After our uneventful morning hunt, Scott and I split up from Lee and Chris to get some work done on our lease. Our 80 acre farm consists of a little timber, 55 acres of native grasses enrolled in CRP, and a bit of brush. For the first time ever, we are allowed to put in food plots. We're hoping that the addition of a few plots will make our already good property even better.


We hired a local farmer to come in at the beginning of April to do some discing for us. He tilled up about an acre and a half for us and did a really nice job. The week before we went down to plant, Lee and I sprayed roundup on the new weed growth that had attacked the plots. When we went down this time, I hooked up the Groundhog Max disc to my 4 wheeler and redisced it to loosen the soil up again.

After I retilled the soil, Scott loaded up the seeder and broadcast some Roundup Ready Soybeans into this 3/4 acre plot. I then disced it again in order to cover the beans. With any luck, the deer will leave some of them be during their early stages of growth so that we'll have a nice stand of them to hunt over in the fall. There isn't much out there that is any better than late season standing soybeans! We plan on overseeding some rye into this plot in August to give the deer something to munch on during the drying period that the beans will go through.

After planting the beans, we planted another plot with some whitetail and ladino clover. We're hoping that this plot will last a few years. We have intentions of adding 3 or 4 more plots to the property this fall.

Once the Spring food plotting was done, it was time to put out some minerals and hang the first trail cam of the year. We had a trophy rock in this spot last year and the deer really devoured it. We're hoping that they take a liking to these minerals and will pose for the camera. It will likely be July before we make it back down, so we're hoping for a memory card full of shooter bucks when we make it back down to the property.

Deer season is really a year round sport for Scott and I. It's true that the season only lasts a few months, but the preparation and scouting that we put into it literally lasts 52 weeks a year. We really never take a break, even during turkey season. It was actually quite funny the number of times that Scott and I started talking deer hunting in the turkey blind this season. If it ever got slow, one of us would start talking. "I bet there's a good trail just inside the woodline of that inside corner over there. We should get a set hung in there this summer..." That's just how it goes with us hardcore bowhunters. We eat, sleep, and breathe this stuff and love every stinkin' minute of it. The blood, sweat, and tears are a very small price to pay for the enjoyment and satisfaction that we get out of the hunting. We thank the Good Lord for giving us the opportunity to chase these wonderful critters. There is nothing we love to do more!