Farmland Deer

Key Factors for Hunting Farmland Deer
By Mike Seymour

Rich farmland abounds in all Lake Ontario counties, and the crops produced on these lands translate to a high density of whitetailed deer. In essence, Lake Ontario farms are deer paradises. Still, tagging a mature buck challenges farmland hunters just as it challenges hunters anywhere whitetails roam. There are no absolutes or guarantees in deer hunting, but here is a look at factors that could help you tag a farm buck this autumn.
Deer Movement
Farmland deer leave their beds in late afternoon and head to crop fields to feed. At first light the next morning, deer depart from feeding areas and return to the security of cover. In theory, hunters should be able to fill their tags by setting up on the edges of crop sources to intercept deer as they approach or leave a feeding area. In reality, though, things are more complicated as various factors come in to play.
Whitetails are browsers that constantly move and feed. Deer may spend an entire night browsing in or near a large field, or they might visit numerous feeding sites on a given night. Since favored browsing locations vary throughout the season, hunters who can identify a prime food source for any given time have the best odds for success. Certain food sources will draw deer for only a day or two while other sources might attract deer for months.
Alfalfa, clover, and other legumes are whitetail magnets in early fall, and such fields merit hunter attention. Fields of standing corn provide both food and cover for deer, but cornfields are THE place to be when farmers pick their corn. During the picking process, ripened ears fall to the ground, and all deer in the area feed daily on fallen ears until they are gone. Deer, too, will visit apple trees daily as long as ripened apples drop to the ground. Deer quite often hit the apples before heading to other food sources. When corn and apples are gone, whitetails focus on legume fields again. Deer also love mature soybeans, and these fields attract deer until harvest time, usually in late October or sometime in November. In addition to planted crops, mast crops such as acorns, beechnuts, and cherries draw significant deer attention at various times during the season. A food source that attracted a dozen deer on the opening day of archery season may not have a single deer two weeks later so a hunter who sets up on the "hottest" food sources at a given time tips the odds in his favor.
In addition to active feeding areas, hunters should consider other factors that affect deer movement such as farming activities, weather, hunter patterns, and hunting pressure. For example, when a farmer spreads manure on an alfalfa field, deer will abandon that site. Also, wind direction impacts both the direction and location from which deer approach and leave feeding areas. When winds are strong, deer opt to feed in low-lying or protected sites. Too, hunters should vary their patterns when afield because whitetails can easily pattern hunters and adjust movement around predictable hunters. Hunting pressure itself might be the major influence on daylight movement. When pressure becomes significant, whitetails, especially mature bucks, hit feeding areas under the cover of darkness.
Hunting Strategies
The most popular farmland strategies call for a hunter to intercept deer by taking a stand near a food source in the evening and a stand near a bedding area in the morning. These tactics work extremely well for hunters who have identified active feeding and bedding areas. Hunters should also consider setting stands in staging areas or travel corridors. Staging areas are locations where deer browse before entering an open field or where they browse at first light prior to entering a bedding thicket. Travel corridors are the routes between bedding and feeding areas.
The best locations, however, will not produce results unless hunters practice sound, stand-hunting principles. First of all, use a stand only when the wind is favorable. If a buck smells you in a stand, he will likely avoid that area in the future. Also, avoid overusing a particular stand because, again, deer will associate the location with human presence and avoid it during daylight hours. Instead, consider having multiple stands whether they are permanent or portable ones. Stools or plastic buckets work well for those who don't like treestands. No matter what type of stand is used, select a site that allows for an approach and departure that will not alert deer. Try to have a stand blend in because deer easily detect a hunter in an exposed stand whether it's in a tree or on the ground. Finally, keep movements and noises to a minimum.
Stillhunting and driving also produce good results. Stillhunting is most effective on windy days or after a rain or snowfall because such conditions allow the hunter to move quietly. Driving is a can't-miss strategy for moving deer from one chunk of cover to another. Hunters who participate in drives should wear blaze orange for obvious safety reasons.
Final Thoughts
One area of the farm should be designated as a sanctuary where hunters are not allowed. Such a sanctuary provides deer, especially mature bucks, with a sense of security, and a sanctuary ensures that whitetails will remain in the area throughout the season. Also, consider hunting thickly vegetated and wooded areas for large bucks. Field hunters will see plenty of anterless deer and some young bucks, but mature bucks prefer the thickets during daylight hours. Finally, be sure to shoot some does. Because Lake Ontario's rich farmlands have tremendous feed, deer numbers are quite high and require an annual reduction. Ultimately hunters are this state's deer managers.
Mike Seymour is a U.S.C.G. licensed guide who runs fishing charters in the Ogdensburg - Waddington section of the St. Lawrence River. For the past 15 years, he has written a weekly outdoors column for St. Lawerence County Newspapers. His magazine credits include eight different publications. Mike enjoys all kinds of fishing. You might find him fly fishing for native brookies on a small Adirondack stream or trolling for world-class salmon and lake trout in Lake Ontario's shipping lane. Mike can be reached at 315/379-0235 or fishmike@slic.com.