ghilliehunter
5 year old buck +
Great story Jbird! Gotta go where the falling star leads you.
Someday isle
5 year old buck +
That buck is more than good enough in my book. We all get to decide what’s a trophy in our eyes. I’m thrilled for you. Congratulations on a great deer.
j-bird
Moderator
She was at home...in bed! She doesn't like the morning hunts. Too early and too cold... She is more of a fair weather hunter....Congratulations! Looks like a good one to me. Should have been Emma shooting, but I’ll give you a little credit
j-bird
Moderator
Here are a few other pics...since you asked...
Maggie was become VERY protective of the deer.... We didn't need any recovery help, but she has some sort of "kill instinct" that has kicked in. She refused to leave the deer. She jumped up in the back of the truck all on her own. I have never had hunting dogs so maybe this is fairly common. I had a lab that was very similar.
This pic was taken where the deer dropped. Not much of a scene, but it's a picture... You will have to ignore the ugly guy in the picture. Like I said...not the biggest buck, but he will taste good.
Bill
Administrator
seems the older I get the more I want to hunt like her. When I was young AM was my favorite...
j-bird
Moderator
I don't like getting up at 5:30 either or freezing my behind off.... I have NEVER been a morning person. In fact we joke that we need to hunt an animal that becomes active about 9:00 am and is attracted to loud noises and shinny objects! The shooting houses and little heaters help with the freezing part, but you still have to go get them! Some are just more determined than others I guess. Don't get me wrong...I slept in this morning....but I was having some allergy type issues. I will be back out in the morning after a doe or two. I don't force them to go. They know when I am leaving the house...they can stay in bed if they want. And if she wants to only hunt the evenings...that is fine as well. It simply gives me some other options....
Knehrke
5 year old buck +
One of my buddies preaches late morning hunts during the rut. He gets to the woods at 9 am between Nov 1st and 10th. This year, he passed on several really nice 120-130 class deer to end up taking an eight point piebald that actually won the Moultrie picture contest last year (November or December, can't remember which but the picture is still on their sight, piebald in a snowstorm - stunning).
So I have a tough time arguing with him. I'm still walking into the stand in the dark, and I get a little sleepy by 11 am...maybe next year I will subscribe to his newsletter lol.
So I have a tough time arguing with him. I'm still walking into the stand in the dark, and I get a little sleepy by 11 am...maybe next year I will subscribe to his newsletter lol.
j-bird
Moderator
So we had an interesting day today....
First the morning hunt... The youngest stayed home in bed to sleep.... she would regret that choice....
The morning was cold and slow, I saw a couple of young bucks....and then a real nice buck showed up! First time I saw him he was 50 yards away! With my buck tag being punched already...all I could do was watch. He wandered off and then came back about a 1/2 hour later and trolled my food plots. At one point we was 30 yards or so.... Sorry the pics are poor - I had to take them with my phone thru my binos.
This was all the motivation my youngest needed.... we was back in the same blind at 3:30! She tells me she was nervous the entire time, just with anticipation.
Well the buck didn't show up....but she did drop a 160 lb (live weight) doe in her tracks. I'm gonna have a hard time getting my 308 back....
First the morning hunt... The youngest stayed home in bed to sleep.... she would regret that choice....
The morning was cold and slow, I saw a couple of young bucks....and then a real nice buck showed up! First time I saw him he was 50 yards away! With my buck tag being punched already...all I could do was watch. He wandered off and then came back about a 1/2 hour later and trolled my food plots. At one point we was 30 yards or so.... Sorry the pics are poor - I had to take them with my phone thru my binos.
This was all the motivation my youngest needed.... we was back in the same blind at 3:30! She tells me she was nervous the entire time, just with anticipation.
Well the buck didn't show up....but she did drop a 160 lb (live weight) doe in her tracks. I'm gonna have a hard time getting my 308 back....
j-bird
Moderator
I couldn't talk him into climbing in! It's a wire dog crate I am simply using as an exclusion cage to see how much and when the deer start using my plot....just using what I have.That first Binos photo suggests you were trying to trap a pygmy deer ..... sorry, couldn't help myself! Otherwise, congratulations
j-bird
Moderator
So Tom "junior" scored this morning on a 120 pound doe.... So that means all the hunters on my place have taken at least one deer this season....so that is a success! We need at least one more for the freezer so we will see what we all can do about that.
It got warm here so things have slowed down activity wise... we have some rain and some cooler temps coming so hopefully things will pick up again soon.
As soon as gun season is over OR we decide we are done hunting I have to assess my fall plots....since gun season has started we have NOT seen a single deer in the plots.....not one. I will have to move the cams to see what they can pick up. I am concerned that the combo of frosty berseem clover, AWP, winter wheat and purple top turnips may not be as attractive as I had hoped for hunting season.... But that is why we try new things... I have avoided temptation to go see already....but all I can see from a distance is turnip tops everywhere, and deer stomach contents are mostly still corn and beans....
It got warm here so things have slowed down activity wise... we have some rain and some cooler temps coming so hopefully things will pick up again soon.
As soon as gun season is over OR we decide we are done hunting I have to assess my fall plots....since gun season has started we have NOT seen a single deer in the plots.....not one. I will have to move the cams to see what they can pick up. I am concerned that the combo of frosty berseem clover, AWP, winter wheat and purple top turnips may not be as attractive as I had hoped for hunting season.... But that is why we try new things... I have avoided temptation to go see already....but all I can see from a distance is turnip tops everywhere, and deer stomach contents are mostly still corn and beans....
MilkweedManiac
5 year old buck +
Loved all your updates, J-bird! Congrats on the three deer taken so far on your farm. I am seeing the same thing on my end of the state. My slowest camera year ever. The EHD last year absolutely decimated our herd. I even found more dead deer during shed season in the spring that I had originally not seen. Probably 30 total deer that I know of. I assume it will take a while for new herd members to relocate here. Honestly, even the deer I am seeing on camera are just the same ones over and over again, no fun! Planted 2 acres of beans and half acre of fall plot mix. We shall see if post-gun season brings anything decent into the mix. To everything there is a season, and unfortunately in this area, it seems to be a rebuilding phase!
j-bird
Moderator
EHD can put a SIGNIFICANT dent in deer numbers. I recall when we got hit a few years ago. Give the does a break for a year or two and the numbers will rebound. I am moving my cams to my plots soon (they where watching scrapes) and I will see IF and when the deer shift to the fall green plots. Its just frustrating planting plots and then then not being useful during hunting season.
tynimiller
5 year old buck +
Nice J! I am patiently awaiting not this week but next week for a rain storm to move in so I can do a survivor pull. Bad thing is my two main properties sit in reduction zones - so in essence getting through the firearm season really isn't as big of a deal as you can continue using any legal firearm till the RZ close now post-regular firearms...but still the brunt of most hunters are done hunting after Thanksgiving.
Here's to hoping both 10s are alive and well after this weekend...unless to one of you!
Here's to hoping both 10s are alive and well after this weekend...unless to one of you!
j-bird
Moderator
Well I am done, but the boy I think will hunt some during muzzleloader season. If either of the 10's or even my "freak" deer make it to next year I will be happy.
j-bird
Moderator
So general firearms season closed with all the hunters tagging at least one deer. Our muzzleloader season will open on Saturday and run for 16 days. The boy may continue to hunt for antlers, and I suspect the daughter is done....she isn't one for the cold!
Since I am done for the year (by choice and need), I took some pics of my green plots. I am a little disappointed in the lack of activity in them this year. They have done reasonably well...they just don't seem to have the interest of the deer yet. I did move a few cams from scrapes to the plots to get an idea of what activity I may be missing or when the activity will pick up. We had our first dusting of snow over night so maybe that will help. We also have some standing corn in the area and I think that may have hurt the plot use as well. One of those areas has since been harvested, but we have a large field near my place that is still standing.
I also wanted to make a little note about when I added some 10-10-10 to a plot late in the fall just to see if it would do anything. What i Have noticed is that the area I applied the fertilizer to lacks some of the purple coloration that I see in some of the other turnip tops. Not sure what that is a sign of...but the fertilized area is still a pretty green color. I have shown the exclusion cage in orange and the approx boundary of the fertilizer application (spread by hand) in red.
The mix is purple top turnip (and apparently I can't abbreviate properly), AWP and frosty berseem clover. I did add some wheat later, but it didn't take so well. The AWP is still widespread in the plots which is surprising/disappointing. For "deer candy"....I didn't expect it to last nearly this long!!
Turnips are not huge, but plenty big enough for the deer. I expected more of the AWP, but I think I planted it too late or broadcast the turnips a bit heavy and it shaded the AWP some. I will reduce the turnip rate next year if I do this again. Still a long way to go thru winter....but I was hoping for this to be a very active plot for our general firearm season in mid to late November....and it didn't pan out that way.
Since I am done for the year (by choice and need), I took some pics of my green plots. I am a little disappointed in the lack of activity in them this year. They have done reasonably well...they just don't seem to have the interest of the deer yet. I did move a few cams from scrapes to the plots to get an idea of what activity I may be missing or when the activity will pick up. We had our first dusting of snow over night so maybe that will help. We also have some standing corn in the area and I think that may have hurt the plot use as well. One of those areas has since been harvested, but we have a large field near my place that is still standing.
I also wanted to make a little note about when I added some 10-10-10 to a plot late in the fall just to see if it would do anything. What i Have noticed is that the area I applied the fertilizer to lacks some of the purple coloration that I see in some of the other turnip tops. Not sure what that is a sign of...but the fertilized area is still a pretty green color. I have shown the exclusion cage in orange and the approx boundary of the fertilizer application (spread by hand) in red.
The mix is purple top turnip (and apparently I can't abbreviate properly), AWP and frosty berseem clover. I did add some wheat later, but it didn't take so well. The AWP is still widespread in the plots which is surprising/disappointing. For "deer candy"....I didn't expect it to last nearly this long!!
Turnips are not huge, but plenty big enough for the deer. I expected more of the AWP, but I think I planted it too late or broadcast the turnips a bit heavy and it shaded the AWP some. I will reduce the turnip rate next year if I do this again. Still a long way to go thru winter....but I was hoping for this to be a very active plot for our general firearm season in mid to late November....and it didn't pan out that way.
tynimiller
5 year old buck +
Not your exact area, but my brassica observations have always been my PTTs get hit vastly later in the year than any other brassica, my deer turn on to them specifically Dec, bulbs sometimes even later nearer Christmas. Radish tops and the non-tuber brassicas get hammered on my place mid to late October onward till gone. This year my plots were an ABSOLUTE failure outside the cereal rye savior seed spread and than overspread when it was clear germination had suffered greatly.
Good news is you got a lot of tonnage setting there for the deer to winter over and feel safe at your place to boot!
Good news is you got a lot of tonnage setting there for the deer to winter over and feel safe at your place to boot!
j-bird
Moderator
My deer are picky is the problem....they are spoiled! They like the corn and soybeans and won't turn to other foods until they have to. And I have far more food than deer in the area as a whole...so they hold out for a long time. I typically plant corn or beans but I didn't have much luck with that this year. I hoped the AWP would make up for it...but it didn't seem to. Oh well, just confirms what I already knew.
