Rich
Mutt is told by his friends that he has “compulsive deer disorder.” His love
for managing deer led him down the trail to the Whitetail Institute in the late
1980s when he heard about Imperial Whitetail Clover. But it wasn’t until five
years ago that he was able to put his knowledge of Imperial Clover and other
products from the Whitetail Institute to the test on his 50 acres of rolling
hills in Ohio.
“The
first thing I did four years ago was clear out a plot right down the middle of
the woods,” Mutt said. “Then I dragged it with a scrapper. My land has oaks, maples,
pines and hickory trees. As a matter of fact, I have about every tree
imaginable in my woods. Up where I planted the food plot, my soil was pretty
rocky so I had to bring in a dozer and clear it out. I really had to work at
it. As long as my food plot had sunlight, it came up pretty good. I have two
acres that include Imperial Clover, No-Plow and Alfa-Rack PLUS. I’ve really been
impressed with Alfa-Rack PLUS and will start using more of it this year. “Last
year I disked my food plot up with my 4- wheeler, but I wasn’t getting enough
sunlight after the trees would leaf. I thought I had it right, but I had to cut
a whole bunch more of the trees to let more sunlight onto my plots. Now I’ve
got a pretty good-looking plots.
I
also sprayed my plot with Arrest to get rid of my grass problem and I’ve also
used the Cutting Edge mineral supplements. It all works together.” Mutt scored
on a big buck in 2005. He shot an 11- point that scored 140 inches. “I’ve seen
some bigger ones out there,” he said. I’ve always had healthy deer on my place.
They love to graze in the food plots. I’ve seen them walk right past the corn and
eat the food plots. “I watched 16 deer that day before the big buck came in. I
could see the food plot from where I was sitting. I had 10 does below my stand
shortly before he showed up. At about 6:30 p.m., the deer all left. I don’t know
why because I’m up around 30 feet. Then about 15 minutes later I saw two bucks.
One of the bucks was the 11-pointer. I had seen him before, and I took him. I
had to get my brother and his buddy to help get him out.” The buck field
dressed about 220 pounds.
“There
are some big whitetails around these parts,” he continued, “and I’ve waited
patiently for a buck like this. The year before I had a horse in front of me,
but I couldn’t get a shot at him. I had another big one in front of me the year
before that but couldn’t get a shot off at him either. “I’ve got stands all
around and I know where the deer come in. I hunt mostly on the corners of the
property — I don’t hunt in the middle of the woods. This food plot is
surrounded by woods on each side and it’s a whitetail magnet.” “I’ve really
enjoyed managing my 50 acres. Especially with Institute products. I like them
so much, I’m going to start selling them at my business.”
