Dove Field by Deer Food Plot
Filed under: Ask Grant, Food Plots
If one plants food plots for deer near fields where dove hunting is to take place, will the dove hunting in September negatively affect the deer hunting in October, November and December? Or is it better to have dove plots in one area and have deer/turkey plots in another with some distance between them? Tom
Tom,
I like to limit disturbance near food plots that I plan to hunt as much as practical. However, deer readily become conditioned to accept activities they don’t association with danger. I’ve watched deer feeding 200 yards from a very active sporting clay range. The range was used frequently and the deer became conditioned to the presence of the shooters and the noise.
However, if the range was only used infrequently, I doubt the deer would have been as tolerant of the activity. Another factor is if there are alternate food sources available in the area of equal or better quality. If there are, the deer may simply use the alternate food sources. The availability and distribution of food has a lot to do with where deer forage.
Growing Deer together,
Grant
