The Farm - Madison County, GA

[Chainsaw]

On your neighbors that have shot every shooter plus the almost shooters for four years running, are they in lucky streak or do they have something special about their property that is attracting the does/older bucks or do they have a slam dunk funnel or two?They couldn't have the upper hand on clover; your clover is really healthy looking; actually all of the plots you have posted look excellent. Your woods look nice and thick and that winding food plot you created has got to be a huge doe draw.
Here there are some neighbors that shoot everything they can and even use illegal piles of bait and shoot well beyond legal hours; they do shoot some of the better deer and more than I do but they do not get them all. The pressure they put on them must drive the deer off of their property. I just can't imagine what your neighbor has going on.

 

[SwampCat]

I think the elimination of all of the older bucks may be more common in the south - where we have gun deer seasons measured in months instead of weeks or days. I have seen the same thing happen at my place. I believe the dynamic is bigger than just shooting the older bucks - it is about the deer population in general. We used to kill at least one buck from 130 to 150” every year - with several more around. But we had a lot more bucks - and does. As our regulations changed to encourage more doe harvest, deer numbers dropped - a lot. Folks still killed the same number of deer - it just took them longer to do it or they became less selective. That means there are fewer bucks overall in the herd to make it to older age.

 

[THE LLC]

The issue we have is they hunt the rut and we don't. We are always in Nebraska during our rut. They have thinned their pine stands and the bucks love to chase does in those open pines. That, plus hunting nearly every day in November will thin the herd. They eat and bed on my place but do all the running over there.

 

[Chainsaw]

The issue we have is they hunt the rut and we don't. We are always in Nebraska during our rut. They have thinned their pine stands and the bucks love to chase does in those open pines. That, plus hunting nearly every day in November will thin the herd. They eat and bed on my place but do all the running over there.

That explains it pretty well.

 

[gut_pile]

Dang right

 

[Triple C]

Neighbors made it another 100%-eliminate-every-mature-buck-I-had-on-camera year (that is 4 in a row) right after Thanksgiving. Got the picture today. Amazing. I really do love those guys, and they are good friends, but they don't understand you can't kill every 3 year old buck and expect 5 year olds.

Tommy...An issue all of us in the south face. As Swampcat said, when you have a rifle season measured in months rather than weeks it makes for the slaughter of young age-class bucks. We haven't killed a buck the past two seasons. Just keep letting them walk and hope against heavy odds they make it thru till the following year. Several up n comers made it thru but that's the same each year. Following year, the 2.5 yr olds we let walk turn into 3.5 yr olds and not many of those get passed on here in the south. We have somewhere in the neighborhood of a dozen bucks on camera following season - a lot of 1.5, a few 2.5's, and one we guess at 3.5 that made it thru. This our best we got going in to 2018 season, assuming he doesn't die from natural causes, hit by a vehicle or poached.

 

[Cedar Ridge]

Tommy...An issue all of us in the south face. As Swampcat said, when you have a rifle season measured in months rather than weeks it makes for the slaughter of young age-class bucks. We haven't killed a buck the past two seasons. Just keep letting them walk and hope against heavy odds they make it thru till the following year. Several up n comers made it thru but that's the same each year. Following year, the 2.5 yr olds we let walk turn into 3.5 yr olds and not many of those get passed on here in the south. We have somewhere in the neighborhood of a dozen bucks on camera following season - a lot of 1.5, a few 2.5's, and one we guess at 3.5 that made it thru. This our best we got going in to 2018 season, assuming he doesn't die from natural causes, hit by a vehicle or poached.
View attachment 11654

Very nice buck and beautiful picture!

 

[THE LLC]

Here's a picture of the Camp Plot from yesterday. Mixture of crimson clover and rape. Our honey bees are LOVING it.

 

[THE LLC]

This our best we got going in to 2018 season, assuming he doesn't die from natural causes, hit by a vehicle or poached.

A good start. Better than what I got.

 

[THE LLC]

Here's the plot from post #182 yesterday (4-22-18). The rye is literally 8 feet tall. Looks like I have made a plot out of it regardless of what my partner says. The sky sure was pretty yesterday.

 

[Elkaddict]

That growth amazes me. Ours hasn’t even started to green up yet.

 

[THE LLC]

Yeah, but you live in the friggin' arctic. LOLOL

 

[Chainsaw]

Yikes LLC that is a fawn rearing field if there ever was one. If your neighbors who shoot so many shooters don't create the same; shame on them. Or can they be taught to contribute if they aren't currently? And maybe they already are.

We are a little ahead of Elk this year; Our rye is in the tillering stage already but still about three inches tall. Yesterday was the annual SNIRT run. It is the first big spring event in the north country. It involves snow and dirt and four wheelers. Each year is different; this year the SNIRT runners saw up to four feet of snow! This happened in Chummers' country which is a good ten miles from us. Here a short drive away we are experiencing mud with zero snow left except on extreme north slopes. Anyway the SNIRT runners are a special breed for sure and are easy to pick out in the bar. They are the guys and gals dressed like the north pole while the rest of us have on just light flannel shirts tucked in our flannel lined jeans.

 

[THE LLC]

The neighbors plant but not nearly as good as I do!!

Those SNIRT folks sound like sure nuff rednecks to me. I would fit in up there except for the language barrier. LOL. My company has a fiber project going between Syracuse and Rochester so my partner is up there quite a bit. I hope to get up there some after cardiac rehab is over in May.

 

[THE LLC]

Can't remember if I mentioned to y'all about the hurricane we had in 2017 dropping the only tree we lost on 300 acres right on my favorite box stand. Anyway, I was able to salvage three panels, the base, and two legs from the original so I cut the two legs in two and made the stand five feet off the ground instead of ten and cut enough of the tree top out to hide the stand back in it. Got it all finished up yesterday. Used some of my old campaign signs to keep the wasps out. LOL. Knew them things were good for something.

 

[THE LLC]

Here's a shot of my mineral lick in front of the repaired box.

 

[THE LLC]

Here's a couple bucks I got on camera at the mineral lick. Every buck in the county shows up here the end of July first of August. If I see the big 6 I'm going to shoot him. Got a straight on shot of him and he's about 18" wide.

 

[lakngolf]

I thought old campaign signs were only good for target practice! Good job on the refab.

 

[THE LLC]

Here's a decent 4 by 4.

 

[THE LLC]

I thought old campaign signs were only good for target practice! Good job on the refab.

They're pretty good for that too. Especially Democrat ones. LOL