LET EM GROW

Or like this Tool.... This guy wounded a buck and blood tracked him with a few of his pals, into one of our sanctuaries. then lost the buck, and or just gave up... Got to love it.. Maybe someone here knows if him.. Yes the group of guys were approached, and no, zero calls were made to the DEC.. yet.. Oh and the date is off, Pic from 2nd Weekend of last month

I think a lot of it has to do with where you are hunting.. is it around a suburban area, or is it more rural, along the lines of dirt roads, minimal houses big woods less AG etc.. I have a lot of trails on my 8P prop. that look to be "very heavily used" and they are but they are mainly used after dark. for the fact being that there is zero bedding nearby. These big woods deer (IMO) dont have to use the same trail every day to get to where they want to go. where as small wood lots and hedge row grown deer(My 8F prop) have to follow these "edges" to get to where they wanna go and stay covered. Thats just my assumption. My 8F property is 150 acres that borders the town/village lines and housing tracts, small wood lots, hedge rows and lots of AG are very much present. My 8P property has only a few houses and much much bigger wood lots and very little AG.. these deer are a bit harder to pattern IMO and half the time they are not even on a normal heavily used trail when entering or exiting a food source But i still hunt them, because they do use these trails, i just try to time it per the time of season, the rut pre rut etc.. and which ones are closest to food, bedding, staging or in between a couple of these places... and go from there..

This pic never posted but, like to see if they eat them. They have never eaten the radish tuber nor leaves before when ive planted these.. Hoping they do this time with it in a brassica blend this year instead of an all Radish planting.. such good looking plants for the deer not to eat them lol Im sure they appreciate my efforts though lol

IMO going with a dandy 2.5 yr old.

Checked my deer ag turnips today .. they are quite large for being dry this year Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Id tag him in a heart beat too!

That one bucks a beauty! hope you connect with him chris!

In Macedon 8F my family owns 150 acres ( I don't hunt here too much anymore) In Wheeler 8P I own a 12 acre camp, but have direct access and manage 370 acres total between 4 properties.. which used to be well over 1,000 acres before land was bought and sold etc..

Its funny you say that, I planted a bunch of vegetable seeds just before our drought just to see if anything would sprout and grow.. I couldnt spend the time to tend the garden this year but would reap the rewards if anything somehow grew. Nothing germinated so i tilled it under and spread a double beam blend over it.. that grew great with the rain we finally got in august, and so did the garden i planted back in June lol. Mixed in with the brassicas and such are zucchini, squash, cherry tomatoes, small pumpkins and so on.. lol havent had a good enough frost to hurt anything.. until tonight im sure.. but it was kinda neat to see them growing in the mix lol

Nice story grow, wish your flock walked pass me Saturday. I had 7 longbeards pass by me @ 15 yards on their way to roost, i just couldnt shoot one, for the challenge and thrill they give me in during Spring. If it were a hen id gladly take one, our hen numbers to adult toms is way out of whack.

First off ill just say, i love being in the outdoors and witnessing the woods wake up and shut down at the beginning and end of each day. That being said we manage our property in 8P along with many of my neighbors, for healthier deer, better buck to doe numbers, more mature bucks, food plots, sanctuaries etc.. Ive shot plenty of deer, from tiny to quite big in my 16 years of hunting and just dont feel the urge to harvest any younger deer anymore. Now i will never judge anyone for what they harvest ever, we all have different lives and different circumstances, pay taxes and what not, most of us work and or have worked for a living to provide for our families and i completely respect that. But I do my best to pattern and gain history with deer and let my wife try and harvest the first deer or two of the season before myself. I dont ever want to shoot a deer and not consume it, i cant justify shooting a deer to not eat it or make use of it in any way unless the animal went to the less fortunate. If my wife doesnt harvest anything 1/2 way thru season, i will take any good size doe i have a tag for. Buck criteria wise for me he has to be atleast 3.5 no matter where i hunt, 4.5yrs+ on our managed properties in 8P. and 3.5+ on my family farm in 8F(not so managed) I would much rather let the animal grow(hence the name) and attempt a harvest when they mature..

I wanted to use DeadEye when I joined for that is what my Dad used to call me as a youngster, for my marksman skills since a real young age. Instead I chose this name because I just enjoy being surrounded by mother nature and all of gods creation. Out of all the "game" I see during season, I very rarely pick up the gun or bow on stand. Unless its an older smart critter, that I feel i have outsmarted.... I will just.. LET EM GROW lol Bryan

Starting to see more scrapes and rubs pop up in 8P.. Trail cams are also showing new bucks after shooting hours... And a couple good bucks during daylight hours again..

I love love love whitetail hunting in a light misty gloomy day.. especially cool temps . See lots of buck movement these days like you said grow.. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

I should have said this as well, I don't get to hunt near as much as I used to, so I try not to let anything keep me from hunting when I do get the chance to venture out. Kids and wife like to keep me busy lol Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

I dont think its un ethical at all to bow hunt in the rain. As long as the hunter knows their limitations even in perfect weather. If your not comfortable with the shot, you just dont take it... PERIOD. As a teen i took several marginal shots on deer and never even thought twice about it. Shots that i regret ever taking now and they cost me several deer worthy of the wall. I learned the hard way, BUT I LEARNED and now will only attempt a harvest if I'm completely comfortable and confident i can make the best shot i can. Or the deer will walk.. I will do my absolute best to never lose a deer again. I've sen some awesome deer movement in the rain , esp during the rut, a lot of people wont hunt the rain so the woods are much less pressured at that time.... that being said i will be out there waiting on a hit list buck.. I wont hunt in a down pour unless its going to end before my sit is over, light rain, wind, snow.. bring it on..

My apologies, didn't even notice the bark behind the cherry leaves. #1 beech, shoukd have smooth grey bark. #2 is def a cherry tree. #3 I'm not sure without seeing bark.. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Looks like Beech to me, I have a ton around me and that is just what they look like.. Smooth grayish color bark?? I think your 2nd picture is an ash tree, which would have a more course bark like the picture posted above

Ok, ill ask the dumb question, cause ive always been curious.. lol What is supporting member? how do i do it, cause it sounds like something id like to be lol granted what it takes to become one. Thanks, and I'm sorry(for the dumb ?) in advance lol Probably catch some chit for it.. ha Bryan

Could not have said it better myself!! I had to call a dog for my archery buck last year, first time ever doing so. I enjoyed watching that dog work, and how excited he was when he found him. Look forward to following all of these stories.. Best of luck to both of you!

He is nice, like to see him in person lol

Congrats on the buck, hes a nice one. Is this a stand or the back deck? If a back deck, id love waking up that every morning!! If stand, sure looks comfy! lol

I never thoght of using already used licking branches and setting them up in range of a stand. I like that idea! Wil be trying this for sure! Thanks bsh!

I still have my bushnell bone collector i purchased about 6 years ago. though last fall i accidentally dropped it in the lawn heading to a stand, and about 5 days later ran it over with the exmark, found it and it still works lol Just has a couple dashes missing when the readout shows yardage. My wife bought we a Nikon laser range finder for Valentines Day.. not sure which model but its tiny and nice.

I have the wooden ones still from kid years, they sound great .. but the plastic ones just never sounded right to me lol Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk