Attract a Doe, Shoot a Buck!

It’s no secret that big bucks like to spend most of their time wherever they feel comfortable. Wherever that is has the basic elements of food, shelter (cover), and water, but there is an often-overlooked aspect that big bucks use to their advantage to grow old: other deer. I’ve seen it countless times while observing deer doing deer things. The first deer on the plot is a fawn or a young buck, then a few does filter in, and towards the magic “deer thirty” timeframe some of the bigger bucks in the area venture out of the cover. When most deer have made it out into the field safely is when Mr. Big decides it must be OK to venture out of the protection of cover too.

This is where you can use his defense mechanism against him. Give him a field full of deer and he will give you an opportunity to get close enough in daylight for you to get a shot at him. Attracting does has caught some negative press lately with the derogatory term creating a “doe factory.” In this misguided thought process, you apparently deter mature bucks from using an area if it’s covered up with does. I think, if you have enough food and cover, it’s very hard to reach a saturation point of deer density that a buck will avoid the area just to feel like he has more room to breathe.

Look at the best deer managers on the planet right now, Lee Lakosky and Skip Sligh. They each manage farms to maximize holding capacity of mature bucks but most of their strategy revolves around improving habitat, planting food plots, and supplementally feeding deer in the off-season. This maximizes herd health and when the herd is healthy, bucks and does go hand-in-hand. Yes, the does live separately from the bucks most of the year, but when it comes to bowhunting whitetails in the Fall, the biggest bucks rarely are the first ones to step into the field on the day they are harvested.  There is usually a parade of smaller, younger deer that pave the way for old Mossy Horns to let his guard down.

So, what can you do to attract does which later attracts Goliath? Having a diverse blend of annuals like the Perfect 10, Fixin’ Clover, and Amazin' Grains along with perennials like the Pro Clover, Clover Plus Alfalafa, and Clover Plus Chicory in your plots to keep your herd well fed.

If you happen to be in a state that you can supplementally feed, using Ani-Supplement Gold or Ani-Shield Base Mix will keep deer coming back routinely for a healthy snack. We are in the thick of EHD season and the only way a deer can survive is if their immune system is operating at peak performance. The addition of Ani-Shield TX4 in these feeds supports immune system function so that deer are better prepared for any disease challenge that comes their way this Fall.