How Plot Screens Can Increase your Chances of Harvesting a Mature Buck

How many times have you been walking to your stand for a hunt and you get that feeling you are being watched.  Deer like to position themselves in areas which they can cover a lot of ground with sight and smell.  This means you have to get creative with your entry and exit routes.  Plot screens could be a good solution to your problem. Not only do they provide additional cover to allow you stealthy entrance to and from the stand, but they can hide your plots from houses, roads, or other hunters.

What is a Plot Screen?

Frigid Forage came out with a blend of a patent pending blend of a variety of different sorghums and Egyptian Wheat that makes it easy to grow a tall and thick natural screen. Plot screen is an annual blend that can be planted in numerous different shapes and scenarios and can provide you with a thick natural screen that can reach heights of over 12’. The varied plant heights will help the screen stand up to the high wind and snow that Mother Nature likes to throw at us each year.

How to get started with your Plot Screen?

1. Plot Screen is best planted  in late May to mid-June, depending on your area.  It is vulnerable to a killing frost so you want to be sure not to plant too early.    Does best in full sun, but can handle some shade.  
2. Plot Screen grows in most any soil given proper sunlight, nutrients, and moisture but it prefers a moist but well drained heavier soil.  Before planting, condition the soil with a roto-tiller, plow, disc, or similar equipment to a depth of  about
3. As with any planting, weed control prior to planting is important and will reduce nutrient stealing weeds from competing with your plot.  That being said, Plot Screen typically grows thick enough and tall enough to crowd out most weeds so if there was ever a situation where you can get by without spraying, this might be it.
4. Soil should be fertile with a pH of 5.5 to 7.5.  If you are not sure of your soils fertility or pH, have your soil tested. Your local farm co-op or fertilizer dealer can usually help with this. 
5. Broadcast or drill at 15lbs/acre.  Do not over-seed.    Remember a screen 16’ wide by ½ mile equals about an acre.  Planting too thick will only result in stunted plants.  A screen a minimum of 16’ wide is recommended.

                                            ****  For Further information  visit the Fridgid  Forage Site by clicking here
Where to Plant?

There are numerous situations in which a plot screen can be utilized on your hunting property.  Deer are edge critters and plot screens provide an additional edge for them.  Let’s say you have a food plot that is in a great location but is open to a road or houses on one side.  You can plant a small strip of this plot screen blend on that outside edge of the plot providing that comfort deer need. It could provide the sense of security that big buck needs to come out in daylight come fall. Another option is planting on each side of a path through a CRP field. This technique may help you get to your stand while remaining undetected. Below are some pictures of ways to incorporate plot screens on your property.

Part Three: Analyzing  Photos
So you have a large inventory of photo’s coming in and for some people that is good enough.  But if you’re like us you want to analyze every aspect of the video and find those unique characteristics so you can assign a name with the animal. It’s a remarkable thing hunters do when you think about it. The animals we spend countless hours preparing to kill actually become more like pets. We give them a name, make them the background on our computer as a proud father would his child, and plant food plots to ensure they are healthy enough to reach their full potential!

However; there’s more to analyze in these photos or videos then just the deer.  Look at all the details; what was the time, temperature, weather conditions, and wind direction. This is a big reason as to why we use the video mode whenever possible.  The video mode better shows where the deer came from, where it is headed and who is with it. The time will actually let you go to the weather channel and look at the conditions in the area at the exact second the picture was taken. Some may think this is a bit over the top, but it could be the deal breaker in harvesting that buck. I’ve read articles where a hunter noticed the buck he was after would only move during light when the dew point was below a certain degree.  The hunter watched the weather channel for the wind and dew point forecast and moved in when both were right. He got the buck the first night.

Besides analyzing the actual photo we created a systematic way of organizing our pictures.  To shorten it up I basically got an aerial photo from Bing Maps, placed it in a PowerPoint document and took a clip art of a camera and laid it over the map where our cameras are located on the property hyper-linking the camera clip art photo to the folders of all the pictures from that camera.  You can get way more specific as we organized each camera folder into sub folders such as shooter bucks, young bucks, and doe. We run about six cameras so it keeps things better organized as to where our cameras are and what’s in each area of the property.  It’s also a good way to track shooters as they move about the property throughout the season. 

DO:

1. Look at every detail of a video or picture (weather, wind, temp, time, direction deer is moving)
2. Name the deer; it makes things more fun!
3. Come up with a system that works for you to organize your pictures

Don’t:

1. Obsess too much over a single deer; it’s a great way to waste a season but at the same time don't settle on a deer that won't make you happy!