nyantler

Oh and I forgot to mention .. he doesn't get a pass lol

He'll make the grade... good good buck.. great muscle tone too... that buck is at least 130, maybe 140, not 150

Remember that a management plan is just that.. a plan.. something that is thought out based on what is needed to insure a healthy habitat for the animals on the property without distrubing their natural activity.. a wildlife management plan is for the benefit of the wildlife first.. then the bi-product is a benefit to the hunter... otherwise it is only a plan to get more animals into killing range and falls short of being a wildlife managememnt plan.

ok we'll feed the kids a protein chocolate milk shake ... the point remains the same... I'm sure most guys don't have any idea what the carrying capacity of their property is based on available food source versus number of deer... plant enough food on a small peice of land and your 100, 200, 300 deer will eat that food source all up leaving nothing for the remainder of the bad days of winter... creating the same problem of over brousing as was there before.. so like it or not it is somewhat scientific

Welcome!!!

First you need to know that the gun is on..you can only know that for sure by sighting in with a rest.. then you can shoot offhand knowing that if you are not hitting your target it is entirely your fault not the gun..lol Once my gun has been properly sighted in.. I practice exclusively offhand for hunting

If we all agreed there would be no need for a forum... although we might disagree.. it never hurts to know what others are thinking... sometimes we learn things.. sometimes we learn things about people... and sometimes we just argue cuz its fun to see peoples heads explode..

I can put out a swimming pool of ice cream for kids to eat too and they will show up in droves to eat it.. but that doesn't mean it's the best thing for them. What I said in my last post was simple... Until you have done everything to examine and enhance all plant communities on your land (in the mountains or on the farm)... you can't begin to know what the deer actually need in that area... Like the kids and the ice cream.. just because they come to it and eat it doesn't mean its the best thing for them... supplimental food plots have a place... my opinion is that most of those planting them have no idea how or why to food plot as it pertains to deer nutrition or have ever even learned about what deer need as far as nutritional food in their area... they plant simply because they know that it attracts deer... then they use the "feeding the wildlife" to justify it.. That is not what food plotting is about..by the way I don't just hunt in the mountains I have about 1000 acres of agricultural land that I hunt as well...

I like the saying .. never pass on a buck you would the first day that you would take on the last... thats a good rule of thumb.

I have seen bucks and coyotes in the same fields when hunting many times.. neither really paying much attention to the other

John I can promise you I am not misinformed.. in fact I was probably doing seminars on QDM and supplimental food plots before you began hunting.. I just happen to have an opinion on where hunters have taken food plots from their initial concept... what many food plotters need to learn is when and where to food plot... as I have said before I am not against food plotting as supplimental feeding where and when they are necessary... food plots should be supplimental food sources planted after the land manager has taken every step to enhance all existing natural plant communities on the property... then and only then is when you consider what is lacking and plant accordingly... that is not the same as planting crops that will only hold or attract deer during the hunting season.. which .. in most cases.. maybe not in all case, but in most cases is what hunters consider food plotting.. thats not how the concept was designed. the concept was design to maximize the brouse during the toughest part of the winters.. to keep areas from becoming over broused and allowing deer to maintain nutrition levels when food is hardest to get... the concept did not allow for planting acres of Biologic during the summer months in agricultural areas where food is plentiful. I can get into much more, but much of it gets into carrying capacity vs food consumption and average deer food intake per acre and other more scientific stuff that would take for ever to explain on here...

Now I've seen everything. maybe next they will come up with a gremlin that attaches to your back and pulls the bow back for you so you can eat your lunch while shooting at a deer...lol

Welcome to Hunting NY Phils...

I think some of us will have to agree to disagree on this one!

All that is all great stuff.. but thats not the reason you planted them.. that is just the bi-product of your initial want to attract deer... if you weren't a deer hunter you would never have planted them... and if you say you would have.. I'm saying you're being less than honest...

That buck would probably pass all the AR requirements, but my personal restriction is a bit higher... only because I have been fortunate enough to have taken many nice bucks and I need to keep the bar raising so as to continue blowing my skirt up... for some fellas that buck would be a nice trophy to take... especially if it was your first bigger buck.

Good Job fantail!

Pass..

Spot on..!! +1 I think there is nothing wrong with food plotting.. just call them what they are.. a deer attractant.

The morning have been nice and cold.. so not all is lost.

For me it's what ever vital spot is available... my biggest buck i had to shoot just underneath the jaw line and the neck.. it was the only shot offered as he laid in his bed.. it was only about a 30 yard shot... his head fell and he never moved another muscle.. his feet were still nicely tucked under his body

sorry . i didn't catch that.. no need to lighten things up though.. its just a debate with differences of opinion..

After seeing those pics ... that might just be the same deer.. he has really good body size too

You somehow think I care how others hunt... what, where, when , why or how others hunt doesn't concern me in the least... my opinions aren't based on what others do... my opinions are based on how things affect MY hunting experience... I don't care if guys hunt treestands, food plots, or tie deer to trees and shoot them... I choose not to... that has nothing to do with you or anybody elses way of hunting.

Boy you fellas just don't like paying attention do you? An apple orchard planted for the purpose of attracting deer is the same as any other FOOD PLOT planted for hunting... ANYTHING planted to attract deer for the purpose of hunting would be the same as they pertain to hunting, which could and is thought of as a form baiting in some hunters eyes... it was planted for no other reason than the planter is a hunter trying to attract wildlife.. After the fact.. food plotters like to use the "it's great for all wildlife" angle to justify their initial reason for even considering food plots, which is to attract wildlife to hunt. Not every orchard or oak stand were planted with that intent.. therefore will not be viewed the same way as plots planted for the purpose of attracting animals to hunt. I have nothing against food plots or others hunting over them.. that's your choice... I don't really even consider it baiting.. I'm with Doc... I look at it more like farming deer...you new QDM guys have carried food plots way away from the original deer management plan that I spoke on 15 years ago.. which was just about planting brouse type plants to assist deer through the tougher winter areas.. now we have come to fellas planting food plots in huge agricultural areas where deer couldn't starve if they wanted to.. stop defending your want to attract and hold deer as some noble gesture to enhance wildlife conservation... I'm betting that nobody here would have considered planting food plots if they weren't a hunter. So yes.. a manufactured food source for the purpose of attracting deer is much different than finding and hunting over a natural food source. Feeders are a manufactured food source for hunting over as well.. yet they are illegal.. I'd be curious to see how many food plotters would change to feeders if they suddenly became legal...