Me & the 4 Point in the Food Plot

It’s that time of year again. Many of us are busy prepping to plant new plots, or maintaining current ones, getting soil samples and picking out new seed to try. It can be a lot of work. But food plots can also be a lot of fun. I mean you just never know what adventure you may find or what surprise awaits you when you enter the world of food plotting. I can attest to that.

One such surprise came to me last summer as I was mowing the plots on the property I hunt. I had to stop every few swipes around the plot because the brassica and grass clippings would clump up on the bottom of the mower. I was using the push mower I had built a lift kit for. You should see this thing. It’s really cool. I couldn’t use a riding mower because it cuts too low so I needed to come up with... ok… ok, focus… one story at a time. That’ll have to wait for the next blog. Anyway! I was on the second of three small plots and I had to stop the mower again. So there I was in the middle of the plot, bent over, backside in the air, pulling clumps of greens out from under the mower, and I hear a noise. Sure enough, not 40 seconds after shutting down the mower out jumps a young 4 point. He hopped over the stone wall on the north end of the plot, not 15 yards upwind from me. I froze, my hand still stuck in the mower. It took me a second to believe what I was seeing!

I figured he’d spook in a second, but to my disbelief he put his head down and started to eat! He’d look at me when I would move a little, but then go back to munching when I got still for a second. Now of course, my camera was on the other end of the plot setting nicely right where I had left it. But then I remembered, thankfully, I had my cell phone on me! It took me a couple minutes to get it out without him getting too spooked since I had to get my hand out of the mower and my cell phone out of my pocket. It felt like forever though. But I HAD to get pictures since I figured few would believe me on this one. I even snapped a couple with my hand in the picture for distance reference. At one point, between my nerves and the awkward position I was frozen in, my legs finally started giving out from under me. I had to slowly squat down or I was going to fall over. Even at that the buck didn’t seem too uneasy though. I paced it off later and he was at times as close as 13 yards where he was eating. It was certainly close enough I could hear the greens ripping as he pulled them up! It was just incredible.

It had to be better than five minutes, felt like an hour of course, that he milled around before finally leaving the plot. He never bolted or spooked, just turned and sauntered off. As he stepped away my body relaxed and I just sat down and started to laugh. I’ve had deer that close or closer to me while hunting, but this was so much different. I was eye level and completely exposed. No camo, just an old pair of jeans and a sweaty t-shirt. The experience is one I’ll never forget that’s for sure. It’s one that may never have happened if it weren’t for the hard work put into that food plot. You just never know.

God bless and enjoy the work. Have fun and remember, “It won’t happen if you’re not out there.”