wolc123

No problem. Right now there is about one and a quarter mature bucks in our freezer, in addition to a couple of button buck roasts (I am saving those for "special occasions"). We have been "eating out" more than usual this year, so our venison is holding out better than usual. As far as live ones go, I have been able to hold button bucks without much trouble as they tend to stick close to their mothers which are very territorial. After they get those protruding antlers in their second year, there don't seem to be any way to hold them on small properties. It always seems to be the does that control the "best" food and cover areas. I don't really care where the mature bucks go, outside of about three weeks centered on Veteran's day. Having some "resident" does around at that time has always caused a few mature bucks to cruise thru and make it to the ultimate final destination: "deer heaven" - my family's food supply.

A few years ago, Aldis was selling a small three-legged folding camo hunting stool that has lower back support and is easily carried for $ 9.00. The legs are not adjustable, but as long as the grade is not that steep, you can position the back-rest for maximum comfort. My favorite chair, without a blind, is a hammock-style seat with a single telescoping front pedestal leg and a strap on back to attach to a tree. That thing is so comfortable that it is easy to fall asleep in it. It is no good in the rain though (you will get a wet behind sitting in that "funnel", even if you deploy a tree umbrella, as the water running off the tree will fill the hammock). The best thing about it is that you can swivel a full 360 degrees to shoot deer all the way around. The last buck that I shot from mine appeared directly behind me, but I was able to silently make the turn and put him down in his tracks with a single well-placed shot. The cost was less than $30 and it is very easy to carry.

I use my ears like radar in the stands/blinds and probably hear 4 or 5 deer first for every one that I see first. Folks with impaired hearing would be better off using other methods (like tracking), rather than stand hunting.

This is the best time to start one. Get the ground tilled now (I prefer that over using chemicals to kill the weeds because I like to keep the meat as "organic" as possible). Till it again a few more times, until late August. Prior to your last tilling, broadcast 5-10-5 or other low-nitrogen fertilizer at a rate of about 50 pounds/acre, then till it into the soil. Next, broadcast wheat at a rate of about 50 pounds per acre, and soybeans at about 25 pounds per acre. Use a cultipacker, drag a log, or use your ATV tires to push that wheat and soybean seed into the tilled ground. Next, broadcast white clover at about 5 pounds per acre, then cultipack again (at about a 90 degree angle from your first packing direction). The soybeans will draw deer to that plot like candy as soon as they start to sprout. The first good frost will kill what remains of those soybeans before they make pods, but that may not occur until well after October 1st. In the mean time, nothing is more attractive to deer than green, sprouting soybeans, which are also very high in protein. Next, the wheat will kick in and hold the deer on the plot thru fall and winter (Frost don't kill wheat). Wheat is considerably more attractive to deer than cerial rye, besides being cheaper and easier to find (cost is about $ 8 for 50 pounds). Next spring, mow off the wheat before it goes to seed. It serves the dual purpose of attracting deer thru late season, and providing a "nurse" crop for the clover, keeping the weeds under control. As long as your soil is not too acidic (a soil test would be a good idea, and add lime if needed), you will find a lush crop of white clover after the wheat is mowed off in the late spring. That white clover will give you several more years of prime deer attraction with nothing more than a couple annual mowings for maintenance.

I have never used a hydro for food-plotting, but I may get the chance next year. One thing that might be tougher is spraying, where it is important to get even distribution of spray over a large area. That is easy with gear, but I suppose it could be done with a hydro using "cruise control". I am also a little concerned about using one with a moldboard plow. When and if I do, I will let you know how it goes. Have you ever used a plow with yours ? How about a sprayer ? I have mostly used hydro's for lawn-mowing and they are definitely great for that, as long as they have enough hp. As I mentioned in my prior post, the gear transmission gets the lawn cut using less power. I have used a hydro tractor/backhoe with a front loader and there I agree that for that use, it is way better than a gear tractor.

How is the search going ? I see there is a Ferguson TO-30 on Buffalo CL right now for $ 900. That is very similar to a Ford 8n. It say's that it starts but needs some carburator work. Seems like a very good price.

Best scene that didn't make it into the movie

I have never been bit by a dog, but I did have a couple of close calls. When I was about 14 years old, a neighbor had a real mean one that would chase kids on bikes, when they rode past his house. I found a hot spot for trapping muskrats, that was past his house, and that dog chased me four times. The first three times, I peddled as fast as I could and got safely past him. On my way home the third time, I maintained a steady, maybe even a bit of a slow pace, which allowed the ornery mutt to quickly close the distance. One little adjustment on the nose with the dull side of a hatchet, and it never chased another kid. I did not hit it hard enough to kill it, but it made a loud yelp when that blow came down on it's head. The last time was about 10 years ago. I was sitting in a ground blind in late afternoon on the last weekend of gun season. I have never had good luck with posted signs, but at the urging of my wife, I put some up that year. Apparently, that was enough to make a couple of women down the road feel safe walking their dogs down our neatly trimmed trails. They had a little dog on a leash and a big German-shepard type free-ranging about 50 yards ahead of them. I watched them, from a camoflaged blind, cross over our bridge and make their way towards my position. When the big dog caught my scent, he charged towards the back of my blind, growling and drooling. I touched off a 12 gauge sabot, with the muzzle inches from his ears (somehow I "missed"). The report was enough to scare him sensless, and yipping his way back to his owners. The bottom line is, if you have access to a weapon, use it, otherwise others will have to deal with the problem later. How are you going to feel when that dog takes a bite out of some kid's (or old guy's) face ? Killing the animal might not be the best thing to do, but maiming it or "deafening" it has worked very well for me. Yelling at it, sending letters, etc is just pansy ass crap that will not do anybody any good.

I remember some rough snowmobile rides over fall-plowed fields. Those were tough on the lower back no matter how slow I went. You need a suspension on your tractor for that kind of mowing. I have a lot of bush-hogging to do but most of our fields are flat, smooth and wide open. My 12-speed power-reverser, John Deere gear setup works well on those. Unless the stuff is real thick, I can usually cut in mid-range, 3rd gear (around 12 mph), dropping to mid-range 2nd gear in the thick stuff. Running a 6 foot bush-hog is really the only time I use all of my tractor's 43 horsepower and that is the only job where I would sometimes like a little more. To maintain that speed with a hydro would take over 50 hp and there is no real advantage to that type of transmission on flat, level, open fields. I can see where it would be nice over rough ground or around lots of obsticals however. With all the trees and bushes and stuff up around our house, my hydro mower works a lot better than my gear mower most of the time. When the grass gets real thick in rainy seasons, or if I have not got on it soon enough, I prefer the gear because the hydro tends to bog down (I have a hydro and a gear mower, each 15 hp with 38" decks). Having those two equal sized machines makes it real easy for me to appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of each. Do you believe there are any applications where a gear transmission might be better ?

Bananas work pretty good in a box trap for woodchucks. There was one burrowing under my wife's fancy new vinyl front porch a couple years ago, and it only took a couple days to get him with the box trap. Fortunately, I can use guns here and have killed (2) in the last week, from the backdoor of the garage, with my Ruger 10/22. The buzzards are tearing the last one apart as I type.

The democrats really can't expect much, holding only 1/6 of the power in Washington DC. They will be very lucky to hold that in the next election, if they continue down their far-left path. Roe vs Wade will be next to go and with it, the end of all those baby murders. Anyone who does not recognize that life begins at conception clearly has no understanding of Science or Religion.

I do not have the patience for battery operated power tools. I have not have trouble with gas operated ones, since ethanol - free gas became available about (5) years ago. When and if I need an electric tool, it uses a cord and AC power. A cheap, corded (14" bar) electric chainsaw has been one of the handiest power tools that I have used in a couple of big barn dismantling/demolition projects. I like that "silent power" because the motor noise does not cover the sounds of cracking support posts/beams, and that gives me ample time to get myself out of the way before the structure collapses on my head. A gas saw would be dangerous in that application. If I need to use a corded electric tool, far from and outlet, I bring along my portable, gas-powered generator (always kept full of ethanol - free gas). Regular use of that generator kills two birds with one stone - it makes sure it is ready to use in an emergency, while providing power in remote locations. When I have a job to do, there is not much that would piss me off more than not being able to get it done because of a dead battery. I can always make a quick repair on an extension cord if necessary, and have always known enough to keep plenty of gas on hand. There is also a lot of times when a hand tool is better than a power tool, such as back in the woods working on tree stands.

The loader takes away the power/weight advantage of the 8n. Also, no power steering, no front wheel power, and light front axle are all bad for a front loader.

There are lots of plots that you can't easily get a tractor into (especially not a big heavy 2-wheel drive one). For those, that light-weight and reversible atv-plow/drag would be especially nice.

A front loader is the worst thing you can do to an 8n.

I don't enjoy sweating, so my summer "training" involves running laps in the pool. That water provides lots of resistance and cuts down on the arthrits-aggravating joint impact loads. I get a whirlpool going (sometimes with the kids helping), then reverse direction, for greater resistance into the current. Repeat the cycle until tired, then hop on a float to relax. I was not real happy when the wife forked over $200 on a 15 ft diameter, 4 ft deep pool a few years ago, but it turned out to be a pretty good investment in terms of fitness equipment, and fun for the kids. Folks have said that pool maintenance sucks and that you should not own both a pool and a boat. Maintenance ain't that bad - just add a chlorine tablet to the plastic float every couple weeks and change the filter cartridge 3 or 4 times a season. I drain it and disassemble every year. It takes about 8 hours to fill with the hose and about an hour to set it up with the kids helping. For the other 9 months of the year, a 15 foot diameter trampoline occupies that spot next to our deck.

GH is correct: I have personally witnessed the maternal bond being very strong between a doe and her buck fawn. When it comes to "doubles" on antlerless deer, all of mine have involved killing the larger deer first (usually a doe), and the button buck second. Rarely will they quickly leave the dying doe, making for an easy (and very tasty) kill. In 2016, that situation was reversed, when a friend shot at (and missed) a big doe, then shot (and killed) the button buck that was with her, early in the morning on opening day of gun season. He don't like venison, so he gave me that button buck and went home. Later that day, about an hour before sunset, I was hunting that stand and saw a large doe walk out of the brush and investigate the little gut-pile. I capitalized on the opportunity of reuniting her in "deer Heaven" (my family's food supply), with her offspring. So the answer to your question is YES, they do come back, and sometimes get to meet the same fate.

This picture sheds much light on why you are so "sour" on old gear tractors. If there ever was a tractor "lemon" as far as make/year/model, it might be the Ford 1953 "Jubilee" . Being the first new Ford-designed tractor, after the passing of the patriarch (Henry), might have had something to do with that. The new hydraulics, while "live", were no where near as durable as the "dead" system used on the n-series. Input costs have always been huge with farmers, and when they discovered that they were spending more on gas with the Jubilee, and it's new "overhead valve" engine, than they were with the "fully developed" flat-heads on their 1951 and 1952 8-n's, it did not win many fans. Ford got those bugs worked out by the time the 600 series came out in 1954, but the black-eye they suffered in 1953 allowed IH and John Deere to leave them in the dust, as far as the American tractor market share goes. A better name for that tractor might have been the "Waterloo", or maybe the "Gettysburg". It definitely marked the beginning of the end of the Ford Tractor company. Too bad because Ford was once the top American tractor company. My dad still tells the story of when his mom was pushing his dad to buy a tractor back in the late 40's. Someone had left him on a hay-wagon as an infant, and grandpa's team of horses took off with no one at the reigns. He survived, but it must have been a close call. The Ford 8n's were the most expensive, highest regarded tractors back then. Grandpa "settled" for a much less expensive, 1950 John Deere model M. That was also a 2-plow tractor and it did have "live-hydraulics", but the hitch was not as easy as to use as the Ford 3-point. It was definitely a durable machine, and I still use it on occasion for food-plot work over at my folks place. While grandpa had to "settle" for the John Deere M to work his 40 acres plus another 20 that he leased, a "rich" neighbor (he was the senior union man at the local dry-wall plant) brought home a 1951 Ford 8n to tend to his 1 acre garden). When he passed away, I bought that Ford from his widow, when it had 1200 hours on it. I still use it for food-plots and just finished a small one of turnips this morning. It just turned 2000 hours. For a few years, it was the only tractor I had and it did pretty good on a 5 foot bush-hog squealer. Grandpa's John Deere M has no hour meter, but it has to have well over 10,000 hours on it. It certainly shows it's wear, while my 8n is just now getting broken in.

That 6 ft Bush-hog squealer is a good machine. I had a 5 footer for about 20 years and what I liked best about it was the quality of the cut it made. It cut grass nearly as neatly as a finish mower with no "streaking". I doubt that the tractor rear tires are loaded, otherwise it probably would not have chains on in the summer, but the treads looks pretty worn. If the tractor's clutch is good, I would say $ 4k would be a good price for the tractor and bush-hog. It looks like a gas engine and I think they were around 48 hp.

I have never tried a hydro for food plot work (just used them for lawn mowing), but I may soon get a chance. My father in law is clearing some land up at his place, in the northern zone. He has a 2 year old, 40ish hp Kubota hydro with a loader and loaded R4 tires. Maybe I will take my 2 bottom plow and 6.5 ft disk up there and see how it does. It works great for clearing snow with the loader bucket swapped out for a hydraulic blade and chains on the tires. If it strikes out on the 2 bottom plow, there is an old 8n Ford for sale a few miles up the road that could probably be had for around $ 1500. I am pretty sure that it don't have draft control on the hydraulics, so the Ford might be a good purchase just to get that.

There is also a decent looking Oliver 550 on CL right now that comes with a 6 ft bush-hog, and a 6.5 ft front snow plow for an asking price of $ 6,300. That is slightly more power than the Ford 600 (Around 40 hp vs 35 for the Ford). It is also a gas, 2wd. As I mentioned earlier, it is much easier to find a decent condition, old 2wd tractor without a front loader than it is with one. The Oliver also has a three point hitch. Either one of those would work great with a 3-point "pond scoop", and a "boom-pole", to do just about anything a front loader would without the traction and wear&tear issues. The Oliver probably also has power steering. 585 area code might be the Darien area. Olivers had a great reputation for quality and durability.

Are you part of the hydro(auto) or manual transmission camp ?

R4's or R1's ?

Wow, that is a ton. Most of the time, I try and minimize the use of my brakes (have about 70k miles on the factory ones on my car now), but I make an exception for deer. I have had hundreds of close calls, but never hit one hard enough to damage my vehicle. The car that I have now (Chevy sonic) is by far the best "deer dodger" that I have had. It will stop on a dime, is extremely agile, and really sticks to the road in the turns. I have lightly tagged a few deer with it, but never hard enough to make a dent or hurt the animal. If I used my pickup truck, to drive back and forth to work everyday, I would have surely pummeled over a dozen. On the curvy road which I travel, I would also need to add about 10 minutes to my commute time and burn more than double the fuel.

Your name makes it clear why you like the hydros. They are great for lawn "mowin" but not so hot for food-plot work. I used a gear tractor for lawn mowing for many years, but since using a hydro, it is very tough to go back to gear. I only use the one I have now when the grass is too thick and I can't spare the power loss from the hydro (I have 15 hp gear and 15 hp hydro lawn-mower tractors, each with a 38" decks, and a 1 acre lawn). I would need to have at least 20 hp on that 38" hydro tractor to get my lawn cut when it gets real thick, but the 15 hp gear mower does not struggle a bit when it does, with the same width deck.