Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Quality Deer Management WMS Planting Options

My buddy and I were talking about what to plant this year. Here is the run down. We planted several fields in WMS Alabama blend last year. The rest just got sowed your traditional way like most clubs do( Throw out some buck blend and a bag of 13-13-13) Mind you this is in Winston County, private leased land inside of Bankhead so soil quality is pretty poor. I checked the ph on the fields and was shocked that most were perfect neutral or slightly acidic. 6-7. The WMS made much better (prettier) fields and the deer seemed to hit them pretty well early on. Later in the season however it seems like the deer dont like it very much. They grow up to the point I would almost call them getting over grown. Granted we do have low deer herd numbers. Our debate is are we wasting money. We are talking about going back to a co-op buck blend and adding Durano clover. I tested a couple spots with Durano and it did pretty well until they logged most of the areas where I sowed it and destroyed our fields. For comparison one of our areas was not clear-cut and I sowed a long strip in Durano 2 springs ago. When I bushhogged the fields last week the clover looked good. I have noticed at my house the deer eat the WMS very well early then by spring its waist deep. I have very low deer numbers though. We saw similar on the last lease we had near Bankhead, tall "overgrown" fields that the deer didnt seem attracted to. I know deer have different preferences in different areas. Some things guys will swear by and others say their deer wont touch it. Anyways do you guys have any thoughts?

I am the same as you far as deer density. We have planted different kinds of plots with good soil ph for a couple years and it's been pretty much the same outcome. If you don't have the deer to eat it, it's going to get high by season end. Also may want to think about making some plots a little closer to thick cover if you have the ability.

Bushhog early in the spring to encourage new growth, or spray them to get rid of the grasses

When you say you checked the pH, did you send a sample to a lab or use one of the cheap probe type meters ? If it's not a lab reported pH I wouldn't trust the reading. Every plot grows up in the spring as the flush of growth on the native plants occur. Part of the natural process.

Most of our plots are small and were in standing pine that were still thick enough that they serve as key bedding. Most of the surrounding land is open private or National Forest mixed hardwoods. Now most of our plots are in fresh cutover so the succession process has already started. Pine beetles are rampant in the area so a lot of timber is getting cut. I was surprised how fast the cutovers had established regenerative growth this summer. I expanded some of our fields. This year and maybe next is our chance to get it right before the cutovers get really thick. We all know how fun a 1-3 yrs old cutover can be to hunt and then how tough it can get as those pines get tall.

I would stay with WMS seed. Try the Deer Magnet Blend this time. Also as stated above, cut it in April and you will be surprise how much clover is still there through the spring and early summer.

The bagged WMS blends can be Wheat / Oat / Triticale heavy depending on what blend you get and it goes nuts in the spring. Like mentioned, cut it in the spring and maybe even top sow with some more clover if it doesn't pop back out. WMS has a good product in my opinion, but it isn't cheap. If you wanted to see for sure, then set out a field with a bag of old fashioned deer mix and see what happens.

Another top mix if you want to compare is Buck Busters. I plant half of my 24 fields in WMS deer Magnet and half in Buck Busters. If I get enough rain fields are incredible.

Get the deer magnet. It has a lot more clovers. It has been consistently hammered at my place from beginning of season till mid February plus turkeys hit em in the spring

Wms managment told me - alabama blend good for deer season - by spring its played out

The magnet goes year around

I am thinking of using some wms - also thinking to add lot more clover - may hav 2 clover only fields

I planted the WMS Magnet and Alabama blends and my deer used all year. I fertilized at the end of November and it produced all spring. I cut it twice in the spring. I will never plant anything else

My advice would be to establish a clover plot and seed in rye or wheat in the fall. The wms stuff is like 70% wheat or triticale.

You have to factor in seed size I believe

Talked to my partner last night. We only have a couple fields large enough to really experiment on. We decided we will sow 1/2 in WMS and the other 1/2 in buck blend with top sown durano clover. This should give us a side by side comparison. Good discussion though boys. I like the idea of WMS magnet. I am a firm believer in clover as about one of the top foods you can put in a plot. FYI He is now going down the alfalfa worm hole though so who knows. That will be a whole different discussion thread I guess unless yall want to chime in about it. We got nothing else to talk about

Deer Magnet has several different clovers in it as well as Buck Busters seed. Each one of them will plant an ac. according to the bags. I would plant a bag per three quarters of an ac. They are 50 lb bags.

https://buckbustersseed.com/
Buck Busters seed

The biggest buck I ever killed was hunting over ryegrass.......

Marshal Rye will make the big bucks die

My biggest Alabama buck was killed on Marshall Rye planted on a narrow woods road.

Have any of yall ever planted the Lucky 7 or SEC? I like the ingredients in both.