Year round Feed

[TexasCanesFan]

I used to spend a bunch of money every year feeding protein and never seemed to be on a ranch long enough for it to matter. It is a huge investment to make on someone else's property. Then you always have neighbors shooting the 3.5 year old bucks that need 2 or 3 more years. I just got burned out on trying to "manage for trophies" on a low-fence situation, especially on ranches smaller than 6000 acres.

I finally got back on the 18,000 acre ranch I never should have left. We hunt it with only 12 guys, so it is hard for 12 guys to feed enough protein to impact 18,000 acres. You could easily feed $5000 worth of protein each and still never truly cover 1/2 of that much land.

We have the advantage of bucks reaching maturity, which there is no substitute for. You will consistently see more mature bucks than any ranch I have ever been on. Makes sense with the hunter density though.

I would love to be on a high fenced place where it could really be fed and managed. I would operate well under those conditions. I love to let bucks walk and see them blossom when they hit 6.5 plus on age.

[deerslayer64d]

My south and east sides are high fenced and no one hunts the north or west side ranches ,

[TexasCanesFan]

My south and east sides are high fenced and no one hunts the north or west side ranches ,

That would be nice!!!

We have one area that has hunting pressure, but that is about it.

[Coach W]

That would be nice!!!

We have one area that has hunting pressure, but that is about it.

Ya no joke. Sad part is you usually have to set on a place until season to see how much pressure the place truly has around it!

[TexasCanesFan]

Ya no joke. Sad part is you usually have to set on a place until season to see how much pressure the place truly has around it!

Yeah that one area that has pressure used to have a little, but not as much as it does now.

That being said our ranch is kinda shaped odd and it is just one small area.

Being 18,000 acres changes things quite a bit.

[lilavidhunter]

We feed year round. 8 corn feeders all year, 1 protein feeder that goes from January til September. 500 acres. We are covered up in animals.

[coach_stew]

5400 acres
8 2000 lb protein feeders Jan - Sept
21 Corn Feeders 24/7


Probably not enough protein feeders but that’s the best we can.

This is our 4th year and we have seen some improvement in quality and especially quantity.

This will be our first year on MLD level one……

[backstrapfever]

we feed all year long corn and protien

[BearStrike2010]

I throw all year

[TX_Hoghunter]

We feed protein about 8 months out of the year. Corm the other 4. Works great for us.

-john

[Monster 7]

Here

[kornsqueezer]

WE feed year round.

[DoubleJ-LA]

24/7...365!

[brrdnk]

We keep the spinners going year round and mix in protein with corn in them. Feed protein feeders Jan till hard horn.

[dustoffer]

We feed corn year round to keep our deer herd on our ranch and pull deer from the other side of the fence...works very well!

Was on a place near Cotulla that had very few deer the first year--surrounded on 3 sides by high fence. We had 10 feeders on 600 ac and ran them year-round plus every time I went down to pig hunt (often) I "painted the roads gold". Of course corn was $3.50/50 lbs then. The last 2 years it was not unusual to have 45-50 deer in the 200ac CRP field and at least half were bucks. So, I'm sold on feeding year-round. Doing it right now on my local place--3 feeders on 80ac.