The Key To Growing Bigger Bucks
By Mark Melotik
Many deer hunters who manage their own land dream of taking a "personal-best" buck they may have had a hand in developing. A worthy goal, for sure. But as in most all things, simply working hard toward that end may not be as helpful as working smarter — especially when it comes to what you plant and allow to grow wild on your property.
Thanks to some recent science, we now know one critical ingredient that can help your does and bucks reach their full growth potential.
The intriguing answer came after a recent study on deer habitat, presented in February by researcher Mark Turner, at the 2025 Southeast Deer Study Group meeting held in Cambridge, Maryland.
As part of their study researchers looked at how a variety of geographical factors interacted with site-specific forage availability to determine whitetail body and antler size. They collected body mass and antler size data, and site-specific growing-season forage availability from 35 properties across 21 eastern U.S. states.
So what was the critical nutrient found to maximize body and antler size? Forage that includes at least a .3 percent concentration of the mineral phosphorus.
"So what that means for hunters, if you can get above that level of phosphorus in your deer's diet, you have a chance at producing good deer," said Brian Murphy, a veteran deer biologist and land-managing consultant, in attendance at the Study Group meeting.
Murphy, who said the mineral is largely lacking over many areas of the U.S., explained that phosphorus is found in legumes — which include popular food plot crops such as soybeans, peas, clover, and chicory — and it's also found in native forest plants that you can increase if you manage your land correctly.
"When you create early succession habitat — such as when you burn a weedy field or clear-cut a section of forest and then get a lush understory of vegetation and forbs growing up — many of those are legumes, high in phosphorus. And so land managers should be supplying legumes not only in their food plots, but also managing for early successional vegetation."
Murphy said another critical aspect of providing enough phosphorus on your property starts with testing the soil in your food plots — low-cost advice that will show precisely what your soil needs, including precise recommendations for lime amounts and fertilizer type.
"If you fertilize appropriately, then everything [you grow] in the field is a transfer agent for phosphorus," Murphy said.
He further advised getting soil tests for every plot on your property, because it's likely they will be different.
"You shouldn't guess, and do not assume every field on your property is the same. And once you get the test results, follow the instructions, especially for phosphorus. Two things you should never skimp on are soil tests and lime. If your pH is too low, it's binding up a large percentage of your fertilizer. Start with a soil test, and then get the lime right, then the fertilizer, then the seed. The seed is fourth in importance in my book."