dave6x6

hb, welcome to the site.. I agree with your experience and imput completely. Unless your plot is more than big enough for your deer pop. you are going to get some overgrazing issues and i also find the Whitetail Ins. products do the best job of getting things going in a hurry. Of course you do know we both have just opened up that tired old debate over premium plot seed vs. ag seed. Just warning you that the posts will be coming. When trying to combat this for our clients, we have had some good success with the WI Double Cross which as i'm sure you know is a mix of clover and brassicas. The brassicas sprout and grow very quickly and they offer a bit of a protection for the clover until it has a chance to get started. The first year you get to hunt the deadly combination of the two together and then the perrenial clover will provide the food for the next 4 or 5 yrs. If you really just want a small, honey hole, hunting plot that you know is going to get hammered, the only thing i try to do for clients is to use fast growing annuals and try to hold off as long in the late summer as possible to plant. They will grow fast and they will be very attractive from the get go so use different products for your primary bow stands and other forage thats more attractive after first frost, for your gun stands. I know this is not practical for every hunter but if you can do this it will help.

Thanks for the reply.. No hard feelings and on we go.

couldn't have said it any better than the last two posts. Especially the thoughts of planting annuals the first year and then come back with the perrenials the second. Thats the method we use on our hunting plots and also for our clients. It's not impossible to get perrenials to come out fairly weed free on the first yr. but more than likely you'll be fighting those weeds for the first yr. or two. Eventually with proper care the clover will dominate the weeds and thrive. Mowing being the most critical step. I like to use Brassicas that first year as their big leaves keep the dirt almost bare underneath. And the deer love them late season. Also don't skip the soil sample and try to follow the recomendations as close as you can. As a matter of fact if the report calls for twice as much nutrients as your budget will allow you to spend, then i would rather cut the plot in half and have it at it's healthiest best than to cut the nutrients and end up wasting your time. Healthy plantings vs. weeds-- planting usually win. Nutrient starved plants vs. weeds-- Weeds almost always win...

Joe, I personally have no idea what the heck your talking about. I re-read every post and honestly don't see anything that would lead anyone to believe that the member had some kind of problem with scoring bucks. Am i missing something?

Hey cbx, Don't be bringin' up jink's this close to the season. I only have so many pairs of lucky socks and silly rituals to combat these things.

Yea, That is a beast for sure!!

Almost forgot a couple others. A few years back i shot a great buck that grossed 149" . feeling pretty proud of myself i decided to take a photo up to the archery shop and post it on the trophy board. when i got there, a crowd of about 20 people were all in the shop so i asked what all the hub-bub was about. The shop owner pulls a polaroid off the board and says you just missed seeing in person the new NY typical record which was shot last night by a local fella. The beast netted 192" typical. Couple months later i hired a fella that turned out to be the hunters son and he gave me a picture of the deer the night it was killed. His father who was your typical meat hunting, everyday kind of guy never put the buck in the book. Said he didn't really care what it ranked but the backstraps tasted great. I tried to convince the son that the book was about giving that awesome buck it's respect and place in history but he never changed his mind. By the way, 10 days after i shot mine, my brother killed the 10th biggest deer taken in the state that yr. When he took it to the local hunting expo to get it green scored, he brought with him a rack that he found off a deer that had been shot but some hunter but never recovered and his rack was ever bigger. He said he walked in and all the guys waiting to get there horns measured just sort of parted as he strolled up to the table with two top 10 racks, one in each hand. He laid them on the table and said to the scorer " Think they'll make it? ''. Here is a pic of my brothers. Pretty crappy photo but we were pretty excited at the time.

Eddie, I've spent some time in the Groveland area putting in some food plots for a client down there and you have yourself a big buck producing area to hunt. I know of three giant that were taken down there last yr. and the smallest officially scored 177 and i think the largest was 194 or something rediculous like that. The word came to me through an official boone and crocket scorer so i think it's true but i guess you never know. Also my client has been getting bobcat pics on his cam which is pretty cool.

I'm fortunate to hunt in one of the states big buck producing counties and have seen numerous giants taken by friends and hunting buddies. The biggest i've seen was the "Hall" buck taken a few years back just a few miles from my hunting grounds. Gross score 204" with 4 drop tines. The biggest i've seen in the field while hunting is 174". I know this because i watched that buck for a half hr from 300 yrds. during bow season and tried every trick in the book to budge him off some doe he had pinned down but without luck. The next day some guy shot that buck two properties over and sent the pictures to a mutual friend of ours. That hurt!! There is also a giant that i have a picture of which was taken by a fellow member here that i won't mention, but he's probably the best MATURE deer hunter i know and the photo of one of his slobs hangs in the barn and is the last thing i look at as i pull by bow from the hook and head to the stand. I've got a few beauties on the wall myself but these bucks have raised the bar to a new level in recent yrs.

njg I think you nailed it. Thats official put it in the book . He's a fine buck and if i shot him he would go on the wall and i'd be mighty proud to have him..

Geno c , in 170 yrs of Boone and Crocket record keeping, only 34 8 pointers have made the book which as you know is 170". Now i've been known to add a few inches to most of my deer stories myself so i'm saying this in true hunter friendship. "175 EASY" ?

That is a really fine 8 pointer but the bottom line is that eight's dont push the tape up very far unless they have some world class features like 25" spreads or tines that go 9'' - 13'' - 10''. The way i see it he is 17wide , main beams maybe 20" , 4 1/2 brows , 10' g-2 , and maybe 7" g-3 , With 15" circum. on each beam ,that gives you 130". That being said he sure is a heathy looking beauty but he might be a 145'' 10 point if you let him walk this yr.