Deer University Episode 076 - Buck Food Plot Use During the Hunting Season

In this episode we visit with Dr. Natasha Ellison to review her findings relative to buck use of food plots during the hunting season. How often are they visiting food plots pre-rut, peak-rut, and post-rut? When are bucks spending more time on food plots? How does hunting pressure affect these relationships? Natasha is a Mathematical Ecologist and is helping us dig deeper in the buck movement dataset to answer questions about buck behavior relevant to hunters and managers.
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[@barrettrickels5859]

Great episode! Every deer hunter should listen to this podcast. Keep up the good work.

[@littlecreekbowclub5288]

Another awesome episode, thank yall for all the hard work that you share with us!!

[@perrybowers344]

Very good work ya’ll.. Thank You for sharing.

[@Bubakarrr]

Great work fellas!

[@stevepearson7069]

Love to see break outs by buck age to see how things change by age.

[@matthewwichtner2935]

Yeah a better one. And it helps when you say you don't have all the data yet. That makes the world a difference. Thanks Luke. People want to jump to conclusions for whatever reasons. Appreciate it. Many of us do. Thanks😊

[@danbruder7604]

Maybe the 4 acre food plot preference is the sweet spot between proximity to cover and large enough for abundant forage with the opportunity for more does!

[@travisshuttleworth630]

What happens if you remove all feeders from an area, but keep the food plots, and visa versa? Is one of those more attractive to mature bucks during daylight hours?

[@markalleman4520]

Just speculation but is there a chance that the people planting multiple acre food plots are planting better quality food plots. Given the cost associated with plant larger, one could assume the people planting them have access to better equipment and are more knowledgeable and using better methods. Comparing a guy spreading rye grass on a logging road to an experienced land manager planting corn and beans with a no till drill.

[@ChilcoteForestryServices]

I would love to see an analysis of bucks over 2.5 yo, movement x wind direction on the ground, hypothesis being older bucks never move without the wind letting them know what's ahead of them

[@Er1kP3t3rs0n]

I would be interested to see a comparison with visit time and food plot size preference. Are the midday visits still showing preference to 4 acre plots? Or are the midday visits showing preference to smaller plots where cover is closer?

[@chrisstroud3094]

How does age of bucks related to all this