farmhunter
Well-Known Member
if it loads - here's a video look around from the South Tower - I had a cup of coffee there Sunday morning
Farmhunter's Deer Management and Property Improvements
- Thread starter farmhunter
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farmhunter
Well-Known Member
Thank you - got the right spot - almost done with it -
pinetag
Well-Known Member
Nice! Edges everywhere! It looks like the perfect spot for an ambush.
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farmhunter
Well-Known Member
Nice to see people's updates. For me- I've passed up 6 or 7 shots at small bucks, and missed a doe, my bow limb hit the rail of my ladder stand which was a bummer at 5 yds. Last week, my hunting partner got the buck we called Charlie - He was our #2 goal buck. If one or the other of us gets a shot a a goal buck in a season - then its a success! Of course I'm still hopeful I'll get a shot too - for now, I'm happy as can be for John.
This buck is the buck that I posted about earlier - he was the 1st decent buck we saw this season, and was in the rye field in some of the pictures I shared in the summer. He was a homebody for sure - was on every camera - and we saw him often. Probably 2.5 years old, but possible 3.5 years old - dressed 160 and didn't yet have a swollen neck. Tough to tell from the teeth, he has better than average mass but short tines and main beam.
Here's a couple pictures - The 1st with me and John with his buck.
My dad was there that night and he helped us track and recover him. Was a challenging tracking job, the buck went 150 yds, probably in seconds - through an open woods before he piled up in a thicket. Dad loves to track deer, it was great that he was part of it!
As mentioned, the new pond is FULL full. And with all the rain, pretty muddy everywhere -
Still a lot of season - will be trying hard in two weeks for another goal buck.
This buck is the buck that I posted about earlier - he was the 1st decent buck we saw this season, and was in the rye field in some of the pictures I shared in the summer. He was a homebody for sure - was on every camera - and we saw him often. Probably 2.5 years old, but possible 3.5 years old - dressed 160 and didn't yet have a swollen neck. Tough to tell from the teeth, he has better than average mass but short tines and main beam.
Here's a couple pictures - The 1st with me and John with his buck.
My dad was there that night and he helped us track and recover him. Was a challenging tracking job, the buck went 150 yds, probably in seconds - through an open woods before he piled up in a thicket. Dad loves to track deer, it was great that he was part of it!
As mentioned, the new pond is FULL full. And with all the rain, pretty muddy everywhere -
Still a lot of season - will be trying hard in two weeks for another goal buck.
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farmhunter
Well-Known Member
Winter has come early and with a serious look that we are used to seeing in late December.
Bow season ended without a deer for me - the 1st in a while. I had lots of chances at young bucks and does before I was ready to take one. I cannot complain - except about the weather!
Opening day of gun season - I was ready to take a doe - and did before lunch. This doe was being chased when I dropped her in the hemlocks. Not to long after a young 4 point came dogging on her trail. It was interesting - I stopped him like I stopped her - and took a few pics - and on his way he went. I couldn't see how he reacted with the dead doe just out of sight. I do know that I saw her drop and when I looked again - I could not see her anymore. So I gave her a good our and then circled downwind and snuck up on her last position - just to be sure. I saw her ahead, clearly down - and 15 yds from where I saw her go down - great! - Then I saw another deer form all curled up - and I realized it was the buck I took pictures of on her track. In the snow it looks like he pushed her around a bit in the snow - then curled up next to her to wait out her "nap" with one of his own! I got to within 5 yds and even videoed him on my phone a bit.
Anyhow - a deer for me - and some great nature experiences this past opening weekend of rifle.
Was pretty cool - I had a camera in the field that she came from and I got a picture of her running by but not of the buck that eventually followed (had a blank picture a few minutes after)
Also some more pictures from the weekend -
Bow season ended without a deer for me - the 1st in a while. I had lots of chances at young bucks and does before I was ready to take one. I cannot complain - except about the weather!
Opening day of gun season - I was ready to take a doe - and did before lunch. This doe was being chased when I dropped her in the hemlocks. Not to long after a young 4 point came dogging on her trail. It was interesting - I stopped him like I stopped her - and took a few pics - and on his way he went. I couldn't see how he reacted with the dead doe just out of sight. I do know that I saw her drop and when I looked again - I could not see her anymore. So I gave her a good our and then circled downwind and snuck up on her last position - just to be sure. I saw her ahead, clearly down - and 15 yds from where I saw her go down - great! - Then I saw another deer form all curled up - and I realized it was the buck I took pictures of on her track. In the snow it looks like he pushed her around a bit in the snow - then curled up next to her to wait out her "nap" with one of his own! I got to within 5 yds and even videoed him on my phone a bit.
Anyhow - a deer for me - and some great nature experiences this past opening weekend of rifle.
Also some more pictures from the weekend -
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farmhunter
Well-Known Member
thanks guys - the resident deer get heavy quick with our clover/soybeans and the farmer neighbor's alfalfa all summer. A lot of the ones that show up in October are skinny and small in these parts.
The food plots are holding up great - just now are the soybeans really getting hammered - I put two cameras on my best plot to see how many are really coming - should have a good idea next weekend. This picture is from one of the smaller bean plots last night (1.5 acres total) - you can see the beans are already thinning out quite a bit here-
The turkeys are here in droves - literally 100s roost on the ridge where I shot that doe every day. they will put the biggest hurting on the standing corn and beans come January - I'm sure Ill have some crazy turkey pictures to share.
The food plots are holding up great - just now are the soybeans really getting hammered - I put two cameras on my best plot to see how many are really coming - should have a good idea next weekend. This picture is from one of the smaller bean plots last night (1.5 acres total) - you can see the beans are already thinning out quite a bit here-
The turkeys are here in droves - literally 100s roost on the ridge where I shot that doe every day. they will put the biggest hurting on the standing corn and beans come January - I'm sure Ill have some crazy turkey pictures to share.
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
Couple 1000 pics a week like this
They just stand around for hours sometimes - its odd watching them for extended periods. Especially the toms - they will jsut stand and look forever.
They just stand around for hours sometimes - its odd watching them for extended periods. Especially the toms - they will jsut stand and look forever.
HB_Hunter
Well-Known Member
Just got caught up on the thread farmhunter. The plots look amazing and it’s awesome how well the pond just became part of the landscape.
I have similar issues with turkeys on the farm, but with hard mast. They are like vacuums. I enjoy seeing them and hunting them in the spring, but sometimes wish they would spend fall/winter somewhere else.
I have similar issues with turkeys on the farm, but with hard mast. They are like vacuums. I enjoy seeing them and hunting them in the spring, but sometimes wish they would spend fall/winter somewhere else.
dogghr
Well-Known Member
Cool turkey pic. Mine can wake the dead this time of year coming off the roost in the pine thickets. Do you have many coyotes of bobcats? They seem to really like the taste of them as do the various hawks. Still have my big bucks on camera breeding, been a spread out season this year. Good luck on your remainder.
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
Bobcats are starting to show up - I've yet to get one on camera but friends of mine have only a few miles away. We have quite a lot of coyotes - Fisher came with the Porcupines about 5-10 years ago - they are real common now and lots of people worry about them with the turkeys. I wonder if the winter flocking is in response to them - or if its something else. Maybe we really just have that many more turkeys now - its not an exaggeration to see 100s and real winter isn't even here yet. I think I counted 64 turkeys in this picture -and it doesn't include the whole flock I spooked that was on the side of the field I'm on, or the flock around the corner from the corn.
thanks for the comments - time to start thinking about spring projects.
thanks for the comments - time to start thinking about spring projects.
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
This little buck came by last weekend - my neighbor and I have been on a mission to protect and harbor as many as we can. The farmer that plants his land left 10+ acres corn standing - not sure if the kernals are too wet - or if the soil was. But either way - we are know we kept a LOT of young bucks close to home. Hopefully they stick around better than last year's 1.5 year old bucks did!! We aren't looking for trophies - just more of a selection at the next age class - that is our goal!!
suburbhunter
Active Member
Everything looks great!!!
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
Getting beans on into January and February has always been a challenge. we need at least 6 acres to do it with our populations - but we've found out a few things. The beans in the picture are up near the south tower in the middle of the field - the deer definitley work their way from the edges of the fields to the center.
In the picture below you can see we mixed some corn sparely in with the 1st 30 yds of beans - to encourage the deer to come out into the fields a bit earlier - it seemed to work this year. It is clear where the deer WANT to eat within the field by looking at the bean pod usage - its something we take note of. Mostly these are only deer hunting stands the last two or three weekends of the season. The rest of the year they are destination plots.
The Browse line creeps toward the center of the field. Also the beans are preferred by the deer over corn in my opinion.
Another point is that if we plant beans in rows in between corn - they get used last too - the deer do not like browsing the beans in the close quarters of 10 yd bean strips in corn,
In the picture below you can see we mixed some corn sparely in with the 1st 30 yds of beans - to encourage the deer to come out into the fields a bit earlier - it seemed to work this year. It is clear where the deer WANT to eat within the field by looking at the bean pod usage - its something we take note of. Mostly these are only deer hunting stands the last two or three weekends of the season. The rest of the year they are destination plots.
The Browse line creeps toward the center of the field. Also the beans are preferred by the deer over corn in my opinion.
Another point is that if we plant beans in rows in between corn - they get used last too - the deer do not like browsing the beans in the close quarters of 10 yd bean strips in corn,
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