bueller's blotter

[bueller]

Tomorrow and Saturday look like great days to hunt. I hunted in the warmth of last weekend and saw a couple smaller bucks but didn't see any rut action. Hopefully it's on this weekend. I don't have much experience hunting the rut as up until a couple years ago I was a gun guy only. I'm really struggling with myself choosing which stand to hunt tomorrow morning. My most comfortable stand (the only one I stand a chance of doing an all day sit in) is over a food plot. But the plot is on the smaller side so bucks do cross and cruise it. Other stands are in the woods near bedding areas on trails coming in and out. Another stand is set along a creek/ditch at a well used crossing point. I'm leaning towards hunting this spot as it creates a funnel more than any of the others. If anybody has any thoughts please feel free to share them.

 

[Barndog56]

Maybe hunt the food plot stand during whatever time it usually gets the most action, and hunt the funnel stand the rest of the day. switching at some point of the day makes all dayers much easier.

 

[Tree Spud]

Tomorrow and Saturday look like great days to hunt. I hunted in the warmth of last weekend and saw a couple smaller bucks but didn't see any rut action. Hopefully it's on this weekend. I don't have much experience hunting the rut as up until a couple years ago I was a gun guy only. I'm really struggling with myself choosing which stand to hunt tomorrow morning. My most comfortable stand (the only one I stand a chance of doing an all day sit in) is over a food plot. But the plot is on the smaller side so bucks do cross and cruise it. Other stands are in the woods near bedding areas on trails coming in and out. Another stand is set along a creek/ditch at a well used crossing point. I'm leaning towards hunting this spot as it creates a funnel more than any of the others. If anybody has any thoughts please feel free to share them.

In the morning the bucks will be on the move scent checking doe bedding areas. This can go on into mid day. Last hour or two of the day the does will typically move into feeding areas and the bucks will follow. Bucks will chase the does in and out of the food so sitting on the food plot or in thick cover transition areas would be good. Make sure you are downwind from the doe movement or feeding as they are hyper sensitive with being pushed & chased by the bucks. Also be patient at the end of the day as the little bucks usually enter the feeding areas to check out the does first and the more mature bucks will show up last.

Good luck!

 

[bueller]

Action at my place really tapered off the last month. I don't really know why but it seems the doe moved out of our woods and off our plots. Wondering with no acorns this year if they found safe bedding near the area farm fields with no reason bed deeper in, my place. Could be hunting pressure also but I think the nocturnal pictures would still be rolling in by the boatload if so. Oh well. I had some opportunities at smaller bucks and doe throughout the bow season but passed hoping to seal the deal on a good buck this year. My buddy did take a five pointer off my dad's place yesterday afternoon. Hopefully gun season is a little better. I won't be so picky about where my venison comes from.

 

[bueller]

That sounds like us last year except we had deer around but all at night. This has been one of the better years I can remember as far as sightings go. I had two zero sits out of 30+ sits. Just couldn't seal the deal on one of the better ones but I'm not picky. :) good luck next weekend with the gun!

Congrats on the buck and good luck to you next week also. All it takes is one to make the season!

 

[bueller]

Did some walking around my place today too see where the deer have been traveling and what they have been feeding on. The ground is still about 50% snow covered. This is a small patch of smooth sumac. Summertime it's gets about thigh high but every winter the deer browse it down to about 12". Deer tracks and poop heavy throughout.

 

[bueller]

Kind of a surprise to me, I found many jack pines browsed. This one is waist high and even the top got bit off.



As expected they are also hitting the scrub oaks and red cedars. Didn't find a single red pine with evidence of browsing.

 

[bueller]

Unfortunately they are also doing a number on the white pines I planted last year. I'd say nearly 75% of them have been hit. Here are a few of the ones that haven't been touched, yet.

 

[bueller]

And some of the damaged ones. How far will this set them back, what can I expect?

 

[bueller]

Also found a dead fawn. I think it's the one that was running solo after our season. Her twin brother was shot on the gun opener. Their mother disappeared sometime late summer early spring. Any guesses what did her in by the remains?

 

[John-W-WI]

bueller - those red pines that were browsed will be set WAY back. The ones with small side branches will recover faster, as one of those branches will become the central leader. Those without branches will take much longer, as a branch will need to grow and become the central leader.

Unfortunately I have some 10 year old white pines that are the size of 3 year olds. It took them 6+ years to get above the browse line and most of them have crooked growth from throwing new central leaders multiple times.

-John

 

[Big Snow Man]

I can tell you the herd is back in full force after a few bad winters. I was at my place today and the red pine were even browsed hard that were planted a few years back which surprised me. Not a real hard winter and they seemed to be looking for anything to eat.

 

[Tree Spud]

And some of the damaged ones. How far will this set them back, what can I expect?

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As John said ... a real problem.

That's why I keep preaching ... cage 20, and the 100 you don't cage that get browsed won't matter.

I say this after 20,000 plus conifers ... deer browse everything they can get to

 

[H20fwler]

My guess on the fawn is coyotes.

I had some 2' tall white pines that the rabbits ate most of the lower branches off this winter. They have that alpaca look to them now, hope they grow out of it.

 

[bueller]

I'm not shocked that they got to the white pines I planted as they are considered a prime browse species. But I did have higher hopes since most of the naturally occurring white pine seedlings by me have good form and never appeared to have been browsed hard. If I get a chance I should go look at a couple spots where I know the native ones are to see if they got hit since they are still under the browse line.

As John said ... a real problem.

That's why I keep preaching ... cage 20, and the 100 you don't cage that get browsed won't matter.

I didn't "cage" any at planting but I was able to "hide" some inside the tops of dead oaks laying on the ground and within openings of hazelnut thickets. This bit of protection has worked so far .

I can tell you the herd is back in full force after a few bad winters. I was at my place today and the red pine were even browsed hard that were planted a few years back which surprised me. Not a real hard winter and they seemed to be looking for anything to eat.

The herd has been rebounding on this side of the river too following a couple soft winters and more restricted antlerless permits. I haven't found a red here that has been browsed but I don't recall ever seeing the jacks get hit this hard. We had NO acorns last year. I wonder how much, if any, that contributes to the browsing we are seeing. Damn weather, my whites should still be covered under deep snowpack in mid February .

 

[bueller]

My guess on the fawn is coyotes.

I had some 2' tall white pines that the rabbits ate most of the lower branches off this winter. They have that alpaca look to them now, hope they grow out of it.

The few red cedars I have (native trees) that are more than 3' tall look like they were grown in tubes. Tall stick with no branches. Once over 5' or so the branching looks normal. Although deer are my culprits, not rabbits.

I'm also thinking yotes on the fawn. It hasn't been a terrible winter and it's only mid-feb so I doubt it was a winter kill. I'm going to put a camera up nearby just for the heck of it.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

It's so different here than what you guys have with pines being browsed. Our pines are not browsed. They get rubbed by bucks, but no browsing. Our spruce get the very top shoots nipped occasionally before they get too tall for deer to reach.

What other winter foods are available for the deer to eat ?? Any ag or other browse species ??

 

[bueller]

It's so different here than what you guys have with pines being browsed. Our pines are not browsed. They get rubbed by bucks, but no browsing. Our spruce get the very top shoots nipped occasionally before they get too tall for deer to reach.

What other winter foods are available for the deer to eat ?? Any ag or other browse species ??

Not a whole lot of ag nearby and nothing left standing. We had a decent snowpack in December and as it thawed froze thawed froze ice formed at ground level. I believe scrubby black oak and other woody shrubs like hazelnut provide much of their winter browse here. Even with the winter browsing I have good pine and oak regen unlike some areas of WI where natural regen is not occurring. For whatever reason it seems this year was exceptionally bad for the pines. And we are a long way from green up so the oaks are sure to take a beating for another couple months.

 

[scott44]

I haven't planted very many red pine but the ones I have they have used as rubbing post , I haven't seen much browse on them. When I started planting Norways they left them alone but a couple years ago they went through and wiped out just about everyone I planted and it wasn't even that bad of a winter, now I've been hiding them in hinged cuttings in hopes some make even cage a few.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Bueller - Oaks and maples are the big ( natural ) browse targets here. Young growth gets nailed.