300 acres protein or not

[retrieverman]

I own 360 acres and only feed protein in the fall to attempt hold deer on my place, and it seems to work fairly well. However, I’m of the opinion that it’s not possible to feed wild deer on small acreage enough to have a significant effect on their antlers or body condition.
My other problem is neighbors hunting literally right on my property lines on 3 sides, and I really don’t like the idea of feeding deer for the neighbors to shoot.

[Muskles]

If you're only wanting it to benefit you, the answer is no. If you want it to benefit the wildlife, I say yes. I've put out protein on my 11 acre home place. I don't shoot the deer, but neighbors do. They're not going to shoot them all, and the remainder will benefit from the extra food.

[antonlsu]

Yes - You will keep more deer on your property.

[Spino~]

I leased a little 160 acre property between George West & Freer TX a few years back. Low fence on all sides. I had the property for two seasons and each year I fed about 7 tons of cotton seed (from January - September & they loved it). The deer had tons of fat and would hold on the property, there were more deer holding the last year than the first year. I saw bucks jump 15" on antler growth too... Good luck!

[Farmdog]

Cotton seed works best

[Big_gun]

I would and to save you some money.. buy you a protein feeder or adapt a hammer feeder to your unit so you can feed as much OR as little as you want to feed

[TSUBryanG]

I agree with the others, if money isn’t an issue I’d go for it. We’ve hunted the same place for 11 years now. Roughly 400 acres in Llano. Basically like hunting in a neighborhood with all the other hunters on every fence line. We struggled to hold mature bucks in the past (usually 1 killed a year out of 4 hunters) and after a year of protein we had the best year yet and saw more mature deer than ever before (4 out of 4 hunters killed mature deer). Protein seemed to draw them in during spring and held them much better than just corn all through the winter. Based purely on attraction it’s worth it IMO.


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[TreeDaddy]

I notice Atwoods and TSC are carrying cottonseed in 50 # bags now

How do you dispense this stuff?

thanks,

bill

[Shane]

Feed whatever the deer are attracted to the best. Timed protein isn't going to make a huge impact on body or antler size. Maybe a little benefit, but not huge. Mostly you should just focus on doing whatever you can do to make your place more attractive to the deer than the other side of the fence.

[el_tejas_gringo]

Feeding protein will never hurt. However, I think 3 2000lb feeders may be a little over kill. On my old lease in Telegraph, which was 2500ac, we had 1 1500lb protein feeder per 500ac. So 5 in total. I'd either just get 1 2000lb for a centralized protein feed station, or have 3 (1 per every 100ac) smaller feeders, 500-600lb in different locations. I believe in supplemental feeding, but not emptying out the pocket book on free range animals on smaller tracks of land. Just my .02.

[Lafuria]

i really appreciate all the advise, this has been helpful

[Spino~]

I notice Atwoods and TSC are carrying cottonseed in 50 # bags now

How do you dispense this stuff?

thanks,

bill

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Nothing fancy here, but it's way cheaper to buy the cotton seed in bulk like these 1 ton totes...

[BolilloLoco]

Yes, and your neighbors won't mind!

You're right but I've never hunted a low fence property big enough that neighbors weren't a factor. Even on places big as 15,000 - 20,000 acres. Only way to take them fully out of the equation is to buy up all the land or put up the tall fence.

[bowhuntingw]

its a gamble. here in east texas for example, your neighbor often times kill the deer your after. im on a bigger lease that runs protein, as does most all our neighbors around us. i also hunt small tracts and on those im not going to waste the money. through camera data, i know for a fact that some of the deer ive been fortunate to kill in the last few years do not live on my property, some not even close during the growing season.

[walker1983]

I would feed whatever you can afford. If attracting deer is the main focus, I would prioritize feeding in the late summer throughout the season. Obviously feeding year round is ideal, but if I could only afford protein for 4 moths a year on a small LF place with surrounding hunting pressure, I would feed Sep-Dec, purely as an attractant.

I have 320 acres in Irion County, and keep 4 protein feeders going year round. Probably much lower densities than Kimble Co so I can keep it in the budget.(wife might disagree) I also have solar water wells and troughs all over the property, which I think is a big draw - especially in dry times. Look into your water situation if it's lacking.

Deer certainly will overlap between my feeders and I am probably feeding around 20-30 deer at any given point of the year.

I think most whitetails (excluding the rut), keep their daily travels to about a square mile. Spreading out your feed stations, and feeding as much as you can afford surely will draw in and hold deer that otherwise would not frequent your place.

The feed program makes it harder for me to pull the trigger. After watching a buck grow all summer & early fall, I get sucked into the "one more year" trap, and have let several bucks go I should have dropped. Probably to get hit by the neighbors - but it's all part of the LF game.