It helps to choose a location deer already use or where there is already at least a little cover. Antler King Peas are best planted in late summer or early fall and will be an immediate draw for your deer herd. This unique mix stays green all season and beyond to provide deer with much needed winter energy, plus up to 20% protein for bucks to grow next years rack! When you plan to go hunting on your own property, its important to have a good cover so you can hunt well. Try to establish a goal of turning at least 30-40% of the bedding area into non-switchgrass growth. Leave a small hole in the bend of the bed so deer can run out the backside. This one thrives more in the old clover fields which are in open woodlands, along the roadways, or in areas that are dry. Finally, the last slide included screening illustrations of each habitat and hunting feature, with the word "EVERYTHING", in bold text across the top of the picture. Is that a bad thing? 1. What about you? After years of trial and error, Ive learned which products and methods work the best based on my Im always looking for ways to be a more efficient hunter. Establishing a nice, safe place for whitetails to "lay up" is one of the best ways to hold deer on your property. Been using it for 4 years and it works. In ideal situations, bedding areas will be large enough to hold both bucks and does while being small enough so that a hunter can effectively hunt the deer using that bedding area. Switchgrass is most likely one of the misused, useful habitat planting for deer across the country. Unlike all other forms of native grasses used in the north 1/2 of the country, including Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem and Indian grass, Switchgrass has the ability to withstand some of the harshest Fall and Winter weather that mother nature can unleash. The key to this blends success is not the species of grasses that are included but instead the specificvariety of each grass species. Surrounding pockets of early successional growth with an amount of switchgrass that totals roughly 50% of the acres of your field, can provide all-season cover for many critters, including whitetails. As I mentioned before, some bedding areas offer lots of food for deer to eat within the bedding area itself. Broadcasting Planting by broadcasting can be done however additional steps will be needed. The best deer bedding cover for holding whitetails all year long, needs to still be standing when many forms of wildlife need it the most - during the late Fall and Winter months! If you want to learn more about my strategies for accessing a deer bedding area, read my article called Should you enter a deer sanctuary. Lifetime supporter. You dont want to go to all of this effort and not optimize it for hunting. South-facing hillsides offer better thermal warmth than north-facing hillsides because of how the sun moves through the sky during the daytime. I consider that a win-win in my book. Yes, and no. Used Whitetail Institute products since the early 2000's with great success but this past summer we decided to use Conceal to add some cover and use for a screen to a couple of our plots. This one is another one that varies in height, it grows from around 3 to 10ft. You should make sure you plant this one with other tall grasses and shrubs to give the deer optimal cover. 3. Another strategy is to plant 10' wide with switchgrass, and 10' wide with Egyptian Wheat, eventually converting the Egyptian Wheat to switchgrass, to create a 20' wide pure switchgrass screening within 2-3 years. Bonus Read: 7 Ways to Kill Bigger Deer on Small Properties Photo credit: Bruce MacQueen/Shutterstock Read More. Imperial Whitetail Conceal is an annual planting specifically developed by the Whitetail Institute to rapidly produce tall, thick cover right where you and/or your deer need it! *These herd, hunting and habitat strategies, as well as most any other whitetail related tactic, are covered in my recently completely trilogy of Advanced Whitetail Strategy books, including the recently published"Mature Buck Success by Design", which details how to scout, prepare, forecast for and consistently kill mature bucks. it enhances a deers attraction to the area. In all honesty, its a Band-Aide for a much bigger problem. You can read that by clicking this link: Where do you put deer bedding areas. In my experience most deer and wildlife do not like the typical grain sorghums as a food source. This will help hold deer on a property and increase your odds of success throughout the season. It grows as much as 9 feet and its a very good deer cover. Seeds Peas (1 lb.) Real World's "Bedding in a Bag" is a superior blend of tall warm-season grasses that makes excellent bedding cover for deer as well as nesting cover for pheasants, quail, rabbits and other wildlife. This is probably my favorite and likely most difficult to achieve. It offers a good scent and it grows from 6 to 10ft. Keep this in mind when planning your planting. For example, recently harvested timber areas will explode in new vegetation that deer love to eat. You want tall grasses to grow in between shrubs and tall grasses. First of all you should aim for them to be hidden. Those same conditions that repelled deer within the setting, were actually the same conditions that could make a switchgrass planting great for other uses on the land. And to accomplish this, you need to understand the 3 basic categories of screening cover, including: Short, mid and long term deer screening products. Corn, for example, is one of the worst forms of deer screening cover, because it brings deer to forage in the screen, which is counter-productive to hiding deer from each other, or from hunters. Doves, quail and other game birds will reap the same benefits from the mature winter wheat and soybeans. As a deer hunter and land manager, I put a lot of focus on hunting near deer bedding areas. BARRICADE is an annual cover screen that grows thick and tall, allowing you to block views and funnel deer. "It's a great deer forage and the seeds are good for upland game birds and others too." It has deeply lobed leaves and can grow as tall as 7 feet. I personally like to focus on a size of at least a 1/2 acre or more in total bedding area, with an acre or more being even better. Note the switchgrass seed is in a separate bag than the mix of big bluestem and Indian grass, due to the differences in the seed itself. They love areas where different types of habitat meet. Do not attempt to establish these grasses unless the planting site is completely free of live vegetation! Also, due to the slow growth in the area, I recommended that he had pockets of white spruce (light sandy soil) and red osier dogwood to the open, disced pockets to speed-up the process. Another way to do this is to plant fast-growing evergreens such as cedars. Packed with deers favorite grains loaded with protein and fat. To help the seed flow through a broadcast seeder, mix the seed with pelleted lime. -will it grow in mountainous terrain or on the side of hills or in bottoms? Variety is also critical for mature buck bedding habitat! In most cases, bedding areas that have less human intrusion than other bedding areas within a deers home range is going to be visited more frequently by deer. A large portion of switchgrass plantings can be used for various screening practices which will be discussed next, but here are a few tips to make sure that you are getting the most out of your goals for producing quality bedding opportunities: 1. Switchgrass offers excellent winter cover, even in high snow and wind conditions for all wildlife. Photo credit: Steve Oehlenschlager/Shutterstock. If you can find or create a bedding area that checks the box off for each of these traits, your hunting opportunities will improve significantly. Conceal can grow 8 feet tall or taller, and its designed with components that grow to different heights, ensuring that Conceal is very thick from top to bottom. You can also check this out if youre looking for the Best Knife For Deer Hunting. Just a stick in the mud hopefully it's a couple feet tall the next time we see it. It isnt just predators you have to watch out for. It is important to be aware of various "filler" seed types, that are added to otherwise quality varieites, just so that the manufacturer can bag and label the mix, as their own secret proprietary blend. Any deer within a northern switchgrass planting is basically, "easy prey" to downwind scent checking predators that can slip in quietly, undetectedand unseen due to the stem density of the grass. Fields that have previously been in other crops are perfect for no-till planting of this mix. The habitat that surrounded my client's land featured 100s of more of potential bedding areas, than actual deer. While mid term screenings may last 5-10 years or more after the initial planting, their life is not nearly as lengthy as long term forms of screening cover. From what I have experienced through switchgrass plantings from Iowa to Minnesota to Delaware and most points between, switchgrass may be one of the most versatile and misunderstood plantings for deer. Although there are many immediate forms of cover that can be planted to create effective visual screens, they may not be appropriate for quality deer screening forms of cover because they offer too much of a food source for deer. A light coating of snow is outstanding at the time of your broadcasting, because you can easily see your broadcasting coverage rate. After hours of researching and using all the models on the market, we find the best deer grass seed of 2023. You can get so creative with funnels, bedding, in and out tunnels privacy fencing etc. However, not matter what your cover combination includes, you have to provide a base form of bedding cover. Copyright 20 Hunting Bow Lab Location is also important for hunters who dont have the ability to make habitat improvements on the lands where they hunt. We end up planting slow-growing trees or, in extreme cases, even moving earth. Trees will die and rot once they get so old managing your timber is just as important as managing wildlife. 2. 42" in one year! Every property is unique in what surrounds it and how it should be set up for deer hunting. Deers feed on average five times a day and require two different types of grass. It has fluffy and large seed heads which are usually reddish peach in color. If a bedding area is extremely small then you might not have the holding power to provide you with quality hunting opportunities. In a situation like this you will want to have a food source nearby to keep deer using the bedding area on a regular basis. Unfortunately there is no universal answer for me to tell you where to put a bedding area. You should try to keep your movements hidden from the deer so that they cannot see you entering or exiting the bedding area. This is one of the most popular methods these days. This herbicide application is extremely important for getting your grass stand established quickly. Theyll give counsel on what will be best for your property and theyll do so in a helpful manner that youll benefit from. A mono culture busting habitat combination includes grass, shrub, conifer and hardwood regeneration. There are a lot of deer cover forms but the three main types are the screening, the summer thermal, and the winter thermal. During the rut, bucks will travel looking for a hot doe. Tips - Areas planted in RWWS Whitetail Bedding Mix make ideal bedding cover for deer and other wildlife but there are a few things to keep in mind to make them more attractive to wildlife . It can also cause the deer to avoid coming out during daylight. Plan on $50 to $80 per acre, depending on the amount and price of the seed that you purchased, as well as the cost of the chemicals used. Barricade allows you to plant a wall of sorghum that blocks the view of your entry to and exit from your stand. In others, theyre increasing. bedding areas for deer cover for deer around food plots cover for deer travel funnels travel corridors across open ground connect two heads of woods cover for hunters while traveling across open areas to and from stands divide large food-plot areas shield food plots from visibility from roads or neighboring property Consider your next switchgrass planting as the perfect compliment to both block deer movement, access a stand through, and to capture your scent safely while on in your deer stand. Use Barricade to build blind cover exactly where you want it. As hunters and landowners, we need to try and make deer feel safe. In most cases, youll remove trees that arent beneficial to wildlife and those that are nearing peak maturity. The leaves are usually narrow and short so it wont be a good spot alone. If you can install a screen to hide your movements, that will reduce the likelihood of deer getting spooked out of the bedding are. Its important to strategically place entrances into and exits out of bedding areas. During the mid 2000s, the strategy for using deer screening cover was something I attempted to place a huge focus on, during the deer habitat field days and seminars that I used to participate in. A 3-pound bag of Barricade will plant a quarter acre. If deer cannot use a bedding area to hide and escape from predators then its not a good bedding area. Using this tool will help kill off old, dead growth and allow for new growth to spring forward. This recipe for Cave In Rock switchgrass was given to me by a client several years ago, and it has been an outstanding plan for establishing any type of switchgrass planting. It can also be used to "steer" deer towards your stand location. The more clues that you learn will help you make adjustments to your hunting strategy and habitat improvements. If youre hunting on highly pressured land, you might need to focus your efforts on patterning humans more than deer. Recognizing a good bedding area, or creating them, is going to give you an upper hand if youre trying to kill big bucks. Deer need to feed 5 times in a 24 hour period, and that includes twice within their daytime bedding areas. Your email address will not be published. Tips Areas planted in RWWS Whitetail Bedding Mix make ideal bedding cover for deer and other wildlife but there are a few things to keep in mind to make them more attractive to wildlife. Description. 8-foot high!! Species in this mix. Furthermore Don noticed that different varieties of the same species would also stand up better to the weather than others. More clues that you learn will help hold deer on a property increase. From 6 to 10ft north-facing hillsides because of how the sun moves through the sky the... X27 ; s a couple feet tall the next time we see it focus on near... 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