WesternNY

The Picture they used on the top of the article was a stock photo.

Nice Bucks, that first one, looks real nice and I would think would be around 3.5 to 4.5 but I need a Fall pic to be sure.

Getting Kids off the couch off their electronics and in the woods is good no matter what!

Maybe you need some little blue pills! LOL

You are scaring me, you are not much older than me.

Planting a plot and thinking you are going to grow big antlers and harvest big bucks is wrong, most of us get this. TV doesn't help when you see mid-west properties and 20 to 30 deer pile into the plot. Planting a plot, planting trees, shrubs, releasing apple trees, doing aggressive tree cutting to create cover all benefits wildlife. Every plot planted weather if it is hunted or not benefits wildlife. By far more wildlife reap the benefits than get harvested. Hunt a plot 2 or 3 times, especially harvest an animal and plot use goes nocturnal very quickly. Most consistently successful hunters who harvest mature bucks hunt low impact, with strict adherence to wind direction, stand access and understand how deer use the land. They also hunt within 100 too 200 yards from known bedding areas and don't hunt the same stand more than 3 times. Some will wait all season for the right conditions to hunt a known area that contains a mature buck.

It is more serious of an issue in some parts of the country "Several studies have reported that fawn recruitment rates have dropped from a historic average of 0.9 to 1.2 fawns recruited per doe to 0.4 to 0.5 or less. This equates to a decrease of more than 50 percent in deer herd productivity and certainly has important implications for harvest management, particularly doe-harvest goals." Taken from http://www.qdma.com/articles/three-ways-to-track-fawn-recruitment At the National Convention in July some data reflected a rate as low as 0.20 fawns recruited per doe. That is down right scary. It of course all depends on your specific deer numbers.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20130804/SPORTS0103/308040032/Do-Land-management-hunting-can-bring-big-rewards?fb_action_ids=547637975271587&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_ref=artsharetop&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%22547637975271587%22%3A550681361657006%7D&action_type_map=%7B%22547637975271587%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%7B%22547637975271587%22%3A%22artsharetop%22%7D

It is a fine balance between working your land, enjoying your land and being low impact. Having food, water, cover that is hunted low impact is key. I live on my land, so leaving it low impact is hard as I enjoy improving my habitat just as much as hunting. By far the biggest factor is human intrusion. Checking cams too much or not in the correct way for sure impacts deer behavior. I try to place my cams in areas that are easy to check and not in areas where I am going to disturb normal deer activity at 12 Noon. Checking cams mid day is key, being scent free helps, and if you can check your cams by tractor even better.

I think it does affect most mature deer...... I check every 3 weeks unless I am close for another reason.

Bump

You are all invited to the morning Seminar with Matt Ross and Neil Dougherty as our guest speakers. This is going to be a great event. Morning Seminar 9 AM til 11:45 free and open to the public QDMA Summit, Branch Officers and Volunteers only 12:00 PM til 7 PM Both at RIT INN and Conference Ctr.

They are for sale..... I know a scope member who has some out in the Batavia Bergen area. Send me a PM with your email and I will have him contact you.

QDMA membership! A Nice knife, whitetail Whiskey, something for his cabin, unique cabin décor.

I hope she shaves! You know those Europeans Joking

I give you guys credit for taking a crack at a summer picture. He is 2.5 maybe 3.5 but for sure not 1.5 I would say 104 inches at best. Nice up and comer.

Grow what is your favorite bait to plant.. LOL... sorry. Joke What is your favorite plant or mix to plant and why. I have 2, clover as it gives quality feed april though end of Dec dependent on snow level and corn. Corn gives them great carbs from Oct through end of Jan for me.

Please note I did not directly call any specific person stupid. I have done more for conservation in the past 5 years than I bet he has done in a lifetime.... a number of you know me and can vouch. I continue to do conservation work and try to share my knowledge with others on this site, through outreach events, field days, seminars, etc etc What are you doing. Far too many people do not give back. Far too many people get on forums stir the pot, make seriously inept statements. Last year I harvested 2 deer. One was a doe with a bow at 43 yard shot on a plot.... 43 yards with a bow is a challenge for me The buck was in a funnel not on a plot opening morning of gun, a 3.5 year nice buck. He too was a challenge, as I choose not to harvest 1.5 year old bucks. All bucks on the past 5 years that are on my wall, 2 2.5's and a 3.5 and 4.5 were not taken on the plot. Planting a plot and other habitat improvements is about giving back and making the habitat better and giving back to the resource. Hunters who choose to just take are consumers, hunters who improve habitat are managers. My plots feed a ton of deer I have watched 16 to 18 deer a night feed in them, I harvest a few, but the gains for the wildlife are obvious. Far easier to complain about someones property improvement than to take the time and labor and improve your footprint in the world.

Are you sure you are right about Vermont... I know several people who plot up there and I don think they are the type to break the law.

If you type stupid things like some do you are stupid.

I am lucky as I have great draining soil..... dry years it makes a bit of a challenge.

I don't think winter greens have radish.... Yes the plots are in the general center of my property. One is 4 to 4.5 acres the other is 1/2 acre. The lay of the land pretty much placed them for me but I make it work and have had success.

It is pretty simple. The question leads me to think of stirring the pot the answer is so obvious. Baiting Tends to place a pile of bait in one location, near your stand. Plots are 1/4 acre to 10 acres or bigger. My 4 acre plot is a challenge to hunt My 1/2 acre plot is also a challenge. The state made baiting illegal because of the risk of disease transmission. Disease is thought to spread much easier from a bait pile than an ag field or food plot.

In spring, by the time oats get up there is enough preferred browse but more importantly once oats get any good height to the plant they are not tender and not preferred. Planting Sept 1 is best as the plant will be still tender growth rather than long mainstem plant material. Bottom line, once they get tall the deer don't like them.

I just bought a 80 pound bag of feed oats, they will grow and I think it was around $20. That should be enough to almost do an acre.