Pinetag's Plot - 43 acres in Virginia

[pinetag]

We have just under 400 acres with about another 400 on adjoining tracts that cooperate either intentionally or unintentionally. Every year buck are shot off our property. Some over a mile away during the rut. Of course we also get mature bucks from elsewhere that we have no pictures of moving through during the rut.

We figured out that bucks 3 1/2 and older comprise the top 10% of our bucks. So, we target 3 1/2 and older for our experienced hunters. When you get much older than that, the percentage drops quickly and chances of shooting a buck go way down. We think this is a good balance between having a good age structure and yet still being able to harvest a buck from time to time.

If we did not have the issue with bucks that primarily use our land being shot elsewhere, we would likely raise that targeted age.

Yea, trying to target 4.5’s is just not realistic for my property/my area. 3.5 is what I’m going for also. After I shot the 9, I told myself that the only other buck I would shoot was my #1. If either of the other big 8’s came by they were getting a pass because 1) I don’t want to be greedy and 2) I’d like to see a buck make it to 4.5. Maybe one day, but that’s probably just wishful thinking.


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[yoderjac]

Yea, trying to target 4.5’s is just not realistic for my property/my area. 3.5 is what I’m going for also. After I shot the 9, I told myself that the only other buck I would shoot was my #1. If either of the other big 8’s came by they were getting a pass because 1) I don’t want to be greedy and 2) I’d like to see a buck make it to 4.5. Maybe one day, but that’s probably just wishful thinking.


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Yes, we each set our own personal thresholds. The 3.5 is the minimum we set for experienced hunters. It is one thing we we impose limits on ourselves but quite another when we impose them on others.

For me it really depends on the situation. On the pine farm we have a minimum for the group but I've passed deer simply because I did not feel like dealing with it that particular day and just enjoyed the outdoors instead. I have another small property that is only 16 acres where I plan to retire. On the pine farm we are trying to work on age structure and shoot does to keep the population in check. On my little 16 acres, I wouldn't mind seeing more deer. I would actually prefer to shoot a 1 1/2 year old buck rather than a doe. We don't have a population issue on that property and it is just as much effort to butcher a doe where I end up with less meat than a young buck. On that property, I have no delusions that passing a buck will lead to it's survival for the next year.

Every situation is different.

 

[pinetag]

Yes, we each set our own personal thresholds. The 3.5 is the minimum we set for experienced hunters. It is one thing we we impose limits on ourselves but quite another when we impose them on others.

For me it really depends on the situation. On the pine farm we have a minimum for the group but I've passed deer simply because I did not feel like dealing with it that particular day and just enjoyed the outdoors instead. I have another small property that is only 16 acres where I plan to retire. On the pine farm we are trying to work on age structure and shoot does to keep the population in check. On my little 16 acres, I wouldn't mind seeing more deer. I would actually prefer to shoot a 1 1/2 year old buck rather than a doe. We don't have a population issue on that property and it is just as much effort to butcher a doe where I end up with less meat than a young buck. On that property, I have no delusions that passing a buck will lead to it's survival for the next year.

Every situation is different.

All good points!


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[pinetag]

It’s been a long time since posting due to a few personal issues earlier in the year. This season has been an odd one, which seems to be a common thread among many others from what I’ve heard.

I started off with good expectations as I had some quality bucks as we exited summer, but it seems some were taken out by EHD. I don’t have any hard evidence of that, but I got a few pics of some emaciated deer and we were extremely dry coming into fall. My understanding is those dry late summer days expose mud that hold the midges responsible for EHD.

Anyway, I did have one consistent 9 point that was my only target buck this year. I had a close encounter with him during bow season but unfortunately he was harvested by a neighbor in early Nov. I also had a close encounter with a giant buck that I had not gotten on camera, and he came in from the yard which is unusual and of course downwind of the stand I was sitting in. No pics or video of him.

The rest of the season has all been young bucks with no mature bucks cruising through during the rut.

I almost always pick up lots of newcomers starting in late October so I can’t quite figure out the common factor that would produce such an underwhelming season. I put very little pressure on the property due to the exceptionally warm October and my cutover is thickening up, so there is better cover than in years past. Food plots didn’t do too well due to the dry conditions, but I’ve never had exceptional plots anyway. I wonder if EHD had a greater impact than I know?

I’ll try to post some more updates soon.


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[yoderjac]

I'm in central VA. I have not heard of any EHD issues this year my county, but my county is not a common area for EHD. I volunteer as a hunter education instructor at Quantico. I don't hunt there any more since we bought our property, but I haven't heard of EHD issues there this year. They do get hit with it on a periodic basis.

We thinned at our pine farm, so there is plenty of quality deer food in the underbrush that has grown up in the pines plus this is a heavy mast crop year. Our harvest rate was zero, at least the last time I was down there a week or two ago. However my wireless camera network does not show reduced deer numbers from previous years. I think conditions at our pine farm just make deer more sensitive to pressure and almost of our food plot use is after dark.

I will be retiring to the other end of the county about a 20 minute drive from the pine farm. We call it the Meadow and I've got a barn there right now and we are in the process of building a house. At any rate, I buggered a knee this year and can't drag a deer. At our pine farm, if a deer runs into the pines, I would need to drag him some distance through that underbrush to get him to a place I could retrieve him with an ATV. At the Meadow, I have open food plots and pasture as well as mature hardwoods with a closed canopy, so any place a deer runs, I can likely get an ATV to it for retrieval, so with my knee, I have been relegated to using my barn as a blind and hunting at the meadow.

In previous years, when I've hunted some at the meadow, I've seen mostly does and young bucks. For some reason, this year, I'm seeing fewer deer than previous years, but more mature bucks. I rarely see does in the open during shooting hours, but I saw one of the largest bucks I've personally seen while hunting in VA and I took a respectable buck this year from the barn. I zoomed in digitally from the barn's security cameras so the video is a bit grainy, but it gives you the idea of this hunt:

I would agree that it has been a strange year, but not necessarily a bad one for me. I find it interesting the differences between the two properties 20 minutes apart.

 

[pinetag]

This is a zoomed in still of the close encounter with the 9 on Oct 28. He was about 35 yards at the closest point but still had some brush between me and him.

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[pinetag]

I'm in central VA. I have not heard of any EHD issues this year my county, but my county is not a common area for EHD. I volunteer as a hunter education instructor at Quantico. I don't hunt there any more since we bought our property, but I haven't heard of EHD issues there this year. They do get hit with it on a periodic basis.

We thinned at our pine farm, so there is plenty of quality deer food in the underbrush that has grown up in the pines plus this is a heavy mast crop year. Our harvest rate was zero, at least the last time I was down there a week or two ago. However my wireless camera network does not show reduced deer numbers from previous years. I think conditions at our pine farm just make deer more sensitive to pressure and almost of our food plot use is after dark.

I will be retiring to the other end of the county about a 20 minute drive from the pine farm. We call it the Meadow and I've got a barn there right now and we are in the process of building a house. At any rate, I buggered a knee this year and can't drag a deer. At our pine farm, if a deer runs into the pines, I would need to drag him some distance through that underbrush to get him to a place I could retrieve him with an ATV. At the Meadow, I have open food plots and pasture as well as mature hardwoods with a closed canopy, so any place a deer runs, I can likely get an ATV to it for retrieval, so with my knee, I have been relegated to using my barn as a blind and hunting at the meadow.

In previous years, when I've hunted some at the meadow, I've seen mostly does and young bucks. For some reason, this year, I'm seeing fewer deer than previous years, but more mature bucks. I rarely see does in the open during shooting hours, but I saw one of the largest bucks I've personally seen while hunting in VA and I took a respectable buck this year from the barn. I zoomed in digitally from the barn's security cameras so the video is a bit grainy, but it gives you the idea of this hunt:

I would agree that it has been a strange year, but not necessarily a bad one for me. I find it interesting the differences between the two properties 20 minutes apart.

Sorry about the knee, but cool video! Congrats!

From what I know about EHD, it can be very localized. One area might get hit hard whereas properties a mile away see no impact whatsoever. Being that my property is mostly bottomland, that may have something to do with it, but there were definitely some sick deer on my place in Sept. At this point, I’ve pretty much moved on to doing work for next season. I may take the rifle with me and sit for an hour but most likely I’ll be doing some work too.


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[yoderjac]

Sorry about the knee, but cool video! Congrats!

From what I know about EHD, it can be very localized. One area might get hit hard whereas properties a mile away see no impact whatsoever. Being that my property is mostly bottomland, that may have something to do with it, but there were definitely some sick deer on my place in Sept. At this point, I’ve pretty much moved on to doing work for next season. I may take the rifle with me and sit for an hour but most likely I’ll be doing some work too.


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You are right about EHD. It is spread by a midge biting them in the nose, so lowlands with wet areas may be more susceptible.

 

[Mennoniteman]

Sorry about the knee, but cool video! Congrats!

From what I know about EHD, it can be very localized. One area might get hit hard whereas properties a mile away see no impact whatsoever. Being that my property is mostly bottomland, that may have something to do with it, but there were definitely some sick deer on my place in Sept. At this point, I’ve pretty much moved on to doing work for next season. I may take the rifle with me and sit for an hour but most likely I’ll be doing some work too.


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You sound a bit like me, I can barely wait until the current hunting season is over to start doing habitat work. I stay out of the woods as long as the season is still open.
I like the sound of your property where you say the cutover is getting thick. EHD is out of your control, but thicker cover is doable, and it's the number one thing you can do to grow bigger deer and hold them so the neighbors don't get them.

 

[pinetag]

You sound a bit like me, I can barely wait until the current hunting season is over to start doing habitat work. I stay out of the woods as long as the season is still open.
I like the sound of your property where you say the cutover is getting thick. EHD is out of your control, but thicker cover is doable, and it's the number one thing you can do to grow bigger deer and hold them so the neighbors don't get them.

It was cut in the fall of 2022 so it’s on its second growing season. Should really get good over the next couple years!


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