Grass Hunting

[Mike Belt]

Just loaded my Texas tripod in the truck. We have acres and acres of grass fields. They cut a few strips through them for their field trial runs. The deer use these strips to travel through these areas. I have a history hunting a certain section but to my knowledge it hasn't been hunted in a couple of years. There are simply no trees to accommodate stands and you can't see from ground level. In the past, from a distance we've seen a lot of deer moving through including some nice bucks and a couple of good buck fights. I'll hunt my climber in the morning and then put my tripod out for near future hunts. Just situate it lined up with 2 or 3 of these strips and see what happens. It should take the deer by total surprise to see someone in the middle of this stuff with them.

 

[Winchester]

Good luck, bucks love to herd does in our grown up fields here and tend them, great places to hunt during the rut!

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

Good luck Mike

 

[muddyboots]

Love grown up grass fields. Mature bucks do to. I've walked up on a few on the mowed strips

 

[rem270]

I have 87 total acres with 21 acres of CRP. I go through the same discussion every year with my dad how the deer like the tall grass but he still always wants to scalp it down in August. We have 5 fields total that are separated so in 3 of the 5 i have left standing and mowed strips. In "my field" i planted half in beans and left the other standing. They love the tall grass. The power company came through in Sept and cleaned up our power line. Going to plant clover down it and put a tripod up so i can see the power line and my field next year. Should be a great spot.

 

[Mike Belt]

Sounds good. I agree that you'd probably be better off leaving the grass/weeds/briars/saplings growing (although the saplings can get out of hand). The deer browse/bed/breed in these type of overgrown fields and use cut strips for traveling doing so. A few strategically cut strips and you can cover a lot of territory from a single spot. We never know when, where, or if they're going to cut strips in ours and lately they haven't been doing much if any. If you can cut your own and possibly plant those strips you might have a gold mine.

 

[megalomaniac]

No need to plant, Mike... the big bucks will walk right out into the open if they're following a hot doe... a year or two of cover next to the strips makes it even better. We kill ALL our mature deer in wide open fields. If they haven't been pressured in those fields, they will come out... and the more territory you can cover during the rut, the better

 

[Triple_H]

Good luck Mike

 

[rem270]

Sounds good. I agree that you'd probably be better off leaving the grass/weeds/briars/saplings growing (although the saplings can get out of hand). .

I don't let it go no longer than 2 years before i take the tractor in there in about February and mow the areas that i had left standing. I do it when it's dead where it's easier to mow but it's amazing how the saplings will take over. But also allows it to grow up tall and thick again for the summer and fall. The 6 acres i just bought had a 1 acre field off the road that hasn't been mowed since 2009. It's a complete loss on mowing. Once we bought it i took the tractor in there and got 1 strip where i could actually walk in the edge of it to a stand i put up. But it's a deer haven. Actually had a good buck chase a doe through it and by me this morning matter of fact.