Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
^^^^ 
Nice job on the plots.
Nice job on the plots.Mortenson
- Thread starter Mortenson
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Mortenson
5 year old buck +
We have an interesting situation this year in that all the tillable ground at that farm has been planted to cover crops, basically making a huge food plot. It's probably going to be a challenge to hunt since it's so spread out and narrowing down the stand sites will be important. So I felt the need to have a mobile blind. Grabbed some treated lumber from Menards and slapped this together and got the interior painted black. My carpentry skills are not top tier. I have a couple ideas on what kind of wheels to set it on. We got my dad lined up with a mobile blind last year, so we should be able to keep a pretty close eye on the two fields during our later gun seasons. If I skip painting the outside of this treated lumber, will I be making a mistake? I don't think it needs to be camo, but for longevity does it need paint? Would be nice to get 15 or 20 years out of it.
j-bird
Moderator
I think any additional protection you can add would "help". I too am working on a mobile blind..."the battle wagon". We are using a gravity cart as the base, but the blind itself will be bigger than what you have. I like the idea of the mobility because in my case we are using it in a flood plain. I can get it out before the spring flood waters move in and not have to worry about it rusting or being damaged by the water/silt/debris.
I have a lot of ag fields I hunt and even though it can spread the deer out, look for little clues to narrow down their movement. Look for points or fingers of cover that reach out into the fields or even low areas where the deer can still feel hidden. They also tend to like secluded little "coves" and the like as well. Normally they use these same features regardless so it may shift some.....I would bet at least the entry points to these fields are very similar to what you see already.
Nice bucks....better than what I got on cam so far this year!
Mortenson
5 year old buck +
Haha, the battle wagon, I like it. Mine will probably turn out being more like "the village idiot". I'm thinking I'll probably put it on an old hayrack. The wood is getting sketchy but the JD running gear is good. Rather than sinking a fortune into, I'll probably just reinforce the floor a little where the blind will sit, and see if that gets me a few years. I just wanted something quick and cheap to build, hence the small 4x4 size. It'll mostly be a backup blind. I made a big 6x6 a few years ago and made the mistake of getting it set permanently in a squirrel dense spot. It's quite the chew toy. I'm going to put a coat of paint on the outside of the new one today.
You're right, near the fingers, low areas, and coves are definitely preferred feeding spots. There's a pretty good chance those spots might be fed out by the time late seasons roll around, so I think the deer will probably just keep plowing their way towards the good remaining food. We'll get these blinds out there by the fields soon and let them sit. Everything can settle down and look natural.
You're right, near the fingers, low areas, and coves are definitely preferred feeding spots. There's a pretty good chance those spots might be fed out by the time late seasons roll around, so I think the deer will probably just keep plowing their way towards the good remaining food. We'll get these blinds out there by the fields soon and let them sit. Everything can settle down and look natural.
j-bird
Moderator
Good plan....I would consider going in and over seeding those areas if needed as well. In my area the deer will "feed out" but they do so later and later as they are not on as much of a time crunch as we are. They know the further out they go the less safe they are. Plus, if you have fresh growth in those areas they will be less likely to wander to other areas as well. We looked for a running gear of some sort and this gravity cart was what we found for a reasonable price. We get some height out of it as well. I'm all for permanent stands but sometimes there is something to be said for being able to change up some things as well. Sometimes things change....and we either adapt or loose out.
Mortenson
5 year old buck +
I over-seeded most of the cover crop beans with a brassica mix a little over a week ago. The headlands and browsed areas should see some benefit. Other areas probably won't amount to much where the beans have canopied. I got a pretty good deal on a pallet of test plot bean seed that couldn't be planted. I just dumped them all in the bulk fill hoppers of the planter, so there's maturities ranging from 2.3 to 3.6 all mixed together. Here are 3 pics showing the brassica seedlings in the outside rows where the beans are smaller. You can see the roundup still does the trick on the weeds in this field, mostly small button weeds, purslane, and grasses. 4th pic shows beans have set pods, which are still flat, but should be filling with the adequate soil moisture. Last pic shows the oats and brassica mix that germinated the 2nd week of August. They were broadcast and lightly incorporated. Far in the background are the beans.
Mortenson
5 year old buck +
This evening I got the new mobile blind put up on the old hayrack. I need to finish up the roof, tie-downs, and blackout curtains tomorrow. Nothing fancy here. I don't mind bugs or cold, so this is an "open" blind. It'll keep me hidden and dry and somewhat out of the wind. This rack is our oldest and lightest running gear, but probably the most recently rebuilt, and I'd guess that was in the 80's at the latest. 1st pic, granddad built things strong. He extended them past the rear and braced them. 2nd pic, rather than doing a major rebuild, I just gambled on putting down some new decking. Tightened it down with liquid nails and screws. Even the runners are getting a little soft. Hope not to crash thru like Clark Griswold in his attic in Christmas vacation. 3rd pic shows some habitat. My switchgrass grew well this year. A lot of the clumps are 7'+. And our lower field, another 15 acres of cover crop soybeans.
Mortenson
5 year old buck +
Here are a couple bucks that are at least somewhat mature. The bigger 8 is at least a 4.5 and maybe a 5.5. I picked up 1 of his sheds 2 years ago, and passed him up last year as an 8 scoring maybe mid 130's. Was hoping he'd make a big jump to a 150"+ 8, but he didn't. I think I'll shoot this deer if given the chance. With each passing year, I'm always more amazed at how rare 150" bucks are.
SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
I agree. Just 150" in general is rare, and 8 even more so. Seems every deer in my area that has survived past 3 1/2 is the worst genetics in the area and never scores anything. I have many 2 yr olds that out score the 4 yr olds... haha. Theyre still special and fun to hunt!
Mortenson
5 year old buck +
Thanks guys. Bill, of the small amount of MG I planted last year, I'd say the majority of it didn't come back this year. A number of them were dug out of the ground last year, and of the remaining plants that grew, maybe 25% are still around. I'll add a pic of what a clump looks like this week. It does look good. Of the large batch I planted this year, I have to admit I haven't even been back to that spot to check on them yet. I can't get a visual on them from across the field, but hopefully they're still there. I'll try to get in there.
Swiffy, that's absolutely the truth. The big racked 2 and 3 year old bucks get whacked at a high rate, leaving behind the less desirable bucks to age, get smart, and breed. Many of my neighbors are past the point of shooting yearlings, but quite a few of them would still shoot the 135" 3 year old vs the 125" 4 year old. They're free to do so, and I just try to find happiness in what I can control. Life's too short.
Here's a 2nd leaf MG clump. It widened out since last year. 2nd pic is a Contender peach from Turkey Creek. All 3 I planted this year are doing well. 3rd pic is our pond on the farm. We fished it for bullheads when I was a kid, but it's largely been neglected. It's shallow. The banks have eroded. Seeing so many pond updates on this forum has me dreaming of ways to fix this thing up.
Swiffy, that's absolutely the truth. The big racked 2 and 3 year old bucks get whacked at a high rate, leaving behind the less desirable bucks to age, get smart, and breed. Many of my neighbors are past the point of shooting yearlings, but quite a few of them would still shoot the 135" 3 year old vs the 125" 4 year old. They're free to do so, and I just try to find happiness in what I can control. Life's too short.
Here's a 2nd leaf MG clump. It widened out since last year. 2nd pic is a Contender peach from Turkey Creek. All 3 I planted this year are doing well. 3rd pic is our pond on the farm. We fished it for bullheads when I was a kid, but it's largely been neglected. It's shallow. The banks have eroded. Seeing so many pond updates on this forum has me dreaming of ways to fix this thing up.
j-bird
Moderator
Talking about deer and sizes. I still have never touched the 150" mark. I have come close (raw score) but not quite. However he was a tank of a deer (deer in my avatar pic). The rule on my place is essentially a P&Y class buck....if you have taken a buck before. For those after their first buck....they can shoot what they want. I would love a 150" deer, but the way my property sits and gets used and the like...it's just not in the cards most times. I have seen some bigger but never had the opportunity to take the animal. What I tend to find is my bucks tend to be busted up, or have some goofy/odd point. It hurts the score but adds character to the deer.
As for your MG - I have found that when you leave it to fend for itself....it takes some time. I think my best stuff is in year 3 and it's finally starting to widen and get 8 feet tall or so. I am sure if I kept the other vegetation back and fertilized it would do better. i tend to need stuff to be able to fight for themselves as "babying" them seems to not be in my blood. I'm a sink or swim sort of guy I guess and not a nurturer (I must be a horrible parent)!
I would love to have a fishing pond on my place. My soil lacks the clay and the lay of the land isn't conducive to building one. I grew up fishing a small 1 acre pond that my folks now own. Before the otters moved in you could catch fish on almost every cast. It had some nice channel cats and some decent other fish as well. I think the otters put a heck of a dent in the fish population and then they moved to the neighbors 5 acre lake! It will bounce back, but lots of good times to be had at a well stocked fishing pond!
As for your MG - I have found that when you leave it to fend for itself....it takes some time. I think my best stuff is in year 3 and it's finally starting to widen and get 8 feet tall or so. I am sure if I kept the other vegetation back and fertilized it would do better. i tend to need stuff to be able to fight for themselves as "babying" them seems to not be in my blood. I'm a sink or swim sort of guy I guess and not a nurturer (I must be a horrible parent)!
I would love to have a fishing pond on my place. My soil lacks the clay and the lay of the land isn't conducive to building one. I grew up fishing a small 1 acre pond that my folks now own. Before the otters moved in you could catch fish on almost every cast. It had some nice channel cats and some decent other fish as well. I think the otters put a heck of a dent in the fish population and then they moved to the neighbors 5 acre lake! It will bounce back, but lots of good times to be had at a well stocked fishing pond!
