2700 acres of Rayonier loblolly in various ages. Some creek bottoms are hardwoods. 2 powerlines. About 10 acres of power line plots and 10 acres of smaller plots. Most plots are long and skinny except a few and the powerline plots. Can't burn and can't cut down trees. We already trap coons and coyotes. 12 members in the club. Food plots are very sandy and have been conventionally planted for the last 25 years. Trying to shoot 4.5 year old and older bucks.

We feed a lot of corn during the season. Feeders in the plots and piles in the woods. We have done mineral sites in the summer too. We have done summer plots of legumes but they don't seem to do much. Winter plots usually turn out well.

I've been listening to several podcasts about habitat management in the southeast. It seems like most biologists think that if you can't burn or plant big food plots that you might be peeing in the wind trying to do much more that we are already doing. The gains in deer herd health and antler growth wouldn't even be noticeable if we focused on supplemental feeding protein and continue with mineral sites. This things definitely won't hurt, but no real measurable gains.

MBrock and some of you other knowledgeable guys... what say you?

What else could we be doing to make a difference?

It’s tough when dealing with timber companies but I think you’re doing more than you realize just by keeping good minerals ( Not just Salt with a minute amount of minerals) and possibly some summer plots or supplemental feed out for the does. A healthy doe births a healthy fawn and that is a great start. Feeding and mineral isn’t likely to put a extra 10+ inches on a buck in a year but it will help the deer stay nourished and healthy year after year which will help them reach closer to full potential than a deer that has struggled to maintain year after year.

I would say if you’re limited on habitat improvement then the other option is to keep your doe numbers in check and continue planting summer plots and pouring minerals.

Yes. You can be very limited on what’s allowed on timber company leases. One thing I’ve done before is identify long strips within the pine stands to use selective herbicides and strip discing in the fall. Each time they thin, find a few rows they cut and maintain them the best you can in early successional growth (annuals, grasses, blackberry, etc). They’ll not grow up in a sweetgum and privet thicket like everything else until the next timber harvest. It maintains herbaceous growth deer will utilize in the summer months. Other than that, provide as many planted acres in summer forages as possible. I’m partial to white perennial clovers because they do well in well drained sandy soils in the south. Keep your deer population in check or you can run in to a problem in a hurry. If you’ve got a lot of closed canopy pines in the rotation it’s not going to support many deer and maximize their potential. If you have 20-30% of the stands in cutover/fresh thinnings it can hold a lot more deer and maintain better health.

Thanks Matt and BayedUp. It has about 30% in thinned pines. Probably a little more that that. I'll have to get in there and do some sort and disking on some of the lanes they opened. We will keep doing all the other stuff we are doing I guess.

I heard on your podcast Matt about how key it is to put the weight back on the bucks immediately after the rut is over. That way they are not behind when it comes time for their body to start applying nutrients to antler growth. I think we can do better in this area. Outside of the food plots we have going on, what can we feed heavily right after the season to help them overcome this weight loss? Protein pellets? A carb like sweet potatoes? Honestly usually they are just eating our food plots and the corn we have left before turkey season.

I would look at the timing of your trapping......I think I'd have the yotes trapped out or at least thinned down during deer season.

I run coyote traps for about 8 weeks out of the year. July and August while fawns are dropping. We usually run coon traps during deer season but not a lot. I usually run a good many before and during turkey season. I just try to create a void during fawning and nesting times.

I am feeding Backwoods 18% protein plus but in years past I’ve robbed from my cows and fed soybean and gluten pellets.

We don't see a lot of mature bucks eating at our feeders right after the season with protein pellets in them. A little more when we mix with corn but still not many.