and seen a good number of deer out of a lock on stad on the edge of the pine thicket (killed 3 does out of the same stand last yr and saw a very mature 8 point during bow season that i missed)but this year i am not seeing anything. About a month before season i went in and threw some corn and started a small food plot (real small) didnt want to disturbe the area to much because of all the luck that i had been having in the past yeasr on the property. I have hunted 2 times on this property this year and not seen anything so i went back 3 weeks ago and dropped a 40 lbs bag of corn threw some more throw and grow and put a camera on it. I checked the camera yesterday and was very disapointed to not have any pics but of me and my son walking away from the camera and walking up to it. Last yr right before season they came in and done a small clear cut on antoher peice of property that is some what connected to this property. my questions are. 1.) have i pushed the deer out by clearing a small place for a plot or has the clear cut hurt me? and what can i do to start seeing deer back on this property or is there anything i can do? Any help is greatly appreciated i will load pics in a bit of the small plot and the clear cut. thanks

 

[Hunter 257W]

I bet that nearby year old clearcut and the new extra thick growth in it is your problem. That will draw deer in like a magnet. There's no one thing that I know of that you can do to get deer activity back like it was, for this season but you can do long term changes. Your food plot is one. Fertilizing and liming edges where weeds and plants such as honeysuckle grow will help too. Fertilizing around oaks can draw more deer in for the next season. Assuming this clear cut is relatively close to your spot, there is bound to be some deer at least moving through your area eventually this season. It may be slower than you are used to but deer roam and their area changes through out the year so I'm sure you'll see some later on this year.

 

[Tacoma123]

thank you for the up lift i needed it i can see the clear cut from my stand so yes it is pretty close to me. I was hopeing that i hadnt done somthing wrong but i didnt know so i thought that i would ask thanks again

 

[excalhunter]

I bet that nearby year old clearcut and the new extra thick growth in it is your problem.

I agree. The thick growth in that clearcut now likely provides better cover and more food than your pine thicket does.

 

[Tacoma123]

so should i take my climbing stand and sit closer to the clear cut and see if i see anything walking through there??

 

[Tacoma123]

at the same time i was still seeing deer last yr the 3 does that i killed was with about 6 or does. they just seem to be the biggest deer out of the bunch.