Poll: antler inches below which you’d change your land investment, improvement habits

[PrairieShadow]

After reading through all the responses I should have probably clarified, if I never had a chance at a 150+ deer I’d just stop doing the deer specific stuff. my land produces more pheasants than I could ever want and would continue to do so without my deer efforts. As the 4th generation on this land, selling is not an option for me either.

 

[gjs4]

Couple aspects that came to my mind.

First- at what point on the property timeline is this? I just bought my property, It hasn't had any 150s that I know of but am going knee deep and broke trying to get them there.
There is also that comparison of "which do you shoot, the 150+ 3yo or the 125 mature buck"? Id much rather go the older.
My new property is a can of worms, but the family farm I hunt used to have a 150+ (some years maybe a few) in an area where people mount 100" 2yos. The last two years have had me only after mature deer because for whatever reason (and id suspect it was great weather for the gun opener and a couple of blizzards at the worst times) havent had any large racked bucks. It sucks. What sucks worse; is not having a target deer and I prefer to hunt "a deer" versus "deer".

As for the new place- I have the micro neighborhood doubts. On the macro/regional level there are giants. Not often and everywhere but theyre a thing and there. Right now, just about a year in, I dont have chit, lost so many up and comers to neighbors and have only had a few random ghost mature buck pics. That said, I am alos the only one around doing habitat work and believe in the longer time frame game I may have a magnet for the big/old guys that dont fall for the baitpiles and bad habits. Maybe I am peeing into the wind, maybe i will revert back to trying somewhere else as thats where my heart went not all that long ago out of frustration. Guess we will see but for now, it is big improvements and equally as large hopes. Now if only i could learn to be patient.

 

[SD51555]

Deer and deer hunting are a small part of what I do at my place. Cabin season is 32-36 weeks long in northern MN after you sit out the worst 90 days of winter. Deer season is realistically 6-7 weeks for the real feel hunting (cool temps/active deer). My place has evolved to become more of a place to go on the weekends and do stuff outside the city. Habitat work isn't even all that much anymore. I do that a few days in spring, a few days in summer, and a few before winter. The rest of the time I'm working around the yard, building more perennial human crops, working on the cabin, and I'm still hot on the trail to figure out a fish pond somehow.

As I'm starting to run out of things to do, I should fish more. Still have some more permaculture stuff to do next year, so until that's finished up, the work goes on. And when I'm done with that, I'll come up with more to do.

 

[sandbur]

Deer and deer hunting are a small part of what I do at my place. Cabin season is 32-36 weeks long in northern MN after you sit out the worst 90 days of winter. Deer season is realistically 6-7 weeks for the real feel hunting (cool temps/active deer). My place has evolved to become more of a place to go on the weekends and do stuff outside the city. Habitat work isn't even all that much anymore. I do that a few days in spring, a few days in summer, and a few before winter. The rest of the time I'm working around the yard, building more perennial human crops, working on the cabin, and I'm still hot on the trail to figure out a fish pond somehow.

As I'm starting to run out of things to do, I should fish more. Still have some more permaculture stuff to do next year, so until that's finished up, the work goes on. And when I'm done with that, I'll come up with more to do.

The difference between me ( my place) and you (your place) is that I am lucky enough to live on my hunting ground. In addition I am about 90 miles south and an 25 years more down the line. Fishing and whittling some fish decoys has become more of a focus.

;)