Gatehouse Woods

[Mennoniteman]

A nice trophy! When I read your post saying that he was 200 lbs dressed and only 3 1/2 years old my first thought was, imagine what he would have looked like at 4 1/2, a P&Y buck for sure. But I can't fault you for shooting him this year, with only 50 acres, if you hadn't been lucky enough to get him someone else probably would have shot him in gun season.

 

[Jon]

I hear ya I would have loved to pass him. I really don’t have a lot of time with work travel, family and writing. I’m trying to set some standards for myself above 3.5 but I had no history with this deer up until this summer and my expectations are set at a 3.5 or above, my buck last year was a 4.5 that I targeted and he was lucky to make it through the prior seasons. I basically set my standard for killing one particular deer based on what’s available and make a decision on how to attack after that. But ur right imagine his growth potential!


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[Jon]

These are all bow bucks with the exception of one. I hunt a pretty tough area and seeing/shooting a 120 is a once in a lifetime in our area... anyhow I’m proud to have had some good experiences and figured it would be nice to share.


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[Jon]

I’m also too cheap to do any more shoulder mounts so I’m sticking with euros at this point.


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[Chainsaw]

Congratulations Jon on your buck very nice. Your property must be in one of the good soil areas for the growth shown. Also thanks for sharing the barn door display. There are many real beauties there!

 

[Jon]

Thanks and thanks. I saw your nice deer as well....I’m sure it feels good to be eating venison stew now .


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[Jon]

Nice stand view, this is a focal point surrounded by bedding on 3 sides, which means I’m on side that doesn’t have bedding...you can sort of gauge the slope of the plot.... as a side note I killed a nice doe last night on a different property.


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[Jon]

Finally getting done habitat work in... scotch pine and buckthorn were removed. My loader really helped out moving material around, saved my back. I bought a saw holder called a sawhaul, nice tool. I built a carry all for my three point but this little saw carrier is awesome.

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[Mennoniteman]

When a guy has chaps and a Stihl to cut wood he's either an experienced woodcutter, or just downright smart.

 

[Jon]

When a guy has chaps and a Stihl to cut wood he's either an experienced woodcutter, or just downright smart.

haha, experienced... good question... Ive just managed not to die as of yet. Rough business felling trees, I haver very much respect for guys that do it professionally.

For anyone contemplating chainsaws Id give some advice I wish I received. I have used homeowner/ranch saws for 10 years now. No problems, really good experience with Stihl and those models. That said buying a pro model a few years back (T handle Stihl 201) is a game changer for fine work. I recently bought a Stihl MS261... good saw so far. If I could do it over for bucking I do go bigger- MS362 would be a stellar option and a better option for felling larger trees. Its nice to have tool for fine and gross work. Frankly speaking the saw type isn't the focus, I'm just relaying I wish I had purchased one slightly bigger saw for bucking, that's a time savor when you are micromanaging woodlots and need to ensure deer can move freely throughout these mazes we create.

 

[Mennoniteman]

haha, experienced... good question... Ive just managed not to die as of yet. Rough business felling trees, I haver very much respect for guys that do it professionally.

For anyone contemplating chainsaws Id give some advice I wish I received. I have used homeowner/ranch saws for 10 years now. No problems, really good experience with Stihl and those models. That said buying a pro model a few years back (T handle Stihl 201) is a game changer for fine work. I recently bought a Stihl MS261... good saw so far. If I could do it over for bucking I do go bigger- MS362 would be a stellar option and a better option for felling larger trees. Its nice to have tool for fine and gross work. Frankly speaking the saw type isn't the focus, I'm just relaying I wish I had purchased one slightly bigger saw for bucking, that's a time savor when you are micromanaging woodlots and need to ensure deer can move freely throughout these mazes we create.

We've bought dozens of Stihl's, 024/026/260/261's over a thirty plus year period for cutting 2by's and barn beams on our construction crews. We've dabbled with a few other brands, that's always a costly experience. I like my 460 for real cutting.

 

[Jon]

460 is a beast


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