Working at the Farm - Took a few I-Phone Pics

[HB_Hunter]

Awesome buck Steve! Congrats on getting it done!


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[Native Hunter]

I spoke today with the guy who runs the local deer contest. The contest ended December 1st, and my deer won second place this year. The gross score was 168 7/8, and the prize is a Ruger American Rifle with a digital camo stock. The Game Warden killed a deer that won first place. My excuse is that he probably got to scout more than me.... That was a joke of course....

I actually won the contest back in 2013 - the first year I ever entered it. Contests don't mean anything to me, but I do think that winning or placing is an indication that my habitat work is accomplishing a lot. I am competing with some very large properties in much better locations for growing old bucks.

Thanks everyone for following along and all the great ideas and support.

 

[Neahawg]

Congrats!!!

 

[Cedar Ridge]

Congrats Native! I continue to be amazed by everything that you’ve accomplished so far from a habitat standpoint.

 

[George]

Congratulations Native but with all of the shooting contests that you win it's hard to believe that contests mean nothing to you.

I'm going to need help, they say that there is 1 deer/square mile in Lewis county. So 491 square miles would be about 500 deer county wide.

G

 

[Native Hunter]

Congratulations Native but with all of the shooting contests that you win it's hard to believe that contests mean nothing to you.

I'm going to need help, they say that there is 1 deer/square mile in Lewis county. So 491 square miles would be about 500 deer county wide.

G

G, I retired from the shooting contests at the end of 2016. Won a championship that year and decided to go out as a winner instead of staying too long. But, I admit there was a time when they meant a lot to me.

I doubt those deer numbers in your county are actually that low, but with your talents at habitat building, you will draw more than your share of them. I'm really anxious to tag along on your new thread and see all of your work. It's like a whole new adventure in life! It's also going to be an education for me (which I will enjoy) because of how different the land is from my area - even though we are in the same state.

Good luck my friend, and I will be hanging on to everything you post in that new thread.

 

[George]

Thank you Native, it may take some time but if I make it there I'm guessing I'll have closer to 20-30 deer/square 1/4 mile.

G

 

[dogghr]

I spoke today with the guy who runs the local deer contest. The contest ended December 1st, and my deer won second place this year. The gross score was 168 7/8, and the prize is a Ruger American Rifle with a digital camo stock. The Game Warden killed a deer that won first place. My excuse is that he probably got to scout more than me....View attachment 14142 That was a joke of course....

I actually won the contest back in 2013 - the first year I ever entered it. Contests don't mean anything to me, but I do think that winning or placing is an indication that my habitat work is accomplishing a lot. I am competing with some very large properties in much better locations for growing old bucks.

Thanks everyone for following along and all the great ideas and support.

Congrats w your success Native. Well deserved especially for such a fine person. I won’t clarify your comment on the game warden as I have hunted w a few of those and some can be the biggest lawbreakers out there
Anyways , did you have your super recoil pad like you gifted to my son and myself when I rode into your Kentucky ranch on your rifle at the time? If so you may get another picture and endorsement. I love famous people!!

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[Native Hunter]

Congrats w your success Native. Well deserved especially for such a fine person. I won’t clarify your comment on the game warden as I have hunted w a few of those and some can be the biggest lawbreakers out there
Anyways , did you have your super recoil pad like you gifted to my son and myself when I rode into your Kentucky ranch on your rifle at the time? If so you may get another picture and endorsement. I love famous people!!

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Thanks dogghr. Since I was shooting my 308, I wasn't using a pad. However, when the 300 Magnum comes out, I won't be without one.

Back when I was doing a lot of turkey load testing, those pads saved the day for me. I can remember a few times I shot around a hundred 3-inch, 12 gauge turkey loads in a single day.

Now, you finally know what is really wrong with my brain.

 

[Native Hunter]

Since we have killed our deer for the season, I have been taking advantage of the warm days whenever possible - doing work at my farm. I've already started the mowing in the orchard I usually do in the spring with the DR Walk Behind Mower. After 15 years of hard use and no maintenance other than just oil changes and general stuff, I finally had a bigger problem. I had to replace the rear end. However, it was no big deal at all, and they had the parts almost immediately. When I spread the cost out over 15 years, it seemed like almost nothing.

I'm hard on this machine. It will cut down anything that you can ride down.

Also doing a little field mowing early so that the spring turkeys will have a path to the food plots. They don't dare come unless you open up a road for them.

Also opening up some new shooting lanes and removing sections of internal fence. Now is the time to do these things and not later when it is close to hunting season.

While opening up a new shooting lane, I discovered this grove of hazelnuts. I had never seen them before, and now I will do a little yearly maintenance around these in the spring.

I have also discovered new persimmon trees like the one shown below. I am constantly amazed at how persimmons come up on this farm. It's a persimmon mecca.

[

I would bet that one or both of the big deer we killed this year did these. They also did something I had never seen - beat down the tops of two cages to get to some pines.

Food plots are holding their own in this mild winter. These plots are being used heavily by about 20 resident deer. Will check cams soon and see if anything new is around.

Best wishes and Merry Christmas everyone. They are showing 60 degree weather right after Christmas here, and if that is the case, I will be out with the DR Mower and my Chainsaws working like a borrowed mule!

 

[lakngolf]

I think if you weren't native Hunter we would have to call you bush hog. Always amazed at what you get done with that DR. I would not be able to walk after that thing threw me around all day long. Everything's looking good at your place as usual. Merry Christmas to all

 

[George]

treasures discovered.

G

 

[Native Hunter]

treasures discovered.

G

Better than Oak Island...

 

[Native Hunter]

I think if you weren't native Hunter we would have to call you bush hog. Always amazed at what you get done with that DR. I would not be able to walk after that thing threw me around all day long. Everything's looking good at your place as usual. Merry Christmas to all

Lak, I tell everyone that it is my version of the Bowflex Max Trainer. I put in 3 hours ahold of that beast the other day. It felt good until the next morning...….

 

[MarkDarvin]

Are you freezing there this time of year?

 

[Native Hunter]

Are you freezing there this time of year?

Mark, this year has just been exceptionally warm so far. We are going below freezing most nights, but most days we are back into at least the 40s.

Another unusual thing about this year has been how wet we have been. This spring lots of farmers found it difficult to even get their crops planted. This wet trend continued somewhat through the summer, and now we are back into the continuous wet pattern again.

We can get brutally cold here at times. It was just a few years ago that the actual temp was close to 30 below zero one month. As a general rule we will at least go below zero occasionally each winter and have some long cold spells where the ground stays frozen for a while. It just hasn't happened yet this winter.

PS: Today we get up to 44 degrees, and I'm going to try and get in two or three hours of hard work....

 

[HB_Hunter]

You’ve been busy! Your work behind that DR reminds me of a day I put 8 hours on a stump grinder.

Great find on the hazelnuts. I wouldn’t have a clue what I was looking at.

It is crazy how wet it’s been this year. I’m fairly certain we set a rainfall record on the farm. We had some really cold days in November and even some early snowfall. Seems like it’s heating back up now.

 

[deer patch]

30 below zero? Is that a typing error or have you been smoking some of that Kentucky 31 Fescue. LOL

Place is looking good as always and DR Mower is built to last. We have a 3 day gun hunt after Christmas so I'm waiting to do any habitat work until it has closed, that way I won't push the deer onto the neighbors.

Merry Christmas my friend and have a prosperous New Year.

 

[Native Hunter]

30 below zero? Is that a typing error or have you been smoking some of that Kentucky 31 Fescue. LOL

Place is looking good as always and DR Mower is built to last. We have a 3 day gun hunt after Christmas so I'm waiting to do any habitat work until it has closed, that way I won't push the deer onto the neighbors.

Merry Christmas my friend and have a prosperous New Year.

Deer Patch, good to hear from you!

That's not a typing error. It was the winter of 2014-2015. The coldest in the state was -32 and just north of me a little ways, one of the Mesonet stations was either -28 or -30 (can't remember for sure). These are actual temps and not wind chill. Back in 1994, it was almost the same.

Here are the statistics for my general area:

• We have a 99% chance of hitting +13 or below
• We have a 50% chance of hitting +1 or below
• We have a 20% chance of hitting -8 or below
• We have a 10% chance of hitting -12 or below
• We have a 3% chance of hitting -18 or below

How do I know this????? It's part of my consulting job I do in forecasting electric load for power companies. We can figure out how much the demand increases with each degree of temperature decrease. Then we project the future loads based on the temps and growth factors they want to use. Soooo fun....

Merry Christmas my friend!

 

[Drycreek]

Looking good there Native, but you're making me tired. I think I'll take a nap......