Deer Management in Pines

This week we are still in Alabama discussing deer management in pines. This stand of pines is in its first thinning and is 15 years old. Every fifth row of trees gets cut leaving linear openings that are perfect for planting food plots. These plots are oriented in a way to optimize shade in the food plot. During the summer months in Alabama shade will allow our Pennington Wildlife food plots to survive the harsh conditions. The areas where we planted are narrow but long corridors that were utilized by the logging crew to drag trees out. The pine management took place as it should and the deer management portion of the project followed right behind.

These locations will be dynamite deer hunting locations from our Redneck Hunting Blind. We setup our blind at the intersection of the two food plots. This allows us to maximize our shooting opportunities while still staying on the downwind side of the plots in days with a typical wind direction.

When managing for deer in pine plantations, it is inevitable that there will be times where you are providing less forage for your deer, but with proper care such as burning, disking, and keeping the woody vegetation out the times that forage is decreased will be minimal. Whether it’s food plots or native vegetation, plants that provide adequate nutrients can be readily available for deer.