We have turned the page of 2013 and as we enter 2014 we’re still looking to have payoffs from last year’s work!

A lot of the loyal GrowingDeer.tv followers have watched the progress of our Non-Typical Hot Zone electric fence throughout the summer, fall, and now the beginning weeks of winter. The entire plan all began back in May when we started planting our food plots in Eagle Seed beans. We selected this plot we call “Lil Cave” back in the spring as being a great location to leave some grain for the late season. This particular food plot is located on a ridge top and is relatively small, especially compared to the large food plot less than 300 yards away. Because of the plot’s small size we used our Hot Zone fence to protect it throughout the growing season, and into the fall, and now winter. By allowing these Eagle Seed beans to grow without the heavy browse of wildlife, they reached shoulder height and are completely covered with bean pods.

A group of deer entering the Eagle Seed beans through a gap in the Hot Zone fence.

Although The Proving Grounds was completely covered with acorns this year, we received an early snowfall which caused our deer to start using our food plots sooner than we expected. When the snow fell and deer became more and more active on the food plots we decided it was time to open a portion of the fence and allow the deer to feed on the beans. Like a lot of things dealing with wildlife, there’s a learning curve (from days to weeks) from opening the gap to when deer learn of it’s safety and value. While checking our Reconyx cameras last week we noticed the deer were really starting to enter the gap and consume the beans, even during daylight hours, GREAT NEWS!

Now with just a couple weeks of season left, we can’t wait to climb into the Muddy stands overlooking the Eagle Seed beans in hopes of harvesting a mature buck or even a couple of does! Be sure to check out upcoming episodes of GrowingDeer.tv to see how our plan works! Good luck to everyone as we roll into the New Year and may God bless you in your pursuit!

Daydreaming of whitetails,

Adam