From The Food Plot To The Skillet!
Donald Duck (my long time bowhunting buddy Don Beckwith) came down early to do some last minute hunt stuff done ahead of opening day. His first project was to check on his two recently planted food plots. One is at one of my bowhunting haunts I call Telephone Pole Alley. It is a narrow 100 yard cut through the thick woods that leads to a weather worn, wooden, out of use, telephone pole. And, the thing that attracted me to this telephone pole place, years ago, is the scrapes that always show up along the edges of the trees.
Here is a pic of the food plot growing in the narrow opening that leads to the pole. The open area is less than 15 yards wide.
If you’re like most of the people I have conversations with about food plots, one glance at that picture and you say, “that won’t bring in any deer. Food Plots are from 1 to 10 acres and some are much larger.”
It’s certainly true that most food plots cover a lot of ground. But in my experience big plots are a waste of a bowhunters time. And I’ll come back to that very soon. Right now we’re talking about the Duck, his get ready for the hunt, and the start of the season.
He set up a ground blind, it’s an old one he got on a hunt with Keith Beam and the poor blind has been through some rough treatment. Don cobbled it back together from poles, hubs and other parts we have accumulated. It’s located by a cross trail.
Opening weekend the Duck did not hunt here, instead he went to an area where he hunted last year and got a big buck as well as wild hogs and does.
On monday he hunt the Telephone Pole place for the first time. He saw a doe, A spike and young 8-point buck. Before long he heard something coming his way through the thick cedars in front of him.
Seconds later a very large wild boar took shape through the trees and the Duck got in position for a shot if the hog obliged. When it stepped out 22 yards away Don put the top red-dot pin on the big hogs vitals and took his shot with his crossbow.
The hog charged into the cedars and crashed down. The Duck found him lying 20 yards from where he made the shot.
That night he cooked up a backstrap (that’s pork chops) and baked potatoes for himself, me and Robbie Cramer. It was sure good.
