sampotter

Clover and other legumes are traditionally planted in september or the spring when soil moisture is good. I'm actually switching to mostly annual plantings because there is no sense trying to feed the deer in the summer when there is so much ag around me (soybeans, alfalfa). I'm going to plant oats and brassincas in August to give the deer something after the alfalfa dies and the corn is in the bin.

Grew up in CT, moved to Cayuga county in 2006. Hunt 7h and 7J as well as the Adks near Raquette.

11pts, 152". 4yrs plus. Some of the features of the rack and the mass suggest the deer was more likely a bit older than 4. The rack was 3" into the mud. All I could see was the tips of the main beams sticking out above the grass.

Most of this region is 7-7.5 which makes it a lot easier to get a good stand established

Thanks. It sounds like most of the bucks being seen or taken are not mature. I grew up in CT and mature bucks there were 125-145 with regularity. I now live 6 hrs west and the bucks are a little bigger, but all the deer in between can't be that small. Westchester County is consistently one of the best producers in all NY due to the hunting restrictions.

Not much. I put down a basic 15-15-15 fertilizer @ 100-150#/ac.

Just really good soil (natural pH 7.5), lots of agricluture, and good genes(most bucks have 10pt frames w/1 or more Non-typical pts).

1/4-1/3 acre. What the experts would call a "hunting" plot vs a "feeding" or "destination" plot. Positioned between bedding cover and ag fields.

The rack was 50yds off of the road. It had been there in the tall grass for several years, so there wasn't any obvious sign of death. None of my hunting neighbors lay claim to it, so finders keepers. Bullet? Truck? Bigger buck?

Depends where you are. In the Fingerlakes region where I hunt I have taken 4yr olds that range from 128-166", but also a 3yr old that was 144. ".(I sent teeth on all to a lab in Texas that does cementum annuli analysis) I also found a rack this spring that died years ago that was 152. I would say an average mature buck around here is from 130-150, with bigger ones in the 160s and there was a non-typical killed a few miles from me last year that was 180 something. In 2004 I shot a 191# buck in the Adirondacks and shot a 155# buck in CT 3 days later. The CT had a much bigger rack.

Don't know what happened to the 1st pic

Google Earth View 2006 and 2009. Red x is where the photos above were taken. White x is stand site. Yellow x is where I shinnied up a 3" maple sapling, bent it over for a licking branch, and wired it to a tree so the bottom branches were 4' off the ground. Deer were working within the week in july and I've gotten many trail cam pics under it. Unfortunately 2 things happened after I sweated my butt off on this plot; 2 new houses were built 100-150yds sout of it, and my dad confiscated the plot from me because he lives closer. I arrowed a 166" 11pt there the year before I built the plot.

Here is a boomerang shaped plot from start to finish. All pics are from the same viewpoint over 3 months time.

Also found this.

One of 3 I found.

Pretty comfortable. I have done all-day sits in it for several days on end. Where the seat area wraps around your thighs it can cut in. I put a foam hot seat in there for cushion. Also need knee pads for kneeling against the tree.

Hourglass shaped plots work well because a big buck at one end can't see all of the other end, but knows there could be a doe down there. Place your stand on the downwind side of the narrow spot in the middle and intercept aforementioned big buck. Also- if you have a lack of thick cover in your area, plant field corn as your cover 20-30' wide. By the time hunting season rolls around it will be 8-10' tall and will also provide feed for the deer in the winter. A pull behind planter works best, but I've had a lot of luck broadcasting the corn seed on well-prepared ground and cultipacking it in. It does need a good whack of nitrogen to optimize growth.

My family hunts a lot in the Adirondacks where dragging a deer out several miles is not practical. I learned from my dad and grandad, and have refined my own style to maximize the amount of venison utilized and the efficiency of how I do it. First, you need a deer, preferably dead. Then comes the easy part; Tools you need are 1 7-8" boning knife (keep sharp), and a heavy duty contractor- type garbage bag that can be bought at Home Depot. Start with the deer on its side with the legs pointing away from you. The deer does not have to be gutted. A)Insert your knife above the hock, just under the skin with the sharp edge up and cut the skin up to tail, following the line where the brown hair meets the white. Continue the cut all the way up the spine and then down just in front of the shoulder, all the way down to just past the front of the elbow. Remember- you are only supposed to be cutting skin! Move to the other side of the deer and pull the hide towards you and towards the legs. Doing so should expose the front shoulder, the loin, and the hind quarter; while also not touching dirt and debris. C) Remove the front shoulder by cutting between the shoulder blade and the rib cage. There are no joints there, just a few muscles. Breaking the elbow joint is tricky, but the best method is to cut aroung the joint with your knife and twist the entire shoulder. It should pop so that all you need to cut are the ligaments. Deposit the shoulder in your heavy-duty garbage bag. D) Next you need to "Fillet" the loin/backstrap out. Run your knife along the ribs and the loin at a 90 degree angle to the spine, from neck to pelvis. Then do the same at a 90 degree angle to the body, while at the same time lifting on the loin. It should pop right out. E) Now for the hindquarter. Start by cutting the muscle away from the pelvis at the top, above the joint. Then seperate the lower leg from the hindquarter at the stifle joint, which is the same as our knee. Do not cut thorught the skin on the bottom side. Pull the skin away on the inside of the hindquarter. Make a small cut into the muscle of the hidquarter just above the stifle joint to use as a handle that you can stick a couple of fingers through. Lift up on the hindquarter using this hole and seperate the hip joint by cutting on the inside if the hindquarter in the "crotch" region. If you are careful you will have the entire hindqaurter and NO dirt. You have finished the whole side. Roll the deer over to the other side and repeat the process. When you are done you will have all of the meat and only a few bones in your bag. Carry your deer out like Santa. This can be done in a garage with a gutted deer as well, however the skin comes off easier when the deer is still warm. Make sure you get the meat into a refirigerator immediately to prevent spoilage. I usually cut it up after a couple of days of aging. I use a meat slicer to slice up entire hindquarters into 1/4 inch slices that cook fast and are tasty, kind of like scalapini.

I hunt from a Tree Saddle- usually 20-22 feet. I highly recommend the Tree Saddle- I have never felt more safe and secure, been able to utilize tough trees that are crooked or small, or used something that is a versatile.

I bowhunt for most of the same reasons already mentioned above.I matured to bowhunting from the way of the gun 6 years ago. I now could care less if I could never hunt with a gun again. I feel like a true predator when bowhunting. With a gun I am just a killer that has no connection with the prey. I learned more about deer behavior in my 1st bow season than I had in the 10 years of gun hunting before that. AND there is nothing like following a heavy blood trail after making a good shot.

Irony

You can skimp on the stumps a bit by cutting them really low and only using a disk for tillage. Not ideal, but if you don't have a dozer, it is a good option.

Usually there isn't enough material when you mow clover to be a problem. Depending on where you are in NY, you might want to consider cereal rye. All you have to do is broadcast it before a rain and apply a little fertilizer (high nitrogen). Don't plant it until late August or September though, as deer only use it when it is young and juicy. I had great luch doing this last year on skid roads in the middle of the Adirondacks. However, if there are better forages nearby (farmers' fields) you might want to consider the clover, chicory, brassicas, etc. Try www.welterseed.com. They sell all the individual seeds at a fraction of the cost of commercial mixed food plot blends. Also http://foodplotresources.com is really helpful. They even tell you how much the commercial blends cost per acre and what those companies use to "cheapen" up the blend. Pretty interesting. Food plots are a lot of fun and rewarding. I was plowing one yesterday with a doe and fawn in it 50 yds away the whole time. Also found 2 antlers, one in my tire.