WesternNY

For a guy with 170 acres a tractor is a no brainer. Likely you will also at some point want an atv/utv or electric cart.

LOL, I guess I should change that..... I always forget. This is the first polts I have had in a couple of years. LOL

I have 6 seasons in my farm I bought in 2007, the first year was my return to hunting after a long break for college, travel and lived on the West Coast for a bit. In 2007 I took 2 1.5 year olds, one was a 6 pt and was my first Bow deer. The next year I went to 8 points or better.... and in 2008 to a 2.5 year old 8, 2009 took a 4.5 year old 9 who's dressed Wt was 198 pounds. In 2010 I hunted one particular huge buck... between 150 -158 inches. I ate tag soup, but was fine with it... but I did pass several chips shots at 120 inch bucks that season. 2011 I shot a nice ~128-134 inch buck never found him... that was gut wrenching, I did end up harvesting a 2.5 year old 7 that year. 2012 I got a nice 3.5 year old 9. In those years I have taken 2 doe each year, some years 3 does. For me I like the challenge of hunting a buck that is older than 1.5, and have set my new goal for 3.5 or older only for me. My buddy who hunts the farm with me, is still at 8 points or better. He has a tough time aging bucks. Keeping it fun, challenging and realistic is key IMO... I don't knock anyone who decides to harvest a 1.5 year old, it is indeed a trophy and they should be proud, it is just not for me.

Gman, you are right about the AR still not protecting 1.5 year old as a lot of 1.5's can have more than 3pt especially here in WNY. When you look at PA's numbers.... their total Buck harvest makeup is still 50% 1.5 year old bucks. There were reports that the AR program in PA has made a decline in the whitetail herd in PA, yet their harvest numbers each year are very consistent with history, so obviously the herd numbers are fine. 3pt a side AR is silly, it is a starting point, but learning to tell the difference of a 1.5 year old buck (so he can walk) against everything 2.5 years and older is the key, and that is done by education and showing people the results.

Four Seasons we had a nice civil phone conversation in 2012 about the very issues you trash the QDMA about. I understand your feelings of being upset by the organizations stance on Deer Farms. The organization does far more for the average hunter and the preservation of the whitetails than bad. Is every decision and everything they do "gold" no. They are far from extremists, and the argument that they are concerned about competition of growing big bucks is ridiculous.

Sweet!

Do you have a side view of him? He appears young if he is a 1.5 year old he is he has awesome potential. If he is 2.5 he has still awesome potential. That angle is tough, but he appears 1.5 to 2.5 to me. AGE is the number one factor that leads to seeing the potential. Either way remember this. At age 1.5 a buck only reaches 10 percent of his antler development. At 2.5 around 25-35%. I would love to have him on my farm and would be hoping he made it for another 3 year! Nice buck!

From the other day for comparison

Goals IMO should be age and not antlers..... but most people cant age bucks on the hoof.

Wind mapping is done as close to season as possible on multiple weather days. You literally walk the property with map and a smoke machine, smoke bomb, or bubble gun and map out the wind direction. Know your thermals for AM and PM. I would pick up Neil Dougherty's new book, you can find it by searching for North Country Whitetails. He is also the best Habitat Manager in the State. You can see details on his website. It will cost you a bit, but you will have a solid plan in place.

Mandatory or voluntary???? Agree to voluntary, disagree to Mandatory!

You need to buy your fruit trees from a reputable apple nursery. Often local trees at walmart, lowes, your local nursery are on b9 a short tree that will produce early but not gain enough growth for the intent of adding wildlife value. The more trees you buy the price goes down. I like adams county nursery and generally buy 100 trees a year and spread savings onto my friends. For small orders expect to pay 30 a tree plus shipping, buy in quantity and it gets close to 15 a tree plus shipping.

People should respect the choice of shooting a 1.5 year old, but also everyone should respect the decision of someone passing on 1.5 year olds and targeting a specific age for their harvest goals. It goes both ways.

To be clear on QDMA's AR position read it for yourself Here: http://www.qdma.com/articles/qdmas-position-on-mandatory-antler-restrictions I generally don't get involved with threads like this because it gets out of hand real quick. There are a good number of NY hunters who practice some form of AR's. The Greater Rochester S. Tier QDMA Branch hopes through education and experience more and more NY hunters will decide for themselves to pass on 1.5 year olds.

He is clearly just a 1.5 year old buck, but has great potential. I would not harvest him, but it doesn't matter what I would do it is totally up to you and what you want to harvest.

One thing you need to be aware of is hydrostatic transmissions depletes your HP, between 2-5 HP and on a small tractor HP and Weight are vital!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would go with geared always, unless you are buying it for business that it's use would be loading with the bucket or pallet forks all day long.... then hydro is easier and makes sense.

Joe I have a lot of apple tree experience.... and myself and a friend are actually working on an article on this very topic. There is a ton to it, but anyone with the drive can do it. You need to get the correct rootstock and variety of apple first and foremost. Look for b118, 111, or emla7 rootstocks. You can have apples the first or second year, but you shouldn't let the tree bear fruit as it needs to devote energy to roots and wood. You want the tree to grow as quickly as possible. We have not formulated our Spring Field Day for 2014 yet, but there is a chance we would do a apple tree seminar. I would be willing to share more, but time is little tight. Here is a enterprise on b118 planted 4 years ago, stacked, window screen, and fenced. Here is that same tree this year, just a few weeks ago. After rootstock, variety is very important. You want disease resistant trees. Liberty, Enterprise, Goldrush, are good starters. Good Luck and email me if you want to bounce ideas around.

This topic is great but there is so much to it.... it is a bit mind blowing. Did you just buy this piece? Have you hunted this ground yet? I would start by getting some high def high quality maps from huntera. A couple so you can keep a master and work another. I would wind map the entire property this fall. I would hunt this fall and take notes. Once the wind mapping is done and you have a basic understanding on how the deer use your property I would then layout your plan. Wind and stand access and exit needs to be your biggest factor. second important factor is creating a sanctuary, again using the wind and access issues. Make the sanctuary thick as snot. Trail system is very important, as well as well defined borders and posting. You need the wind down before trails are made. I would then think about some plots, release apple trees, plant soft mast trees etc It is a marathon not a sprint and don't be scared to get help from a pro. Good luck, it looks like it has great potential.

AS said before know what is around you, but I would try to plan and plant to provide as close to as you can year round food. Clover is king in my opinion, Corn, Brassica's (frigid Forage is awesome stuff) Winter rye or winter wheat. The winter rye/wheat are planted first couple weeks of Sept will give them food fall, winter and into spring. Clover is mainly Spring green up til snow, but they will dig to get to it, but it is dormant in winter. The rye and wheat will grow a bit under the snow. Sounds like you already have corn. Brassicas are a great late season forage, they will dig and eat the bulbs in Jan and Feb. Good luck and welcome to the addiction of food plotting.

I top dress with urea all the time. It is by far the most cost effective way to apply Nitrogen. I have not noticed any burn on the plants. As others have said, it is rough on equipment as any fertilizer is and apply before rain, heavy rain is key.

I use a hand held bag seeder, I set it so seeds can barely drop through, and tend to under seed on the initial pass, But I walk for simplicity sake N to S and then W to E on a second pass. If I still have seed then on the 3rd pass will be N to SE. For clover I over seed, clover can handle this, while I may spend more $$$ I find it beneficial. For Brassicas they do not handle be over sown.. The most important part of small seeds is a perfect prepared seed bed!

I tried it twice, both spring plantings.... one year nothing, this year they did eat it, or it was the bears. It is cheap and easy to grow. It Smells funny.

My Sister got to meet him and shake his hand at his stop in Rochester.., I could care less but she is excited.

I have had it work and have had it backfire!

If you want to do something to get them to stop on a trail or at a certain yardage why not try a licking branch.... Different ways to do it, easiest is cable tie a fresh branch on another limb with it hanging at the correct Height. You can also pound in the ground a pipe and then cut a branch and put the branch in the pipe so the end hangs at the correct height. This has been done with succes by many and is far more natural.