Let me start off by saying, this past bow & gun season alone I seen over 300+ bucks and does all within bow range, and i'm cutting myself short on that number.
Before jumping into whitetail habitat, ask yourself this one question "what holds whitetails year round" - years after years?
Answer; Natural browse (vegetation) and lots of cover for bedding areas, water is optional.
Deer favorite food - natural browse (vegetation) which grows year-round. It's also used for cover and giving birth to fawns. Natural browse can be achieved by tilling the ground and letting mother nature take over.
Deer favorite tree - Pitch Loblolly, very fast growing pine tree. A pine grove of these trees will provide enough cover throughout the year and serve as food during the harsh winter months. These trees are also known to release heat up-to 10 degrees warmer during winter months. Both bucks and does love bedding under these trees throughout all 4 seasons and buck are more likely to rub on these trees than any other. These trees can be order through the Indiana state nursery.
Is hinge cutting necessary? It depends, if you have lots of trees down throughout the property, then no, if not, then the answer is yes. Bucks and does prefer to bed next to down trees but will also bed in tall grasses areas. Some does prefer to give birth next to a down tree.
Food plots, apple trees, persimmon trees, pear trees, chestnut trees, grape vines etc. are OK but these are only seasonal and will not hold deer year-round. Deer will most likely visit them under darkness of night, only to return back from where they came from.
When we bought this property 15 years ago, deer sightings were damn near zero. We took what we learn and within a few years after doing some habitat work on natural browse and planting close to a 1000 Pitch Loblolly, we were able to turn this property into a whitetail/turkey paradise.
Before jumping into whitetail habitat, ask yourself this one question "what holds whitetails year round" - years after years?
Answer; Natural browse (vegetation) and lots of cover for bedding areas, water is optional.
Deer favorite food - natural browse (vegetation) which grows year-round. It's also used for cover and giving birth to fawns. Natural browse can be achieved by tilling the ground and letting mother nature take over.
Deer favorite tree - Pitch Loblolly, very fast growing pine tree. A pine grove of these trees will provide enough cover throughout the year and serve as food during the harsh winter months. These trees are also known to release heat up-to 10 degrees warmer during winter months. Both bucks and does love bedding under these trees throughout all 4 seasons and buck are more likely to rub on these trees than any other. These trees can be order through the Indiana state nursery.
Is hinge cutting necessary? It depends, if you have lots of trees down throughout the property, then no, if not, then the answer is yes. Bucks and does prefer to bed next to down trees but will also bed in tall grasses areas. Some does prefer to give birth next to a down tree.
Food plots, apple trees, persimmon trees, pear trees, chestnut trees, grape vines etc. are OK but these are only seasonal and will not hold deer year-round. Deer will most likely visit them under darkness of night, only to return back from where they came from.
When we bought this property 15 years ago, deer sightings were damn near zero. We took what we learn and within a few years after doing some habitat work on natural browse and planting close to a 1000 Pitch Loblolly, we were able to turn this property into a whitetail/turkey paradise.