It saddens me that the new "Kardashian" Facebook Tick-Tock "have it now" people believe a trophy is something you buy. This is not like the movie Jurassic Park where we tie up a goat for you to shoot. If you are offended by this, then you are not the people I want to deal with. There are still "hunters" out there who will still survive if a 50% kill rate pandemic comes. There are hunters out there that do not need the government FORCING THEM TO EAT AT WALMART DURING A PANDEMIC.
My newest complaint, in 2021, was a guy that said two feeders looked too new and were filled with corn! Do you believe that? "The feeders were stuffed with corn" was his exact text. I have had people correctly and legitimately tell me about an empty feeder or a feeder that is broke. This is legit and can happen; I replace feeders and the lower units every year - it's part of the game. Some feeders will be new, others can be much older, but usually have lower units less than five years old. Usually, the wildlife pulls more corn out than any spinner on an "auto-timer." I set those at 4:30 am and 1:30 pm or so. Darn critters will also eat through the plastic tops. Deer will just stand at the feeder and lick the corn out. I like the critters climbing the legs and eating corn. They make messes and always keep the corn coming out.
This is an early season hunt where people want to beat the traditional October and November hunters to the punch - the food plots will be questionable in early September. People who hunt October/November/December are NOT STUPID; otherwise, they would want to beat other hunters out too. Hunting September is no joke. It can be hot, hence the reason bucks still have velvet, and you are looking for the elusive trophy on your wall with velvet.
In 2021 I had a few guys upset because I did not plant food plots in June or July just for them. Nobody plants food plots in June or July. The entire wooded property is a FOOD PLOT, with millions of pieces of food this time of year. Little rain came, but we got pounded with rain a week prior to their arrival (hurricane rain). So, oats and clovers were popping out upon their arrival, but the food plots were not "lush" like they are with spring rains or fall rains. That is why you run supplements, auto-corn feeders, etc. Another aspect of free-range fair-chase, with the deer not being told "every kid gets a trophy," is that we cannot control the weather; this is why I strip food plots in Kentucky. I love brassicas, turnips, and alfalfa, but we also need reliable well-liked food sources as well. Oats, cereal rye, clover, and buckwheat are super reliable, so I tend to strip these in plots as well, so hunters will have a much higher probability of having a food source in front of them at all times. I worry to death about rain, dry spells, etc., since people are paying good money to hunt. Hell, always pay around $25,000 per year just to own the hunting land. Nobody "wastes" more money than me, but I enjoy the "hunt" of deer and food plotting. I no longer have it in me to sit in a stand - my success is your success.
If you are tough enough to hunt the Kentucky season bow opener, my hats off to you. There are only a few weeks during the hunting season you could get a chance at shooting a velvet buck. It can be warm, so plan accordingly. I tell people to bring their own stand, too, because deer are not as predictable when there is food everywhere. I tell hunters who ask to focus on corn-auto feeders. Finding well-traveled deer paths would also be wise to find vs. food plots in September. Don't get me wrong, fresh growth food plots are the best. There will be growth in the food plots the deer are eating, but exact size of the growth cannot be guaranteed. That is why I plant oats and buckwheat that germinate easily. Clovers come up quick too, but I cannot emphasize enough that October/November/December hunters are not stupid.