Green Fields The Curse Of Deer Hunting

Green Fields the Curse of Deer Hunting

Back in the 80's there was a movie that starred Kevin Costner titled “Fields of Dreams.” The movie centered on a farmer who built a baseball field out in a corn field. As the movie unfolds, players show up from every where to play baseball. This goes to show that “if you build it, they will come” or does it?

Hunting clubs all over the South East spend thousands of dollars a year planting the newest seed on the market in hopes to attract deer into the food plot during day light hours. I do the same thing and have for years. The trouble with this hunting practice is not the planting of the field, but the way we hunt the field. Many hours are spent by hunters, year in and year out, sitting in a shooting house on an old fashioned food plot. In most cases leaving them wondering, “Where are the deer?” Well, the deer are still there they just have become wiser than the hunter. If you were to stick your nose out on a field somewhere just to be shot at, it would not take you long to stop using that field or wait until night time to come out. With that said, let me give you several ways to see more deer. You must first ask the question, “Are we using these fields to attract does or bucks?” You may say that is an odd question... BUT, if you have planted the field to get meat for the freezer then shooting does will do. However, if you have planted the field to get a nice buck during rut, then let the does live! If you want that buck you’ll have to declare the green field a safe zone for does and young bucks. After all it is the old does that train the young bucks. Keep in mind that if you have been shooting does off your green fields it will take several years to reverse the effects so they again feel safe. As the does and young bucks feel safe on the field during the daylight hours, your sightings will increase and your mature bucks will begin coming out. Now, quality deer management says to shoot does to keep the heard balanced. I never said don’t shoot a doe, just don’t do it on a green field. Take your doe somewhere in the woods away from those safe zones. Green fields are an important part of our hunting in the South; I just think we need to be a little wiser on how to use them.

Mike Denning