dave6x6

G-man, I too love the early season and have shot a few oct. bucks but my feeling on the rut(mostly seeking and into chasing phase) has changed drastically since i found and tweaked my set-up like i talked about earlier. It's often times is hard to get the shots off on the bucks on the move, but it sure is fun when you find yourself in an esterous filled woodlot. Doc, i was thinking the same thing about the luck factor but didn't dare say it. Sometimes when i mentioned anything about relying on luck to some serious hunters, i got a big, "you make your own luck" shpeel. LOL I'll take anyones luck that they don't want cause in hunting, sometimes your the dog, most of the time your the hydrant..

Oh man cabinboy, you mowed. That plot is really gonna look sweet in a couple weeks. Please don't show me any more pictures, My ego can't take anymore. LOL.

Thanks again NY Antler for some great info on this subject. Pretty convincing stuff and all sounds pretty above board on BC part to me. I'm also much more apt to believe BC then Deer and Deer Hunting anyway. They seem to be really interested in sensationalizing things lately. (eg. the nuges press release).

There are formulas out there. Just google them. Texas A&m study. Auburn study. Tacamote study ect. Pretty complicated to put it in a forum post. Much of the info is somewhat subjective and lots of variable and controlled circumstances.

Oh now i'm following ya. I would agree. If you got 50k to spend you may as well get the diesel. 2500 Cummins is about 56,000.

Wooly, Does Joe know your messin' with his trail cams?

Been to the Dodge Store lately. 2012 ST Power Wagon ST Laramie msrp well over 50k Even the SLT is upper 40's. Nor saying that's what you'd pay but they all sticker pretty dang close to 50 or over.

Sorry Doc , I guess i'll just agree with you next time despite 50 posts by some very smart food plot guys. (All over sized plots are stupid and a waste)

Well I think you can't go wrong plunking down your $50,000 + on either one of those choices. Power Wagon in the Cummins would be my choice but you can probably get in the Raptor for a bit cheaper. Just guessing from when i was looking around. The Raptor is a bad ass looking truck with it's wider wheel base and body effects but It still looks kinda puuny next to the big Dodge and think the Power Wagon maybe has more real toughness. I thought the Raptor only came in 1/2 ton? I also found my Dodge has a bit more practical storage space then my dads Ford. Just one Hemi mans opinion. LOL

You are right about that Doc. The other problem i have with a couple of my stands are that a buck may come from any given direction at any given time. In ag country, chances are your going to have food source on all sides and in my case, bedding scattered in all directions. I like every other hunter is very aware to try and set up their stands down wind of active trails and yet i hardly ever see big bucks using these trails. Of the last six bucks i've shot, only one was on an obvious trail. And that was our access trail. high stands and scent control attempt to put things a bit more in my favor, but when the wind is really un-predictable, i will most often leave my best stands alone and hope for the best in one of the fringe stands.

Cabin, 1st plot attempt, no lime, no fertilizer, and results like that. Awesome job. You can spray for grass using WI Arrest but you can find much cheaper brands on line or at many ag supply companies. You may want to take wdswdr's advice about mowing though. I think you will find that if you can stay ahead of the weeds going to seed that the clover will out compete those weeds over time. That plot will really pop in the second and third year so if you can mow religiously the weeds will remain at bay. I try to mow just before the clover goes to flower so that the energy of the plant is going into the roots and regrowth rather then to the flowers. Usually around 10" , it's ready to mow.

Sam, you had some interesting points but then you lost me with the "real" story having something to do with the fake rompola?? was that a joke that i didn't catch?

Nice stable of contenders your got working wny.

Cabinboy, I stand corrected and i also congradulate you on an awesome looking plot. Did you say this was your first attempt? Fantastic.. It's funny because WI clover is a notoriously slow starter. What did you use a crop sprayer with miracle grow. LOL

Great example Phade. "Hard sided funnel" I think i'll copy write that phrase. LOL

Yah, I think thats probably why i never made the plunge.

I thought i saw Summit had one now also. I've been saying for years that i was going to try these but never did.

The REAL DEAL Woodsman. He's got it all. Super looking mount.

Your way is do-able but it will get noisy and tiresome pretty quick. You may want to leave the stand always up ( chained and locked ) and pull the bottom steps as you leave. Or instead of screw-ins, use climbing sticks and just pull the bottom one every time. But pulling the stand will be the only way to guarantee you don't get it stolen. It also may prevent you from getting a deer..

On the surface, it wasn't info that an experienced hunter like you Woodsman hasn't heard or read 100 times in magazines. And it wasn't new to me , but what clicked was that he was describing his best stands and by luck, i had similar features that needed to be taken advantage of. And many of those posting on here have touched on them as well. Basically what they are are pinch points, with fool proof entry/exit routes, where the wind blows towards a deer dead zone. I know what your thinking. DUH . We all know about not letting our wind blow toward where we think the deer might be. He talked about his best stands blowing his wind where deer "can't" be. What i call "hard" downwind pinch points. A river or lake, a steep bluff or drop-off, or maybe a fenced pasture all are examples of the hard backside of the pinch. If you can find bedding cover on the upwind or "soft" side of the pinch, now your in business. Left and right of the stand widens out to thick woods or scrub and hopefully food source. Thats not asking too much is it. LOL

Are you sure thats not weeds? I'm sure it's just the photo, but it really looks unusual for clover.

Great insight on how the whole thing works Antler. And I agree that a new world record would only bring good things to B&C. The once scored , it can't be re-scored under a different classification i suppose makes sense but maybe you can clarify something. What step comes first. I shoot a 200+ typical. From the naked eye, it may be close to a record. Being excited, i take it to Joe shmow,local BC hunting buddy who scores the buck and says it's a new record? Or does he have to get a Head Mans classification first, and then he can score it? Also, I'm still not buying your "maybe some scorers don't have the experience with non-typicals" . The one guy was the head of the Wisconsin Club for goodness sake. WISCONSIN Clearly there is alot of dis-agreement on the classification. Maybe They should vote on some club changes. Kinda like instant replay in football.

sounds like the right choice for you Doc. Don't think anyone was going to change you already made up mind anyway. Clearly food plots don't fit very well with your hunting style or philosophy and it would have been nothing but stress for you.

OK i'm beginning to wish i never started this topic.LOL Can we get back to bashing the King Buck? LOL . Would i have liked my mount to have turned out better? Obviously. but Biz, it wasn't a matter of "getting what you paid for'' or for lack of doing my homework. Your taxidermist did a nice job on yours but no offense, I'll keep my brute.. Fins, i did another look over and there is no question it is my cape and everything lines up in person. Thanks for the sleepless night though. LOL

Ohh. Thanks a bunch for putting that back in my head Fins. LOL I've looked him over pretty good in the past and i think he's original but now i guess i know what i'll be doing tomarrow.. He's got a pretty unique gotee and all the brown patches match up. As for the ear, not sure if it looks that way because it's limp in the pics and rigid in the mount but i'll take another look and maybe dig for some better pics. Guess i'm not getting much sleep tonight.