A little further down the road from Paradise
- Thread starter Howboutthemdawgs
- Start date
Mortenson
5 year old buck +
Yeah that does suck. Actually my 7 year did most of the driving while I looked (and looking for fawns closely)... I didn't see anything but sure could've missed.
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
I hate to constantly sound negative but it was the worst turkey season I’ve ever had, especially in ky. On three separate farms (so theoretically three separate flocks) it was a grind to hear a bird or see sign. The one farm that was loaded in the late winter early spring must have just held the big winter flock because besides opening morning, it was slow. Pics dried up completely. Buddy and I killed one bird and honestly felt bad. I only have one camera out but it’s on a 2 acre clover plot…never got a single longbeard and maybe 2 hens all spring. I’ve seen zero jakes in two years. My neighbor who has been there for a long time talks about how amazing our farms use to be. 10-12 birds gobbling in the mornings and winter flocks of 200 birds in our secluded fields. Makes me sad.
I started correspondence with the state about holding outfitters responsible for not killing more than their “fair share” last year.. I explained they have a revolving door of people with 2 tags to burn all spring. They need allocation like they do in other places. The resource can’t handle that pressure. It’s gotten some traction from the state side. It’s not the issue but it’s an issue. Every little bit helps.
I started correspondence with the state about holding outfitters responsible for not killing more than their “fair share” last year.. I explained they have a revolving door of people with 2 tags to burn all spring. They need allocation like they do in other places. The resource can’t handle that pressure. It’s gotten some traction from the state side. It’s not the issue but it’s an issue. Every little bit helps.
I feel your pain. I think Arkansas leads the way in the turkey decline. We were where it sounds like you are, ten years ago. When I bought my place 21 years ago, Arkansas was at the peak turkey population. I could hear turkeys off the back deck of my newly bought property, but I had not moved down yet and I had a lease five minutes from my house back then where I could usually kill two turkeys the first two days. The turkey population started a fairly rapid decline after that. I moved full time to my farm in 2011. I dont think I heard a turkey for maybe six years. I now usually have two or three gobblers and a few hens - but only in the spring and early summer. I have only seen poults once in the past three years. I trap quite a bit in the spring. Coincidently or not, I started getting a few turkeys when I started spring trapping. I have decided I would not kill more than half the gobblers. This year, I had three and did not kill one - but would have killed one if I could have. They largely left my place first week of turkey season - I believe because of flooding. They are back now. Heard one gobble three days ago and getting regular pictures.
I dont see them coming back full force. This is happening all over the mid and southern US. While most of the research attributes much of the decline to some form of predation, there are a host of other contributing factors. It is unfortunate the decline we have/are seeing in small ground nesting game species - quail, rabbits, turkeys, ducks. If we still had the small game we had in the 80’s, I would only deer hunt for some meat - and get that out of the way as quickly as possible and pursue small game the rest of the time.
In my area, now - your realistic hunting choices - meaning those species where there is a realistic chance of success - are deer, squirrels, and hogs.
It could be worse. It could be hogsFortunately or unfortunately I have multiple flocks on my property. They are in the fields every day eating my seed and new germinated sprouts.
Tree Spud
5 year old buck +
That would be way worse!
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
Set a couple cams about 2 weeks ago. Couldn’t resist and pulled cards Saturday. Got some nice up and comers that the neighbors will piss themselves if they walk by.
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
And two hammerheads 
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
The top one is one I’ve had for the previous 2 seasons. I had to clip that from a video cause he wouldn’t pose for a pic but I think he probably pushing 170. He has some trash that doesn’t show on that pic. My neighbor found his sheds last year (and the year before) and he was 150 roughly.
That 8 is a tank. Don’t know him but I’d like to get intimate with him
T-Max
5 year old buck +
Yeah, when the G4’s get that long you are on to something! Great deer. Would love to see a pic of you behind one of them.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
Dang thing looks like he’s missing his g2’s. He’s thick but would be really special as a 10
I likey
I likey
T-Max
5 year old buck +
His left ear looks weird. Maybe identifiable from previous years?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
Good catch. Can’t say I do. I really didn’t run much for cameras on this property last year. Just one cam I moved around.
I ran through what I had last year and I don’t have him.
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
I’ve been waiting to be able to make this post! Back in January I sold my “duck farm”. Just didn’t make sense to own it any longer. Was an outlier from the other two and couldn’t get there enough to justify its financial burden. While that was going down I was in the midst of a huge deal personally that I never thought was a possibility even 6 months ago. Being proactive, I found out the neighbor between my two other farms was looking to sell after the new year. I was shocked. For a 2-3 months I’ve been following up every couple weeks to gauge his timeframe. Finally ( I spared some details for brevity’s sake) this past week he presented me and a couple people the opportunity. He was very smart (unfortunately for me!) on how he did this and basically gave a price and said give me your highest and best. I have no idea who or how many people were interested. Well turns out my offer was the best. I’m extremely excited but also a bit bittersweet cause I’m now leveraged a good bit to make this happen…which theoretically should pay off at some point.
But…the reasons for my excitement is multifaceted. The main reason is I now have a 650 acre contiguous tract. I never would have dreamt that would be me as a 20 year old college student lugging a 30 pound climber into public land to stare at trees. It’s still surreal. There is no other tract that would connect my two farms but this one. It was my ultimate dream piece.
Another reason is I don’t ever have to move. I look at land for sale daily. Always looking for that one dream piece just for fun. In a couple years I have found none in my area and very few across the Midwest as a whole. So even if I decided to sell what I had it would be a longshot to find a big contiguous tract that I liked. And not to mention I love my house and shops and I really didn’t want to deal with that headache. Now, they can bury me by the pond when it’s my time.
Last, and something that is dear to my heart, is I did the opposite of what i physically hate seeing happen every day. Instead of taking a tract and breaking it up, I took 3 separate tracts and combined them into one. That is a rarity these days but I hope it’s a decision that my family can appreciate long after I’m gone. Big tracts in this part of the world are few and far between
Sorry about the rambling but it’s a big deal in my world. Nerve wracking but exciting. One last thing, I made a lot of sacrifices, and made some good decisions to do this before I hit 45 years old. My truck has 175k miles and my underwear has holes it! I didn’t grow up wealthy or with land but outside of my family, I’ve never been more laser focused on something in my life. I have always wanted a dream piece of property since I started hunting crappy land in high school. I’m blessed that my wife understands my dreams despite it meaning a few less vacations for a bit!
But…the reasons for my excitement is multifaceted. The main reason is I now have a 650 acre contiguous tract. I never would have dreamt that would be me as a 20 year old college student lugging a 30 pound climber into public land to stare at trees. It’s still surreal. There is no other tract that would connect my two farms but this one. It was my ultimate dream piece.
Another reason is I don’t ever have to move. I look at land for sale daily. Always looking for that one dream piece just for fun. In a couple years I have found none in my area and very few across the Midwest as a whole. So even if I decided to sell what I had it would be a longshot to find a big contiguous tract that I liked. And not to mention I love my house and shops and I really didn’t want to deal with that headache. Now, they can bury me by the pond when it’s my time.
Last, and something that is dear to my heart, is I did the opposite of what i physically hate seeing happen every day. Instead of taking a tract and breaking it up, I took 3 separate tracts and combined them into one. That is a rarity these days but I hope it’s a decision that my family can appreciate long after I’m gone. Big tracts in this part of the world are few and far between
Sorry about the rambling but it’s a big deal in my world. Nerve wracking but exciting. One last thing, I made a lot of sacrifices, and made some good decisions to do this before I hit 45 years old. My truck has 175k miles and my underwear has holes it! I didn’t grow up wealthy or with land but outside of my family, I’ve never been more laser focused on something in my life. I have always wanted a dream piece of property since I started hunting crappy land in high school. I’m blessed that my wife understands my dreams despite it meaning a few less vacations for a bit!
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
Holy cow, what an opportunity! Congrats to you for being ready and making it happen!
hillrunner
5 year old buck +
That's exciting, congrats! I too dream of having one big connected piece where I don't need to trailer equipment around. Just open the shed door and drive it there.
Cool Hand Luke
5 year old buck +
Sounds like you've worked hard and been blessed! Looking forward to seeing it.
