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Article by: Marty Prokop

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In past newsletters you read the importance of creating good quality food plots to help increase the numbers and sizes of deer on your deer hunting land.

How do you get that rough, untamed ground converted into a lush green food plot for deer?

The Right Deer Food Plot Equipment

In my next few newsletters we will be discussing how to choose the right equipment for your food plot needs.

Today we are going to talk about pulling equipment… tractors and ATV’s.

Smaller food plots ranging from 30 foot circles to 1 acre in size can usually be prepared with an ATV. Since you will most likely be pulling a disc or chisel-type plow to break the ground, you will want an ATV equipped with 4 wheel drive and 400cc engine.

Four wheel drive comes in handy when you find a spot in the ground you are working that is soft or wet. The extra pulling power of the front wheels can keep you moving forward instead of having your back wheels spinning and you getting stuck.

A 400cc or larger motor will pull your ground breaking or tillage equipment with much less strain than a smaller engine. A friend of mine used his 250cc ATV to work his food plots. The motor blew after just one year of use.

There are many different makers of four wheel drive ATV’s so the brand you choose is up to you.

Here are some ATV features to consider when purchasing an ATV for creating your deer food plots:

• Minimum of 400 CC
• Shaft Drive
• 4 Wheel Drive
• Front and rear racks
• Floor boards (versus just foot pegs)
• Automatic Transmission (one you don’t need a clutch to shift)
• Hi and Low range

One of the ATVs that I use, and absolutely love working with, is the Suzuki Quad Runner. This ATV offers high, low and super low range; selectable two to four wheel drive; and differential lock.

When the ATV is placed into super low gear and differential lock is also engaged the ATV literally crawls. This extremely low gearing helps keep you from getting stuck in mud and loose sand especially when you are pulling tillage equipment.

Do you need a tractor for your deer food plots? In the next Fr.ee Deer Hunting Tips.com Newsletter I will cover the situations where a tractor may be better than an ATV.

Good Luck and Great Hunting.