My Little Slice of Paradise
- Thread starter Paradise725
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Paradise725
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How has your season been going? Did you start a thread somewhere that I've missed? I enjoyed hearing about those huge bodied deer that you and Ann like to kill up there in NY!
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Paradise725
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Paradise725
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Another good thing happened yesterday... I finally met my neighbors that border the entire north side of my farm. They own 1400 contiguous acres that is leased by 6 guys from SE TN and northern GA. The somewhat disappointing news was that they had killed the biggest deer on my farm, Brutus, the second day of rifle season. He came off my property down into their cut corn field and got whacked. They said 149" gross. I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to seal the deal with him 4 days earlier when I had an encounter with him during bow season. However, I am encouraged because I learned that those guys only shoot big deer. I'm even more encouraged because they showed me pics of some huge deer that I've never seen before.
They use corn feeders extensively on their property, and seem to kill 1-3 huge bucks every year. They have killed two in the last 5 years that grossed 168" and 172". We shared some trail camera pics and it's clear that we watch a lot of the same deer. Overall, it was a very positive note to get to know some of them and know that we are all working toward growing and killing big, old deer.
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They use corn feeders extensively on their property, and seem to kill 1-3 huge bucks every year. They have killed two in the last 5 years that grossed 168" and 172". We shared some trail camera pics and it's clear that we watch a lot of the same deer. Overall, it was a very positive note to get to know some of them and know that we are all working toward growing and killing big, old deer.
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Chainsaw
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No I have not started a thread elsewhere, only the one post thread on this site so far--got busy since then setting up new stands and hunting and just plain watching deer, learning how they are reacting to the changes made so far. Am about ready to stop the deer watching which is really hunting without shooting and get the thread moving. Saw twenty- two deer today, 18 on a morning sit over by the hickory nut trees you and I looked at and and four on a short afternoon sit in the same spot. Some days have been like today and others have been zero sits. Overall deer activity has been mostly good though.Between over seeing the logging efforts, deer watching and hunting and keeping up with everyone's property threads the days have gone by quickly.
The season went well for me. We still have an an additional week long muzzle loader season coming up soon which can be great or a bust depending on the severity of the weather. Anne had some severe sore muscle pain which kept her from hunting. She is getting much better as a result of lots of chiropractic visits. She is not 100% yet but she is getting there.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Sounds like some good neighbors with much the same goals as yours. That means a lot these days. I hate that you lost that great buck, but my crystal ball tells me you won't be wishing for more bruisers in the future - they will be there!
Elkaddict
Well-Known Member
Congrats on a great deer. Your place is really coming together. I too am a huge AR 10 fan though I'm packing a little more weight (LaRue PredatAR). Love to hear if you feel like your tracking deer any farther with the TTSX slugs, and if you feel like you'd get good enough expansion at 350yds. Cheap Federal soft points group into 3/4" all day long so I have a hard time getting excited about changing. Have you thought about dropping down to the 130s to pick up a little more velocity?
Paradise725
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Paradise725
Well-Known Member
So sorry to hear that Anne wasn't feeling well enough to hunt. Glad to hear you've had a good season. I know what you mean about watching deer vs actually hunting them. The changes we've made to how we hunt our property have resulted in what I would estimate as a 100% increase in the number of deer we see. My friend Jonathan enjoyed an all day sit on Sunday that resulted in 36 does (some duplicates) and 8 different bucks. That's the most deer sightings I can ever recall in one day on our place. I had three different days this year with over 20 deer sightings and saw at least 3x the number of 2.5+ year old bucks from my previous best year. Once again, I can't thank you and others on this forum enough for encouraging me to have Steve Bartylla do a property plan for me. It's changed the enjoyment level of our hunting immensely, although we still have a long way to go from implementing it fully.
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Paradise725
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Yes, the AR pattern .308 is by far the most versatile and effective hunting rifle I own. I'm not sure I'll ever hunt with a bolt action again unless I'm hunting a state that doesn't allow AR's. Those were the first deer I've ever shot with that bullet. I was pleased with the performance. I deliberately aimed for the lungs rather than the shoulders to try and preserve the meat on the front quarters. The deer traveled roughly 50, 75, and 75 yards, with average blood trails. I prefer the heavier bullets for deer hunting actually. I typically use 168 or 175 grain sierra match king HPBT. For me, I prefer more kinetic energy at distance instead of a flatter shooting load.
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Paradise725
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Thanks Fish. Winter projects will be mostly a lot of chainsaw work. I plan to hinge cut as many bedding areas as possible per the property plan and get started on a couple sidewalks. Another big project is an access trail on the north side of the property. We didn't hunt the north side much this year during the rut due to all of the north winds we had, but our access to the north side requires significant hiking due to the lack of a perimeter access trail. Shooting does on the north side is almost out of the question at this point due to the amount of work that would be required to get one out. I'll be frost seeding most of my food plots with clover.
Another weakness we discovered this season was that we don't have near enough stand locations trimmed out. We did many hang and hunts this November and both me and my buddy missed opportunities at good bucks in bow range due to lack of shooting lanes. I plan to hit these locations and trim all the lanes I need this winter so that next fall I can go in there and hunt it without worrying about which tree to pick to have the best shooting lanes. Lastly, I plan to plant some pear trees in some of our plots to provide some added attraction.
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Fish
Well-Known Member
post pics of your progress. I will be working on an east line access trail this winter. And more stands are on my Christmas list!
Chainsaw
Well-Known Member
Luke, You are welcome and I'm glad Steve's plan helped a lot;it sure has helped my property as well and like you I've barely scratched the surface in implementing the plan really. A day of seeing over 40 deer on your property is remarkable and having it happen after a season of hunting is even more remarkable. And even twenty deer sighting days isn't too shabby either! Seeing such a huge increase in 2 /12 year old bucks is very exciting as well.
I found it interesting that your neighbors rely on corn feeders and yet it doesn't seem to be affecting your property much. Feeding or baiting deer is illegal here but food plots are not treated as illegal. I always wonder what impact the illegal use of suspected bait piles on nearby properties has on my property if any.
Paradise725
Well-Known Member
From what I've seen, corn pile hunters are effective in the very early season when deer are still on summer patterns in velvet bachelor groups. Probably most effective is during mid-November, peak rut, opening few days of rifle season. Lots of big deer get shot near corn piles at that time because they follow a hot doe wherever she goes. I think that corn piles can really pull a lot of deer in at certain times and are far and away more attractive than most food plots. If your neighbors are illegally baiting with corn, I bet you will lose a couple of your native bucks every year, but certainly not all of them. It is easy to burn out a corn pile the same as any type of deer habitat. I just keep my fingers crossed that my neighbors burn theirs out quickly once rifle season opens so it keeps the casualties to a minimum!
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Paradise725
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One of the best parts about a successful deer season: the meat! I tried braised venison shanks this weekend after hearing numerous chefs and wild game connoisseurs talk about how great it tastes. I found a recipe online for BBQ venison shanks and the results were fantastic! If anyone out there typically doesn't save the shank meat, you're missing out!
Prep work:
In process:
On the plate:
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Prep work:
In process:
On the plate:
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Awesome property and awesome deer...KY just seems to grow big deer! Quiet corn feeders placed correctly can be as effective as hidden plots and fit well with a strategic access plan.....Redneck T-post feeders are on sale this week....here, spin feeders have run their course...but quiet corn remains a post rut food of choice excepting years of extreme hard mast.
Enjoying your gun talk and knowing you are into development. I never got into the mil spec auto loaders mainly due to poor stock triggers and more money to fix what shouldn't need to be fixed in the first place.... but played some with customs built on Mausers with improved trigger and safety. When you have time, I'd like to hear more about the triggers and other accuracy enhancing features of these new rifles.
Enjoying your gun talk and knowing you are into development. I never got into the mil spec auto loaders mainly due to poor stock triggers and more money to fix what shouldn't need to be fixed in the first place.... but played some with customs built on Mausers with improved trigger and safety. When you have time, I'd like to hear more about the triggers and other accuracy enhancing features of these new rifles.
