The Home 70

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Ehh, gun season here screws up November pretty good, I don't think there was much harm in me spraying it yesterday. Supposed to hit some prolonged colder weather later this week, will be interesting to see the level of kill I get this close to winter.

For sure. My issue is time. It gets dark at 4:45. So if you hunt till 10-11 in the am I like to eat and be back no later than 1 since I have been seeing good midday movement. But i honestly think your method is the only way to rid yourself of cool season grasses. One year I’ll get on the program

 

[Brian662]

It was still nice and green yesterday? I have sprayed a couple brome areas this fall and they're brown and out - I'm pretty sure from the spraying, but it being later in the growing season always makes me second guess if it's otherwise naturally dying off.

It seems like the stuff goes dormant in stages or there are multiple varieties of grasses because there was green stuff under the brown stuff.

The stuff I sprayed last fall was dead as dead could be this spring. I mixed some tree seeds up and tilled them, only thing that seemed to grow there was foxtail and some goldenrod for year 1. We'll see what year two brings.

 

[Brian662]

For sure. My issue is time. It gets dark at 4:45. So if you hunt till 10-11 in the am I like to eat and be back no later than 1 since I have been seeing good midday movement. But i honestly think your method is the only way to rid yourself of cool season grasses. One year I’ll get on the program

I hear ya.

While there is nothing like the feeling of arrowing a 150 class buck, I definitely enjoy the habitat journey that leads up to it nearly as much.

Where this property is at in terms of huntability and mature buck holding potential, I'm probably a few years away. I can't wait to get there, but some stuff happens slowly in this habitat game. I've only been deer hunting for about 10 years and the first 5 of those years I thought food plots were all that was needed to kill nice bucks. Wish I would have been establishing better cover 10 years ago.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

I hear ya.

While there is nothing like the feeling of arrowing a 150 class buck, I definitely enjoy the habitat journey that leads up to it nearly as much.

Where this property is at in terms of huntability and mature buck holding potential, I'm probably a few years away. I can't wait to get there, but some stuff happens slowly in this habitat game. I've only been deer hunting for about 10 years and the first 5 of those years I thought food plots were all that was needed to kill nice bucks. Wish I would have been establishing better cover 10 years ago.

Totally agree. I’m pulling stuff out of food for more cover. In our ag world they have plenty of food. To keep them alive they need to have the ability to be hidden

 

[T-Max]

This would be very anecdotal, but fall spraying has been super effective for me. Spring spraying definitely knocks it back, but I seem to have more come back.

 

[T-Max]

It was still nice and green yesterday? I have sprayed a couple brome areas this fall and they're brown and out - I'm pretty sure from the spraying, but it being later in the growing season always makes me second guess if it's otherwise naturally dying off.

In my experience it looks different when it is dead than when it is dormant. Rain really shows it. Dead grass will be dark brown and almost turn black when wet. Dormant has a golden color. I may not be describing it perfectly, but I see a distinct difference in the two.

 

[Brian662]

Took the first couple roosters off the property today on the last day of the season. Was great to see the dog work. Put up a couple more we'll leave to spread seed next spring. The mild winter and lack of snow cover has the switchgrass standing tall and the birds were mostly found on the edges of switch and another cover.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Looks like you killed 8. I’m sending the warden the link!

 

[Brian662]

Internet was down and the pic wasn't loading. I guess it did after all!

 

[Brian662]

This bird had as long of tail feathers as I remember seeing on a wild bird. I love this pic, will remember this hunt for a long time when my 10 year old lab is gone.

 

[Badgers80]

Holy smokes! What's the measurement on that tail?

Beautiful lab as well. I love sweet, old black labs.

 

[Brian662]

Holy smokes! What's the measurement on that tail?

Beautiful lab as well. I love sweet, old black labs.

I didn't take a measurement, I just ripped the breast off the carcass and dumped them in the trash for pickup today. I held it up to the tail feather from the juvenile bird and it was about 7" longer.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

You should have measured that tail feather - that's a B&C rooster!

 

[Brian662]

Holy smokes! What's the measurement on that tail?

Beautiful lab as well. I love sweet, old black labs.

Due to Waste Managements inability to pick up the trash on their schedule, i was able to fish the tail feathers from the dumpster. It measured 24.5"

 

[Tree Spud]

Due to Waste Managements inability to pick up the trash on their schedule, i was able to fish the tail feathers from the dumpster. It measured 24.5"

That's a keeper!

 

[buckdeer1]

That looks great.It's really different looking than my SC area of Kansas. Can't believe those CRP rates when I was lucky to be getting 45.00 per acre.I have done ok with all the projects but I have only have 1 more 20 acre patch of grass then it will all be expired.I bet you get that grass field thickened up soon.One thing is if you have quail make sure the switch isn't so thick that the young can't travel through it. Is there some shrubs where you can plant edging that won't be a problem when burning?Another option is moving some bigger trees either hardwoods or cover trees.

 

[Brian662]

That looks great.It's really different looking than my SC area of Kansas. Can't believe those CRP rates when I was lucky to be getting 45.00 per acre.I have done ok with all the projects but I have only have 1 more 20 acre patch of grass then it will all be expired.I bet you get that grass field thickened up soon.One thing is if you have quail make sure the switch isn't so thick that the young can't travel through it. Is there some shrubs where you can plant edging that won't be a problem when burning?Another option is moving some bigger trees either hardwoods or cover trees.

No quail here but I'm sure similar principles apply for the pheasants. I've got conifers and shrubs caged, they are coming along nicely. Been a few bigger uncaged norways the bucks of the area took some aggression out on, but otherwise they're doing good. We have some somewhat mature ERC that have dotted the landscape and provide a reasonable amount of thermal cover for deer and pheasants with the biggest being 15' tall. Of course in 2022 the winter was a nasty one and they were browsing on those too, which is allegedly a starvation food source.

As long as I can trap a dozen or so coons a year, i believe I'll have a huntable pheasant population. Once the thermal cover/shelterbelts grow up, they should flourish a bit.

 

[omicron1792]

Do labs just flush pheasants? They don’t point do they?

 

[Brian662]

There are pointing labs, my dog is not one of them. However, when he was young we went on a few pheasant hunts to ND with a couple of pointer breeds and by the end of the second trip my dog was pointing. Was pretty remarkable. He hasn't done it since, though.

 

[omicron1792]

There are pointing labs, my dog is not one of them. However, when he was young we went on a few pheasant hunts to ND with a couple of pointer breeds and by the end of the second trip my dog was pointing. Was pretty remarkable. He hasn't done it since, though.

Always wondered that. We use pointing breeds for quail and have used labs for ducks. But didn’t know with pheasants and I often see labs as pheasant dog.

My Pudelpointer.