2019 Live from the Stand

I’m overlooking my rye, peas, radish plots again. Don’t think there are many peas left. Steady SW wind in my face with periodic gusts up to 15 mph. One month of the season left and lots of doe tags left to fill.
What is your deer density cutman? Where I'm at we have a very small window we try to shoot does. We don't shoot them early because the fawns still have spots and are nursing. We don't shoot them late because of the rut and not wanting to possibly kill 3 (doe with twin fetuses). Just curious
 
What is your deer density cutman? Where I'm at we have a very small window we try to shoot does. We don't shoot them early because the fawns still have spots and are nursing. We don't shoot them late because of the rut and not wanting to possibly kill 3 (doe with twin fetuses). Just curious

I am overrun with deer. 60+ dpsm with very little fawn mortality. I get 10 doe tags on one property (270 acres) and 10 tags on another property (108 acres). I will shoot a few on each but not fill all the tags.

I won’t shoot a doe with a spotted fawn, but I can’t worry about them being pregnant. I focus on different doe groups and different locations - I try to shoot one doe from each family group and only one per stand per year.
 
I don’t know how you guys get these mature deer to go into the wide open in daylight. Are you working with a large acreage?
We have 400 acres on this block. I'm a freak about pressure anywhere, and our fields are treated like a sanctuary, nobody is allowed to spook a deer in a field, ever. Case in point, there's a thread on here about deer blowing at a hunter, and mine was one of the only posts to call it a big negative.
 
We have 400 acres on this block. I'm a freak about pressure anywhere, and our fields are treated like a sanctuary, nobody is allowed to spook a deer in a field, ever. Case in point, there's a thread on here about deer blowing at a hunter, and mine was one of the only posts to call it a big negative.
I fall into the same camp when it comes to hunting deer. I don't even hunt plots as it's so hard to get in and out without spooking a deer. People all over the country prove me wrong every day but it works for me.

Okie, some places (not even that far from you) would have no deer sightings if they had to be in cover because there is no cover.

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I am overrun with deer. 60+ dpsm with very little fawn mortality. I get 10 doe tags on one property (270 acres) and 10 tags on another property (108 acres). I will shoot a few on each but not fill all the tags.

I won’t shoot a doe with a spotted fawn, but I can’t worry about them being pregnant. I focus on different doe groups and different locations - I try to shoot one doe from each family group and only one per stand per year.
Makes perfect sense then. Our locals keep the deer well below carrying capacity for the land. Other than the family farm I am through throwing money at this place just for the locals to benefit. I'm focusing on points west towards the river. More deer, better soil and more people looking to grow quality deer. It's just a free for all and I'm at my wits end. My goal is to take 6 does off of 1200 acres this year and any bucks I get the opportunity that are 4.5 or older.
 
We have 400 acres on this block. I'm a freak about pressure anywhere, and our fields are treated like a sanctuary, nobody is allowed to spook a deer in a field, ever. Case in point, there's a thread on here about deer blowing at a hunter, and mine was one of the only posts to call it a big negative.
400 acres...how much pressure outside that 400? Here the pressure is high and as close to my plot as 660 feet from my plot by the neighbors...on 2 sides... we have mature bucks using our property in daylight but timber is king and I think the reason we don’t see much in the open is because the open is watched by everyone and those bucks and does that used to use those openings in daylight were shot out. The remaining does taught their fawns to stay out of those pressured openings in daylight. I have a 7.5 year old buck using the timber on our place every single day during the daylight here in the middle of rifle season that has been going on 7 days already, but he’s not gonna pop into our plot in daylight even though we have only hunted that plot 5 times in over 2 months now. The only deer shot in that plot this year is a 10 point my wife shot that has never been here before. He came following the does in...don’t have any idea where he came from but that little trip into the open was his end...
 
I fall into the same camp when it comes to hunting deer. I don't even hunt plots as it's so hard to get in and out without spooking a deer. People all over the country prove me wrong every day but it works for me.

Okie, some places (not even that far from you) would have no deer sightings if they had to be in cover because there is no cover.

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Luckily we have plenty of timber all around...I know guys all over this county hunting and you are right. There is a lot of areas with not much timber. Those guys aren’t seeing what I am in the middle of rifle season...

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Great pics Okie! I got to say I love the color of the racks on your place. Our tend to be lighter.
I think the dark racks are from all the pine the deer rub on here. They have a bunch of sticky sapped stuff here and that attracts all manor of dark coloring...I have noticed the light racked deer in more open country.
 
400 acres...how much pressure outside that 400? Here the pressure is high and as close to my plot as 660 feet from my plot by the neighbors...on 2 sides... we have mature bucks using our property in daylight but timber is king and I think the reason we don’t see much in the open is because the open is watched by everyone and those bucks and does that used to use those openings in daylight were shot out. The remaining does taught their fawns to stay out of those pressured openings in daylight. I have a 7.5 year old buck using the timber on our place every single day during the daylight here in the middle of rifle season that has been going on 7 days already, but he’s not gonna pop into our plot in daylight even though we have only hunted that plot 5 times in over 2 months now. The only deer shot in that plot this year is a 10 point my wife shot that has never been here before. He came following the does in...don’t have any idea where he came from but that little trip into the open was his end...
Tremendous hunting pressure on the edges of our land. But that can work in our favor, it keeps our deer at home.
 
Kansas rifle opener today. Slow so far and too warm. Two does and a coon.


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Made it in from work today. Got my other other other OTHER girl with me tonight. Trying to film a bow kill with a dog in the stand. This dog starts missing me something fierce about day 4 of 7 and has to sleep on my pillow and will find something I've worn and totes it around until I come home. When I do come home she won't leave my side. Wish us luck
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Cut man, that plot is laid out a little too perfectly. OCD?
Good luck on a freezer doe
I made this plot in 2011 (I think) after I got dumped by my girlfriend. It was an old road going through the woods - I opened it up by hand with a chainsaw to help mend a broken heart. Cut down lots of pine trees then my dad piled them up and burned them for me. The next year all the stumps were ground up.

Looking at the pic I posted there are sawtooths on the left, hybrid white oaks and dunstan chestnuts at the end, and live oaks on the right.
 
I made this plot in 2011 (I think) after I got dumped by my girlfriend. It was an old road going through the woods - I opened it up by hand with a chainsaw to help mend a broken heart. Cut down lots of pine trees then my dad piled them up and burned them for me. The next year all the stumps were ground up.

Looking at the pic I posted there are sawtooths on the left, hybrid white oaks and dunstan chestnuts at the end, and live oaks on the right.
I'll never be able to look at your plot again without feeling heartbroken now.

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