Upstate Obsession

[Chainsaw]

I felt a bit dumb today walking thru the barren turnip patch again looking for sheds; Every turnip had been completely eaten and the bare dirt reminded me of the raked part of a baseball infield. It was an easy walk-no MFR, no hinge cut trees, not even any brush at all to push thru and barely even a blade of grass. And to my surprise two sheds were found glistening in the low sun. It seemed impossible that they could have been missed on the first walk-thru. The sheds were only a crotch horn and a 2 1/2 year old eight but it didn't matter;it was still a blast to find them. Thanks Tom!

As regards your left over corn, hopefully the bears will finish it off. If you did end up with 500 ears left and each ear had 380 kernels at a 50% germination rate that would be 95,000 volunteer corn plants. Once in a property I was readying to plant, 2 million, 700 thousand volunteer corn plants had come up on each of about 100 acres. Thirty three bags of roundup ready corn was in the barn ready to be planted. That was quite the fire drill. Luckily the dealer also carried Liberty Ready corn seeds which I had never heard of and he took the roundup ready seeds back in exchange for the Liberty seeds. Problem of unkillable volunteer roundup ready corn plants was solved. We had been in a panic for nothing. That won't be a problem in your case with only 500 ears left at most. That low amount can simply be picked before the corn is brush hogged.

 

[Elkaddict]

This time last year, I was worried about voluntary corn. By the time we got around to bush hogging in mid May, it was all gone. Hoping for the same result this year.
I figure to find sheds, you need to search with a morning, midday and afternoon sun to have the best chance to find the sheds. Different light really matters. My 2 acre rutabaga plot where most sheds have been found is still full of 4-8" tall stalks and it's quite challenge to find them if they're tines down or a little dirty.

 

[Elkaddict]

From my front porch, I can see into one of our corn plots. I watched this guy feed for 30 minutes. Interestingly, 4 deer entered the plot and fed within 30 yds of the bear. They stayed for 10 minutes then fed into an adjacent LC grain plot. This morning at dawn, I watched a much larger bear exit the plot. I suspect I won't have to worry about much volunteer corn

 

[lakngolf]

Yikes. Can't imagine y'all deal with those black monsters so close by. He can eat a lot of corn!

 

[Elkaddict]

I've got multiple pics of chasing going on--guess it's that time of year. I'm not looking forward to a sow with cubs on the place....

 

[Elkaddict]

This is a trail cam pic of the guy I saw this morning. Pretty fat for this time of year. You'd think there was a wildlife buffet or something....

 

[dogghr]

Fat bears, Elk. I've got lots of pic but never any of chasing. That's cool. Our season is wide open from Sept tthur Dec even with a concurrent hunting during buck rifle. Has slowed the numbers down some. I did jump one out of clover this weekend, still supprises the crap out of me. How can you miss such a huge black mess until you are on it? I think they do it just to play with me.

 

[Elkaddict]

Dogghr, I like having them around, seeing their sign etc...... The wife and I go on lots of walks on the property, usually being pretty quiet. My concern is for the inevitable sow with cubs encounter. Experienced it out in Idaho/Montana fishing and hunting.... Don't care to repeat. My enjoyment with having them around would also be impacted by their devasting my corn in summer/fall. Hope it doesn't come to that. They enjoy LC grain mix and brassicas....not worried about their consumption.

 

[Chummer]

You have some fat bears. I like seeing them now but at the rate they are multiplying they will be a problem soon. I would guess you will find some more sheds. It is funny how they just show. I found one in ty turnips last year after turkey hunting it for a month and walking through it countless times.

 

[farmhunter]

the bears are amazing!! I'm not too far from you - but we only get the stray one every so often. Congrats on the sheds -looks like you have a few that will be on the hit list this fall!! One year I did have trouble with volunteer RR corn. The partial ears that got buried when I plowed grew like bushes - and none grew back with viable ears. Really just made my soybean field kind of ugly. The ones that came back in the corn - I hardly noticed.

 

[Elkaddict]

Time for a quick update. Still seeing bears every morning/evening in the corn. They've got it about cleaned out which his great timing--I'll start bush hogging/discing in ten days or so. Found a couple more sheds in the rutabagas this morning. I've been through that 2 acre plot at least a dozen times now. Here's this year's take so far. I'm surprised I haven't found more of the mature bucks--figure I'm missing 9 of them. They're probably in the corn amidst all the downed stalks.

 

[Elkaddict]

Things are starting to green up. This bear was content to simply lay in the clover and graze away. To the left behind the apple tree is a slash pile. One of the bears denned up there for the winter.

 

[lakngolf]

Well just make yourself at home!!

 

[Triple C]

Nice find on all the sheds! Hard to believe we haven't found a shed but the grains are about 5 ft tall in the plots now so prolly a few laying in there somewhere. I keep dreading the day we see the 1st bear on our place. They're pretty much all around us but none so far on our place. Got enough issues with pigs. When they show up...maybe they'll disperse a few pigs.

 

[farmhunter]

Great looking sheds there!

 

[Elkaddict]

Time for a quick update. The bears have continued to hit what remains of the corn daily. I watched this boar marking territory. This is an iPhone photo from the front porch.

 

[Elkaddict]

Sadly, he chose to mark territorty tearing up one of my apple trees we left in this plot. Not very happy about it.

 

[Elkaddict]

Because I didn't feel well enough to get out, I set up a decoy in the front yard and cut loose with a box call. Called in 3 different toms and shot this one. It had a 9" beard.

 

[buckdeer1]

Nice bird,do you hunt the bears?

 

[Elkaddict]

They're largely nocturnal in the fall. I do have a tag each fall and would probably shoot a large one with my bow. Probably pass with the rifle.....unless they keep tearing up my place.