Question: “We hunt in Northeast Texas and only have about 130 acres. We want to attract more bucks, especially during the hunting season. The property is covered with trees, but few deer seem to live there. We believe most of the deer pass through going back and forth between bedding and feeding areas. What can we do to bring the bucks in. We have our best hunting during the rut, but many bucks are shot even before that. What can we do to get first shot?”
Texas Hunting: Food is always a way to bring in deer and it will attract more bucks to your land. Feeding protein will definitely bring in the bucks, but planting food plots or performing habitat management practices can also get the job done. Fall food plots can be effective, even in wooded areas, if enough sunlight reaches the ground.
If your property lacks cover, then you can also create more of it to attract deer. Dense bedding cover will attract does, which in turn brings in the bucks. A small clear-cut will produce a quick surge of new growth— also known as food—followed by dense cover—also known as brush.
Another more novel approach would be to consider planting some mast producing trees if you do not currently have many. This will attract bucks and and does during the fall. You can also create more deer foods using hinge cuts, where you cut a small live tree half way through the trunk, allowing the tree to falls over on its side and grows upward from the horizontal trunk. Deer will be attracted to the instant browse and this will improve the deer hunting on your tract of land.