LET EM GROW

id say 2.5 to both bucks. They typically always make a good jump from 2.5 to 3.5.

Its funny, through the years of late season buck pics. The big guys aren't so "big and bad" anymore when their head gear falls off. The little ones get there turn if they have the guts or not to start pushing the bigger ones around. They get their claim to fame for a night or two

As mentioned before, if you do break the soil. regardless of what seeds are planted there is no real need to go more than 2 or 3 inches deep in soil. For clovers and brassicas especially, just scrape the soil surface and roll the seed to the dirt. You can drag literally anything behind a quad that will mark up the sod/soil in some way to make a food plot, or as I posted earlier. On Growingdeertv, they call it there messy plots, and as zag stated tons of info! Theres lots of ways you can do it, you should have see some of the things i made and drug around behind my quad in my teens when i had very little money. IMO the groundhog would beat that crap out of a quad/equip. with all that downward pressure. Spend the money on a small disk, or harrow tine drag. Craigslist has some steals on peoples "scrap" thats not really scrap.. and also a roller.

First goal, is to welcome my 2nd (hopefully healthy) child into this world come June. Followed by getting an HD camera to start video taping my hunts and adventures into the woods again. I'd like to get my wife another archery deer but I doubt she'll leave the baby lol. As my season will be short again too I'm sure lol. Get some saw work done this winter to improve the whitetail home range, plant someone trees for cover as well as more hard and soft mass for eating. Etc.. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

I have never used one, but after I tried a few experiment plots. If you want tontry without it. I just sprayed off the vegetation dead(after 10 days) then seeded and rolled the dead vegetation down to the dirt along with the seed. Worked great. Vegetation holds moisture for the seed. Plus keeping the soil not exposed to air helps too. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

I can't remember where but you can buy an attachment for your bucket that is 2 sets of teeth, one straight forward other facing down. For pushing pulling and dragging. It was called something rake lol. It's like a bracket that slips over the blade of the bucket then just gets ratcheted around the bucket. I made a knockoff for my tractor. Works well. Google it. Should be easy to find. Think it was like 350$ Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Mine still reads date of issue in 2009 as well. But I had to re new my permit in March of 2014 to go pick my handgun up at the shop. But it does read 2009 still. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Correct me if I am wrong, but i purchased my last handgun in March of 2014, I also had to re certify at that time due to my previous 5 years were up(D.O.I. Feb. 2009) I haven't had much time to look into this Re-Cert bs but as I see it, I do not need to re-cert until 5 years from March of 2014?? Thanks in advance.

Yea I haven't called a coyote in a few years. Lost interest. I def would like to get back into it someday. I still have that cam, and surprisingly it still works! Unlike the new cams out now a days Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Great pics!! This may have been mentioned before but.. I got a tag for a road kill doe about 12 years back, to set a trail cam over it and see what would happen. This was back when Stealth Cam came out with there first digital flash camera. I was surprised to see there was a TON of deer checking out this "dead fully bodied deer carcass". Kind of seemed like they were there checking to see which deer she may have been. Groups of deer would stand over this deceased doe just sniffing away. day after day, until gone. I was quite surprised. I left the cam up for near 2 weeks, had a few coyotes that would set off the cam at a distance but would never come in and gorge. Red fox and other critters would, but not 1 coyote. After the near 2 weeks I took the cam down, and the doe was totally gone in 2 days. They must not have liked the bulky loud flash cam. May have to try this again with the modern cams.

I agree WNY.. Great pics and wicked buck! i love getting and gaining history with these elusive creatures. The more pattern able deer drive us even more crazy!

I have a 28hp sub compact tractor w/ 4' pto tiller works great, when rocks aren't too big and too often. For those rocky plots I picked up an 8' pull behind drag that someone was scrapping off Craigslist. I like using the drags in all my more rocky plots bc the tiller is hard on the tractor. Save that for the more fertile soils. I have the slip clutch backed nearly all the way off and it's still slightly too tight. But the tiller is the way to go. I also have a couple disks and drags for my 450 Honda as well as a roller. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

My first soybean plot was planted after 3 straight years of Brassica blends. The soybeans grew to nearly 4ft tall and produced tons. Besides some fertilizer here and there and some lime every 3 or 4 years. i have yet to soil test there, for nearly 8 years now. Just good soil that holds moisture. Even though 200 yards away the soil is horrible.. typical steuben county lol

Grow is right. You must build soil first. Id start with soil test. and go from there. A man i worked with for a few years now by the name of John Obrion from Grandpa Rays outdoors. He designs all his seed blends for soil building purposes, as well as favoring the whitetails taste buds. Very knowledgeable and has the credits to prove. He will also answer any of your questions. But build your soil first and rotate from legumes(fix nitrogen) to an annual like brassicas(use nitrogen) or vice versa depending on test. You can also plant soft and hard mast trees, shrubs and bushes. That is what i started doing last year and will continue this year, as well as pines/hemlocks for cover to hold deer..

Taking my wife out and trying to film her get her second deer with a bow all opening weekend, I didn't have it in me this year, like years passed, from not having my dad to hunt with anymore. But i was pumped to try and get my wife another archery harvest. She had her opportunity opening weekend and missed. But the look on her face when she turned to me fast after the shot and asked if she hit her, (she must not have seen the green nocturnal go over her back) i sadly told her no with a little laugh, you just cut some hair. She was bummed but you could still hear the excitement in her words as we walked back to the truck. But to be in a double set stand site and watching anyone especially her trying to harvest a deer is nothing less than awesome.

It would be completely backwards to do this, compared to what really should be done with this states deer seasons. But here in NYS that is how things are done, backwards and never the right way. If they want to try to step up the quality of the deer herd, take after a state that produces quality animals. Apply check stations and the "earn a tag" rule, whether its a buck or a doe you shoot. shoot one, get a tag for the other. Start off with a buck tag, and a doe tag. None of this "ANTLERLESS" tag stuff.. bucks are taken and tagged for "doe" this screws numbers up big time in the reporting system!!!! Tags are made for male deer, and female deer... not antler less deer.. PERIOD!! Take a buck, then take a doe or maybe even 2, before getting a second buck tag.. But they must tag deer for sex, not for what they have on their head. This makes hunters look twice before shooting and makes the reporting of male and female deer numbers easier and a little more realistic than before.. Change WMU per town or county, not multiple counties divided by highways or rivers.. etc.. Deer numbers can change like crazy from one end of a WMU to the other end.

I bet there is some blood, and it was probably walked by many times, hard to find a a few drops when its tough to even follow tracks. but the entry is high, especially for hitting an organ that doesnt "pump" blood. But i agree with what your saying.

Wife has been on bed rest since beginning of November, so i had veyr little chance to get out this year. Finally got out Saturday night to a spot a group of doe were out most of that morning feeding in a cut and turned under corn field. They came back out at somewheres around 415pm. The first adult doe that made it to the lane i could rest my hand/gun against my tree with, I would attempt the shot. About 85 yards out the first doe presents her self, im steady rested against the tree, i shoot and hear the "crack" of the shockwave hitting what sounded just like her rib cage.. She took off and i could tell she was hurting. With the blood at the hit site in the snow, along with the first 40 yards out of the field, i thought to myself "done deal", it looks like a massacre, and the "crack sound" sounded good.... i was wrong.. I gave her 20 mins or so and started the track in hopes to get in and get her out in day light, and or a second shot "just in case" before dark. Well after bumping her about 125 yards in with no shot. i backed right out. got permission from all nearby land owners to track her.... went back in the following morning, We tracked her roughly "650 yards" until her first bed, and from there to the "roughly" 920 total yard mark where she ceased(using the huntstand app).. there were more than a dozen beds. I felt absolutely horrible about all of this, but the coyotes got to her first and had her tore up from the rib cage back. In fact i believe we pushed a couple coyotes off her when we found her at 8:00am. She bled like it was being dumped from a pal the whole way since the hit site, to her final bed. Thankful for the snow. The shot hit the back of her shoulder low, and entered her chest right above the white belly hair, and came out just into the white belly hair, basically creating a drain plug.. I wasnt going to post this here, but I still called in the tag so i figured i will.

Liver then guts.. Liver hit deer dont bleed much, especially if hit higher and the arrow did not pass through (fletchings and shaft plugging entry hole) Liver does not pump blood, so we dont get traillike the lung blood. and they typically do not go more than 50-100 yards before wanting to bed down. Ive hit a deer and a coyote once years before, that did the same thing, both liver/intestinal hit .. ran one way, found dead less that 100 yards from hit site the other way. Been told gut shot deer can live more than 24 hours, liver hit deer shoudl be done within 6 hrs or less. Congrats to finding her! I wa sin the same shoes Saturday night Sunday morning.

Buckmaster, I'm so sorry for your loss. I wish you and your family the very best through these times, and as a hunting community ill speak for all/most, we are here to support for times like these. In reading this,it brought a few tears to my eyes(really) remembering the times with my hunting partner/best friend, being my father as well.. Stay strong brother. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Have them in Steuben County.

Congrats on the buck. But I also agree with Wooly, I dont think this buck is much of a cull buck at all, especially for 2.5yr old. In our "managed" area anyway, he would be an average or more than average, compared to the rest of the 2.5s around. Minus the lack of brows, hes got width already and some good height! He might have surprised you in a year, even more so in 2 years.. Regardless, congrats again, especially when feeling like garbage!

I"m going with your anticipation and excitement(maybe not noticable) at the time if the shot. We never think it happens even as good as the shot felt, but its hunting i think.. I did this a few years ago, Late season with the muzzle loader, group of does came out about 60 yards, i was sitting against a tree, i carry a branch i personally carved out for a shooting stick that comes to a "Y" at the end, i felt super comfortable with the shot, told myself to slowly squeeze, as i did.. bang.. the doe bounds away not looking hit at all. we searched in and out never found hair nor blood. I was beside myself.. it felt so perfect and it was my ML which i have more faith in then any gun i own. but i have to say it happens to us all. shot the gun the next day at 50 yrds, it was dead on, i have the nikon bdc scope on this gun and have a reticle dialed for 225yrds as well.. still dead nuts.

Heres a buck one of my neighbors hit with crossbow, last week of archery.Entry in the neck and exit behind shoulder of same side.. What a horrible angle to take a shot IMO, It must have been near straight on and neck turned to the left.. My fellow neighbor put him down Friday evening. Full of puss and gangrene.

Theres a lot of guys finding bucks that have dropped half or both already.. I haven't seen any yet.