[SmokinBarrel]

How many of you own land, plant food plots, or farm crops? Do you think the shape of a field is an advantage or an attractant to deer, their movements, entering/exiting, etc...? Do they prefer cornered fields versus rounded fields? Think about it, have you noticed a certain spot in your crop fields that deer seem to prefer to enter a field, especially if their is equal cover around the field. What if you have a large field (5 acres) attached to a small field 1 acre, would deer prefer to enter the larger field, or at the back of the small one acre field where the cover or timber is closer, or more enclosed? Just a different way of looking at deer preferences, repetitiveness..........

 

[docteur]

Deer like corners. That doesn't mean that a field that is round will be avoided, but most of the heaviest entry points that I have seen have been corners. Also, penninsula shaped protrusions out into the field seem to be favorite entry points, especially heavily brushed ones.

Doc

 

[1bigtaco]

Spoke fields are great b/c deer feel more comfortable in areas that arent so wide open and hourglass type fields are great for bowhunting b/c they can create grazing funnels offering great shot opportunities in larger fields.

 

[fallriver]

I think anytime you can find a food source with corners it is beneficial. I always look for natural funnels, like an alfalfa field that narrows

 

[billert]

Deer have hammered an area of soybean at the base of a hill near a cedar bush in a corner! Lots of places to run and they can see anything approach over the hill. Plus there is a swamp and I tried to walk through it, ugh!

 

[SmokinBarrel]

Maybe the deer like having two exits, ie two walls that meet at a corner. Versus, if the corner was curved....sense of one wall, one escape? I know this is a bit crazy, but makes sense? This post, or thinking may help plan future food plots, and how I design the field, etc...

 

[1bigtaco]

Maybe the deer like having two exits, ie two walls that meet at a corner. Versus, if the corner was curved....sense of one wall, one escape? I know this is a bit crazy, but makes sense? This post, or thinking may help plan future food plots, and how I design the field, etc...

Yes, plain and simple deer like cover and like to feel safe of course. IMO the skinnier you can make the plot the better. You want to have a large central food plot which you dont pressure deer and then you want to have smaller food plots that you hunt, of course this is a perfect situation and not everyone has the land to do this, but i make my hunting plots as small as i can and still have enought sunlight.

Is this a food plot or a hunting plot??

 

[perchjerker]

In a perfect world.

Plots would be shaped like a figure 8,laying East to west.
then you could put a stand in the pinch point in middle for North and South winds.I also think its best not to have large
straight edges. I like to leave several trees out in my plots.
Most of my plots also have fingers that run to trhe thickest cover,these are the main entry points. sometimes you just have to work with what you have,this year I left rows of corn standind in the middle of my plots.The deer like to come out earlier when they can feed behind the corn.

 

[SmokinBarrel]

Taco- Mine is a hunting plot. Figure 8 design sort of speak. The plot sits about 100 yards from a 10 acre field (soybeans mainly) in timber. Probably more like a Teardrop shape.

 

[EASTON94]

inside corners are always a good bet, by inside corner i mean a spot like you have the blue dot on the picture. these corners have produced a lot of deer movement for me in the past. easton94