Ugly Dog Farm-(slow) work in progress

[nchunter1989]

Hi guys,

1st off-Mods fill free to move this to the Native Habitat section- I would actually prefer that if possible.

Here we are 2 months into 2017. I'm alil excited bc GE has finally updated the farm. Wanted to get those pics up & try to get some ideas for this year. As you can see from reading the older posts, some of the ideas I had worked on haven't came to fruition yet. Partly due to a lack of time & money on my part, also partly due to the owner not being able to get his funds back into the property.

At this point, I'm working with a 6yr old cutover.This past season was rough, was able to take 1 doe but sightings were way down compared to past years. I'm looking for ideas on how we can improve what we have so far.

LO wants to keep as many pines as possible, as I discussed in the Regen thread I'm looking to come in this winter & thin alot of the HW saplings in the pine thickets. Also wanting to improve our lanes for the turkeys.Just a recap on what we have so far-







As you can see I've taken some of the advice I've learned here, moved the stands out to the perimeter & trying to put our plots in the interior. All of our sightings this year came from the North leg of the property. We hunted the box stand, thought it would be good as well but never saw a deer in shooting light. Tons of sign in the WR around the box. Not sure if they were just spooked by it since it wasn't finished until early Oct.

Fire away guys..

 

[Bill]

I know ZIP about southern deer hunting, when they rut, when your gun season is (think that was your focus)

But I'll go back where I started. If that's all 4-5 year old regrowth, make trails and they'll use them. I'd start by finding good stand trees in between where they sleep and where they eat. Then make paths that pass those locations.
Hard to give a plan from a picture. For me anyway.

 

[nchunter1989]

I know ZIP about southern deer hunting, when they rut, when your gun season is (think that was your focus)

But I'll go back where I started. If that's all 4-5 year old regrowth, make trails and they'll use them. I'd start by finding good stand trees in between where they sleep and where they eat. Then make paths that pass those locations.
Hard to give a plan from a picture. For me anyway.

The hunting side I'm good with. Its the long term management part that I'm looking for any advice on.
l

 

[nchunter1989]

Was out Saturday working to widen the lane in front of the box stand.. Also did some hinging in the stand to the east- Almost took myself out with a leaning pine..

I want to generate more usage by the turkeys.. Currently they roost to the NW on the adjoining property & come east to our side. Or roost to the SE & come up west. Any thoughts on cutting more areas for them?? Or use the areas we have & just plant?

 

[Greta&Gus]

I am no turkey expert so others might tell you different, but, if you have some nice clover plots you can create the destination for the birds roasted on the neighbors. Our turkeys roost on the neighbors a lot but like clockwork come to our place to strut in our food plots. Having an open trail connecting the roosting area to the food plot and they are very predictable. I have read they will nest in hinged areas but have yet to experience that myself.

 

[nchunter1989]

yeah, we dont have any clover yet, WR is planted in all the clearings.. looking at broadcasting buckwheat through it when it warms alittle..

 

[nchunter1989]

WR I broadcast 2 months ago came up decent. This was early May. Broadcast 75lbs of BW & 25lbs of cowpeas, knocked down the rye over this.

 

[Bill]

good luck with the BW, never tried it but from what I hear it's kinda bullet proof

 

[nchunter1989]

good luck with the BW, never tried it but from what I hear it's kinda bullet proof

I'm hoping so. I posted some pics a few months ago in the "who working" thread where I had expanded the plot/lane. Hoping the rye produces around the edges, will definitely be over seeding heavy this fall. I would be happy just rotating rye & maybe oats around the edges while I build OM in the middle.

According to Farm Logs, I've gotten a few inches on the BW since 6/2 when I broadcast & covered it. Going out Saturday to check it out.

I've got a couple stands I have to figure out where I'm moving them.. want to put one covering the oaks for the early fall..


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[nchunter1989]

Well. BW is growing, with no fence it's going to be a race against the deer.

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[nchunter1989]

Looks like more weeds are coming up now that the rye is down. Probably should've sprayed it all but was hoping for volunteer rye crop.


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[nchunter1989]

Well planted 175lbs of BW & 50lbs of peas in June. Here are a few pics- Looks like the deer are hitting them hard.. should have put out some fertilizer but didn't get around to it.

A lot of weeds are coming up, plan for the fall is to spray & plant 200lbs or so of WR.Some thatch from this year is visible but I want to get a good thick stand of rye next spring,especially in the edges of this lane that are pretty thick mulch & branches.


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[nchunter1989]

Summer 2017 is blowing right on by. LO wants to get some fire breaks cleared before winter, while the equipment is there I'm weighing pro & cons of a trail/foodplot lane on this north side.



Thick yellow:property line
Thin yellow: active deer trails
Red: perimeter access 2017 firebreaks.

This leg of the property is about 14acres.
My thought was a V or skinny S trail running North/South along the oak stand. The current treestand on the line is getting moved this year. Thoughts??

 

[j-bird]

Summer 2017 is blowing right on by. LO wants to get some fire breaks cleared before winter, while the equipment is there I'm weighing pro & cons of a trail/foodplot lane on this north side.

View attachment 14297

Thick yellow:property line
Thin yellow: active deer trails
Red: perimeter access 2017 firebreaks.

This leg of the property is about 14acres.
My thought was a V or skinny S trail running North/South along the oak stand. The current treestand on the line is getting moved this year. Thoughts??

Lots of things to consider. Bedding area locations, natural funnels in the area, your own goals (you want to hunt over the plot, you after big bucks), but most importantly access to and from that stand and not educating deer in the process. Find that location where you can gain the most advantage to hunt without educating the deer first and then decide where to put the food to allow you to capitalize on your goals. Putting in the plot first and THEN trying to figure out how to hunt/access it tends to lead to frustration. I know.....I've done it. Jeff Sturgis book series "success by design" covers many of these concepts.

Sometimes we don't have a choice on where to put a plot, most of the time we put it where it's easy for us to do so. I also know how you like to hunt and your hunting goals can also impact plot location. Some like to hunt over plots because you see lots of deer. However if your a bow hunter that doesn't mean your killing deer. others are after that big buck.....they tend to hunt back in the cover off the food. You may not see many deer, but those you see you have a better chance to kill and outside the rut many will say seeing a mature buck in a plot is a VERY uncommon thing in daylight. Those deer often linger back and wait for darkness to come. So again how you hunt and your goals can impact how you use a plot as well.

Sorry to ramble....your question simply isn't an easy one to answer, but I want to offer some help if I can.

 

[nchunter1989]

I understand all of that, but in this case there are limiting factors.

1. This is a 6yr old cutover, so most all of the vegetation in that photo is at least 8'. Most of it is 10-12' So visibility is limited without trails.Also with it being a cutover, its either tripods or hang the stands along the perimeter.

There are decent bucks out here but I'm more of a meat hunter than a trophy hunter. The hunting practices among the surrounding propertys (running dogs & using corn) along with a "brown its down" mentality make a mature buck a real trophy indeed.

2. Potential that someone may hunt close to the line on the western side property.Stand already there, hit or miss if the guy hunts it each year. So if I can draw the deer more to the center of this tract, the better.I know that the center is being used for bedding, multiple sightings of bedded does,couple bucks & bucks cruising that area. Had at least 1 buck cruising it last year but I could never get a shot simply because of how thick it is. Also the northern pine thicket is a funnel- they come from the NE adjoining propertys,up the creek & funnel along the edges.

My thought was cutting from NE to SW, and then placing a stand on the South, backed off of the lane/trail/plot,whatever you want to call it-but within view of the oak flat. We gun hunt-BP or centerfire so we have some flexibility.

I was surprised by the landowners decision to do this before season. So I'm trying to game plan as well as look to what will benefit long tem.

 

[nchunter1989]

Just to give an idea- These are pics from the existing stand. In the first 2, the trees to the NW are the oaks I referenced. In the last pic, you can see the access edge that runs due North.

 

[nchunter1989]

Anyone has experience with wax myrtles?? We are looking to put some type of screen along the road that cuts through the property- North & south sides, mainly North. Or am I better off to hinge the existing saplings & try to produce a barricade?

 

[nchunter1989]

Terraserver had a new shot of the property- purchased it last night. June of this year, shows the clearing that has been done for the "main" foodplot.

 

[j-bird]

Anyone has experience with wax myrtles?? We are looking to put some type of screen along the road that cuts through the property- North & south sides, mainly North. Or am I better off to hinge the existing saplings & try to produce a barricade?

View attachment 14317

No experience with myrtles, but for screens it's tough to beat conifers and or tall grasses. Hinging works fine, but once the leaves drop how well does it work then? It's tough to get it thick enough to provide serious screen without adding depth and adding depth could actually draw deer to it for cover - which is the opposite of what you want. I would look into switchgrass (mine gets 5 to 6 feet tall), MG if you need even taller (growing it from cuttings is easy - I can do it) and or conifers of some sort that retain their lower branches in your area. A lot of it is going to depend on the height you need/want, how fast you want the screen and any budget concerns.

I have a road screen project as well. I first tried the cheap route and transplanted red cedars - they lived but have not grown real well since. They are growing it's just a slow process. It could be a decade or more before they do what I want. I considered switchgrass as I have it on other places on my place, but I wasn't sure it would be tall enough (and seed isn't cheap and establishment can be a bit of a PITA). Then a member here pushed me into MG (I needed the push) - I am growing cuttings on my deck now and will transplant yet this year. I will plant 1 every 18 to 24 inches apart and in a few years (3 or 4) I should have a wall of grass that will grow 8 to 12 feet in height! I will say everything I have read the MG needs direct sunlight for best results and doesn't like feet feet. The cedars are staying ......for now.....

Hinging a screen will work IF the trees live AND when the leaves on on the trees......does that meet your goal? You can hinge to help the area, but I would consider additional long term measures as well. I have found it difficult to have enough standing trees in a narrow strip to effectively make a screen once the leaves drop and that is considering the trees you have will hinge well and or won't die.

Just some things to consider.......

 

[nchunter1989]

Yeah good point about the leaves dropping. I believe we could get a thick enough "wall" to work with hinging. My biggest concern about planting anything along the road, the farmer in the back likes to run his side cutter along in the spring. I could see him mowing over any new planting simply to be an @ss..