2025 Deer Season Preparations

[HenryFan]

I do minimal property maintenance on my pine plantation/hunt property after the deer season ends until the following late summer when I begin preparations for the coming season. In the interim, the property gets mostly a bush-hogging to keep unwanted vegetation down in roads and food plot borders and an occasional property check.

In my Game Zone in South Carolina, rifle season comes in on October 11 (October 12? Not certain but I seldom hunt the first day in any event) so I will get serious starting tomorrow. In the coming week, it will be bush-hogging roads and food plot borders again, ripping the food plots with a chisel plow and running a disc harrow. I will take soil samples and get Clemson Extension service to give me an analysis. I will give it a couple of weeks and if much vegetation arises, I will hit the food plots with glyphosate. Then, the third week of September, I will plant, most often with oats and fertilizer. I will apply lime at the same time, based on the Extension Service recommendations. Then, I hope for rain.

Does anyone else do similar things for their food plot? I know timing will be different for different areas of the Country but I am curious how others do it.

[The Happy Kaboomer]

I did all that in July.........Been hunting since Aug. 15th......Saw lots of deer but no big bucks yet..........I don't do soil samples.....Just plant my plots.
On one paticular poor field we do use lime and fertilizer......I live in and hunt the SC low country.

[rickhem]

I'm in central-eastern New York, and my neighbor has been working on the stands he has on our property for a few weeks now. I've gone down and helped him with that a couple times, and he's been down trimming his shooting lanes a few other times. I have changed the chips in my cameras in areas where I hunt, and I need to move one camera to a spot where I have a nice stand, but no camera right now.
My fields are currently being hayed, and that's going to leave them cut from here out, not much growing will happen now so much better visibility. That also means I need to put a couple ground blinds out on the edges in a few areas.
I'm seeing a lot of bucks, both in-person and on camera, but nothing that looks real impressive yet. I'm sure they're out there, and the cut fields are going to help with seeing them. Everything is only going to get better now.

[HenryFan]

I live in and hunt the SC low country.

I lived in Beaufort for about 13 years and I too hunted the early season on a lease in Colleton County. Hot and humid. I actually bought a Ruger M77MKII stainless rifle since I sweat like a hooker in church.

When I retired, my wife said we were going to move above "the gnat line". That is why we are in Newberry County since 2002.