I have brought up that as a club we don’t need twice as many small plots as we have members a few times. This is about 4500 acres with about 30 members. In my opinion it makes no sense to have plots planted as a crow flies 500 to 1000 yrds from each other scattered throughout the property. There is a big powerline that runs the length of it and some gasline. I’m all for those but seems if u shrink down these other scattered in between places the deer would have to move more for food and possibly have a better chance of seeing deer. Say if I’m on A and B is 500 yrds through the woods and I see one deer on A but there’s 5 in B which u wouldn’t know unless there was a camera. What I’m saying from a cost standpoint and the fact that some of these may be sat on one time a season is it necessary to even plant so many. I say no but if I’m wrong then y’all tell me and I’ll be fine with it. Also this place gets a lot of pressure. To me it should be key areas and not all the in between places and property is all on tract so not broke up. When I bring up it’s Na we gonna plant them all and also have a hard time getting enough to get them all planted. Doesn’t seem necessary to me.

I prefer fewer, bigger plots that can sustain the herd on my property. I have right around 1000 acres and have 6 big, main plots. There are a few places I plant a couple of small strips designed to maybe slow one up like across a power line.

Plant them all…….Your scenario where the deer in plot B would come to plot A and feed together does not necessarily work out that way because doe groups especially compete for these limited resources like small food plots…..If there isn’t enough to go around then they wont tolerate another doe group moving in……Lots of small plots spread out across a property is a good thing because it gives you the potential of holding doe groups on each one without their being social conflict. I believe if you stopped planting them all you would see a reduction in deer sightings.

I hav hunted clubs w plots 300 yards from each other and even closer where the stands faced in opposit directions

Not sure what is best at your place - but on the bright side - your pressure is more spread out w more plots - deer will find those plots that don’t get hit much

$$$ is the only reason I wouldnt plant all of them.

The way I look at it is that every pocket and corner I can tuck another doe group in is another place that the bucks have to seek out and search that holds another piece of hot tail……..If I can hold doe groups across the property spatially spread out like a checkerboard or grid then I can keep the bucks cruising all over my lease or property checking them…….You want them to have to check ALL of those little plots and not just one or two……There’s an idea derived from small property management that focuses on time management of bucks that goes along with this idea……

If pressure wasn’t an issue, plant fewer fields as long as they’re able to sustain the deer herd. You said pressure was an issue when u plant all of the fields, it would seemingly only get worse if you had fewer fields for your members to choose from. Keep planting all of them based on the info you have given.

We plant every area we can, a number of which we don’t even have stands on.

Kind of hard to not see that honestly.

Thanks for the input and I’ll go with the flow. Good to get others perspective thanks.

kk, I understand your logic, and I've wondered before if I'm "competing" with myself when I have food sources close to each other, but at the end of the day, I'd rather make sure I have enough food to support as many deer as possible.........especially if pressure is an issue. And I'd go hunt that plot that only gets hunted once a year you mentioned......just as the chasing starts up

Here’s a suggestion. Plant some of the fields in different things. Clover, brassicas, and maybe you can make certain plots more desirable there for increasing your sightings

Yes
I have seen this over the years. Animals are lazy, does will stay near a food source, and bucks will stay near does. I hunt an 80 acre lease that has five plots on it and there is different deer on one side than the other.

I’ve been sitting on a plot, seen deer, then seen the same deer on cell cams in 2 other plots all while I was sitting. I plant every wildlife opening I can.