Habitat Philosophers, Learned Deer Hunters, Esteemed Land Managers

FarmerDan

5 year old buck +
I find myself looking back a lot as I try to recap my ups and downs, my victories and defeats- and wonder what golden words of wisdom I might offer a young person who has sought me out to learn the ways of habitat management as we know it here. I'm laughing out loud with you! Fat chance, I know!

Play along. If this mythical young person sought your guidance and advice related to anything in this forum as it is titled, what would you say? Keep in mind, attention spans are short. You have a limited amount of time until you step in your own juice. When you do, your student's eyes roll back in his or her head and all the credibility you gained over many years is lost in the blink of an eye! In other words, keep it short!

Let me help you. You have one to two minutes, 150 to 300 spoken words (longer if you only type 10 words a minute...) to make your biggest, in the broadest sense, habitat management philosophical observation for all time. If you're under 55 and chose to dispense wisdom you have to qualify your response with your age (no audits will be conducted).

What do you say?
 
Since we are talking to young people, I decided to put mine in a rap song format so they will actually listen:

Keep the cover thick or you will be so sick, uh huh, uh huh,
Build a factory of does to attract his nose, uh huh, uh huh,
Go on a binge and become the master of hinge, uh huh, uh huh,
When you travel be weary of entering the sanctuary, uh huh, uh huh,
Use trigger restrain or I'm sure you ain't - killing no biguns, uh huh, uh huh,
Plant chicory and clover to win him over, uh huh, uh huh,
Keep the fruit a falling or you'll be bawling, uh huh, uh huh
Keep the trespassers away or it will ruin your day, uh huh, uh huh,
If you use a tube they will call you a boob, uh huh, uh huh,
Gimme....Gimme...Gimme,,,,,,,Gimme a big un or none at all, uh huh, uh huh.
 
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Since we are talking to young people, I decided to put mine in a rap song format so they will actually listen:

Keep the cover thick or you will be so sick, uh huh, uh huh,
Build a factory of does to attract his nose, uh huh, uh huh,
Go on a binge and become the master of hinge, uh huh, uh huh,
When you travel be weary of entering the sanctuary, uh huh, uh huh,
Use trigger restrain or I'm sure you ain't - killing no biguns, uh huh, uh huh,
Plant chicory and clover to win him over, uh huh, uh huh,
Keep the fruit a falling or you'll be bawling, uh huh, uh huh
Keep the trespassers away or it will ruin your day, uh huh, uh huh,
If you use a tube they will call you a boob, uh huh, uh huh,
Gimme....Gimme...Gimme,,,,,,,Gimme a big un or none at all, uh huh, uh huh.
LOL!!!!!
 
my best advice.....
This is supposed to fun. The habitat part and the hunting part. Put down the horn porn and focus on the best your neighborhood will grow consistently. If you're expecting to grow a 170 inch buck in a 110 inch neighborhood you're not going to have any fun.

having said that, you should be able to attract the best in the neighborhood if you hunt right and make some improvements.
 
Unless you place a higher priority on learning to hunt, unlikely habitat changes will improve your success.

Remember, any habitat change you make to your land will impact deer behavior ... sometimes to your benefit, but often times it won't.

Sanctuary, cover, and road screening are more important than food plots.

A mature buck picks a home core area because of the lack of human presence. . . hint, hint ...

Develop a 5-10 year plan as opposed to a 1 year plan.

Th Ox is slow but the earth is patient. . . :emoji_sunglasses:
 
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live and learn
learning from other peoples mistakes will be more important than you can imagine
keep it simple and be realistic
don't be afraid to think outside the box
have fun
be patient and give it an honest try(young people can't wait for anything it has to be NOW)
maybe they would like to record or stream what they are doing (pretty popular).
 
There is a fine balance between planning and execution. If you don't study the subject and ingest the science, you will make mistakes like I did with a 2 bottom plow that will take years to correct. On the other hand, if you study and plan to death and never get dirt under your fingernails, you don't get that intimate connection with your land and gain the practical hands on experience with your place. The other advice I'd give is to take the TV shows, magazine articles, and hype around the industry with a grain of salt. They may give you some ideas to explore, but you soon learn there are no magic beans. Next, manage your expectations to fit your resources. With insufficient scale, don't expect herd impacts. Scale takes land, time, and money. Finally, have fun!

Thakns,

Jack
 
Listen to all the advice, but realize it might not work on your land. Understand what you have on your land and the surrounding land. If there are hundreds of acres of swamp and clearcuts adjacent to your land, you dont need more cover. Keep it simple - in the south - wheat and clover food plots will probably attract as many deer as wheat, clover, corn, chicory, brassicas, buckwheat - and everything else thrown in. In the south, dont spend all your time fighting hogs - realize they are part of the ecosystem, make the best of it, and get a thermal scope.
 
I'll do one. There are many paths. Some are expensive. Some are not. Consider all of them. Study. Think. Understand your environment, both yours and those a deer will travel. Then choose a path wisely and follow it to it's end.
 
- Turn off the TV hunting shows and go out and watch and listen to what's happening on YOUR piece of heaven.
- Understand deeply and fully both the potential, and the limitations, of the habitat.
- If your land is too small or the resources too limiting to realistically support big bucks, strive to create Quality Deer Hunting Experiences for you and your family....or buy different land.
- Keep it simple...sometimes less is more...avoid passing fads...stick with tried and true management principles and practices.
 
Prepare everything ahead of time.
Get the soil right first (LimeX1000).
Start small. Plots can be expanded.
Don't plow or till unless you have to.
Get ready to spend time, money and sweat.
Have fun and experiment (the deer will still eat the weeds).
Involve your family and friends whenever possible.
Seek advice constantly.
Winter rye is your friend.
Take copious notes (I use spreadsheets but a tablet will work).
Learn from your mistakes and correct them as well as you can.
Age 36...plotter for 10+years
 
Secure Food, Secure Cover, Secure Water. Arrange them so it benefits the target animals, but also your ability to view and/or kill them.

Learn your grasses, forbs, shrubs, and trees and their benefits to both your targets and your ability to view and/or kill those targets. After all, we're habitat managers when it comes down to it. How effective are we going to manage for our target species if we don't know the components of their habitat that we're working with.

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I would tell the young fellas to save money so you can buy a chunk of hunting land at a younger age! When you start young, you can accomplish a lot and you will learn so much over time. No substitute for just seeing it happen yourself!
 
Learn your grasses, forbs, shrubs, and trees and their benefits to both your targets and your ability to view and/or kill those targets. After all, we're habitat managers when it comes down to it. How effective are we going to manage for our target species if we don't know the components of their habitat that we're working with.
This above., don't try to pound a round peg through a square hole. Know what your location does and can grow.
 
As some others here have said - read, study, ask questions of those who've done this before you. Many on this forum and in university ag / forestry sciences programs can save you time and money. Educating yourself on habitat improvement is the best ammo to have for saving time and money ................. and frustration.

Formulate a wise plan for your locale / area / region. Write it down so in the span of time, you don't forget what you were going to do, and where!! Then ..........

For any tree planting - regardless of variety - do it NOW. Trees are not an overnight sensation. They take some years to get to where you want them. Cage & screen them for best protection as they grow.

For food plots - do soil tests FIRST. Get an accurate read on what your soil needs. Save time and $$$money this way. Learn which plot crops give you the best "bang for your $$$ buck."

ENJOY what you're doing!!! It's work - but it's FUN too. Realize what you plant is a plus for many critters - not just deer. Involve your kids ......... share the FUN & good times together!! Then let them see the results of their work as more critters come in to feed & spend time on your land. It'll make memories - for them and you - that you CANNOT buy.
 
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