Swiffy's View From Rocky Knoll
- Thread starter SWIFFY
- Start date
SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
A little update… man we’re in probably the most severe drought I can remember in the past 30 years or so…? Ponds are drying that I’ve never seen dry. This morning I noticed all the Snowy Egrets had gathered in my pond. I’m guessing they’re frogging and getting them confined to small areas!
my plots are bad… probably the worst ever. Any brassicas I’ve planted since July 1 haven’t even germinated… or have, then burnt up. Hoping the dew in late August/ September will grow me some rye. I can’t imagine that not growing!
Good news is the bucks have come back home and they look pretty good. Reall only one in particular I’ll be hunting and hoping some of the bigger young bucks make it.
my plots are bad… probably the worst ever. Any brassicas I’ve planted since July 1 haven’t even germinated… or have, then burnt up. Hoping the dew in late August/ September will grow me some rye. I can’t imagine that not growing!
Good news is the bucks have come back home and they look pretty good. Reall only one in particular I’ll be hunting and hoping some of the bigger young bucks make it.
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
Great looking deer, and hope you get some rain soon.
Bassattackr
5 year old buck +
That 5x6 is a nice one!
SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
Hi everyone. Like many others, I need to get my thread back up to speed here.
2021 was an awful year... A lot has happened but none of it has been any good really LOL.
Starting where we left off, my plots were the worst theyve been in over 20 years. No corn or beans made it for the most part. I did end up with a few good Rye and Radish plots planted around September 1, so that helped the hunting season but left no food for winter.
As far as hunting, I shot my target buck on October 11th in the Rye plot I expected to get him in. It was a perfect night with a cold front and I knew my odds were good. He came out the last 5 mins of light and was feeding broadside at 30 yards. It was a simple shot. Anyway I kind of dropped at the shot and hit him low of the heart... just above the sternum. I thought for sure it was a done deal. I gave him till morning and followed him 1.3 miles and bleeding like crazy! Then it appeared the coyotes were after him. He down a hillside into a huge cattail swamp and blood stopped and I havent seen or heard a thing about him since!
It makes me sick and took the wind out of my sails for the season. I know hes dead around there but I cant find him for the life of me. I hired a dog the next day but we got an inch of rain and 30 mph winds. Ive had over 20 cameras set up over about 5 square miles and nothing of him?!?! Im bummed... but im still hopeful I can come across him shed hunting so at least I may know what the heck happened to him!?
Other than that, I had 3 other 3 yr old bucks around. 2 got shot and the largest of them got hit by a car the day after gun season. I still have a couple 2 yr olds, one may be 3 around that im feeding and starting to find their sheds.
Snow is deep and all my buck here have shed and are buried. Ive been feeding deer carcasses to the coyotes and eagles now and plan on starting to trap/snare on Tuesday.
Overall everything is good. Family is healthy. I have many trees ordered for this spring. I bought a big 2 seat, no-till tree planter a while back thats being welded on and also joined the bandwagon with a new Tar River No-Till planter so I dont have to count on my neighbor any longer.
I will attach some pictures of whats happened the last 6 months and try to stay on top of things moving forward.
Hope everyone is well in 2022! Take care!
SWIFFY
2021 was an awful year... A lot has happened but none of it has been any good really LOL.
Starting where we left off, my plots were the worst theyve been in over 20 years. No corn or beans made it for the most part. I did end up with a few good Rye and Radish plots planted around September 1, so that helped the hunting season but left no food for winter.
As far as hunting, I shot my target buck on October 11th in the Rye plot I expected to get him in. It was a perfect night with a cold front and I knew my odds were good. He came out the last 5 mins of light and was feeding broadside at 30 yards. It was a simple shot. Anyway I kind of dropped at the shot and hit him low of the heart... just above the sternum. I thought for sure it was a done deal. I gave him till morning and followed him 1.3 miles and bleeding like crazy! Then it appeared the coyotes were after him. He down a hillside into a huge cattail swamp and blood stopped and I havent seen or heard a thing about him since!
It makes me sick and took the wind out of my sails for the season. I know hes dead around there but I cant find him for the life of me. I hired a dog the next day but we got an inch of rain and 30 mph winds. Ive had over 20 cameras set up over about 5 square miles and nothing of him?!?! Im bummed... but im still hopeful I can come across him shed hunting so at least I may know what the heck happened to him!?Other than that, I had 3 other 3 yr old bucks around. 2 got shot and the largest of them got hit by a car the day after gun season. I still have a couple 2 yr olds, one may be 3 around that im feeding and starting to find their sheds.
Snow is deep and all my buck here have shed and are buried. Ive been feeding deer carcasses to the coyotes and eagles now and plan on starting to trap/snare on Tuesday.
Overall everything is good. Family is healthy. I have many trees ordered for this spring. I bought a big 2 seat, no-till tree planter a while back thats being welded on and also joined the bandwagon with a new Tar River No-Till planter so I dont have to count on my neighbor any longer.
I will attach some pictures of whats happened the last 6 months and try to stay on top of things moving forward.
Hope everyone is well in 2022! Take care!
SWIFFY
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
Great pictures and update Swiffy. Wishing you the best in 2022.
Wind Gypsy
5 year old buck +
woof. Shot by neighbors or others in your party? Seems your bucks (like much of MN) take a pretty good beating every season.
SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
Shot by neighbors. Yeah im used to it. They aren't "my" bucks so good for them... it'd just be nice to see more than zero or 1 make it past 3 yrs old once in a while. Seems to be about 3-4 years between having a 4 yr old + buck in the 6 sq/mi area. Sad
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
We get kind of the same thing with bucks here but more with road hunting weekend warriors that only pop up during gun season…and they shoot every deer they can. They tag out then start tagging deer for family/coworkers and anyone they know that wants a deer.
One group of road hunting/pushers that roams the neighborhood dropped off 17 bucks at the local butcher shop to be processed the third day of season.
Great pics, nice sheds did you save that long beard?
One group of road hunting/pushers that roams the neighborhood dropped off 17 bucks at the local butcher shop to be processed the third day of season.
Great pics, nice sheds did you save that long beard?
SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
Just a little update. Perkins and I went out in the cold and found a shed of the buck at the bale earlier. Hoping we can find the match once we get a few days above freezing.
And I’ve smacked a few more coyotes. I’m 3/3 now out to 370 yards! I got a big male with a snare too. I’ll probably get a few more that way in the weeks ahead.
Funny thing… the bloody coyote I shot at 370 with 140 grain bullet. Ran 100 yards out of sight. I thought I missed! Wasn’t till the next day I took the snowmobile down and found him dead on the edge of the cattails with the hole right behind the shoulder! I don’t know how the heck he made it that far!?! Tough!
And I’ve smacked a few more coyotes. I’m 3/3 now out to 370 yards! I got a big male with a snare too. I’ll probably get a few more that way in the weeks ahead.
Funny thing… the bloody coyote I shot at 370 with 140 grain bullet. Ran 100 yards out of sight. I thought I missed! Wasn’t till the next day I took the snowmobile down and found him dead on the edge of the cattails with the hole right behind the shoulder! I don’t know how the heck he made it that far!?! Tough!
SWIFFY
5 year old buck +
Its a 1200 lb bale of 3rd cutting alfalfa. The deer love them, theyre high protein, the tend to bump their antlers off on them occasionally, and the bales are usually wound tight enough the deer cant overeat and bloat, or tear them apart and bed and crap in them. And the turkeys dont eat it all. Just really high quality food and from what ive found is the best Lbs/$$ you can get for winter. 1 bale will typically feed about 30 deer most of the severe winter. And it has to be the good stuff, if its 1st cutting or pasture grass, they wont eat it, just bed in it. Ive had 1st cutting bales last 6-7 years. I have 4 bales out currently and about 2 Tons of pumpkins. Feeding about 50 deer and 50 turkeys.
