stubborn1VT

Somebody loan this man a ghillie suit or leafy jacket! I would but I am many hours away.

Nothing good. I found a few blood clots where she stopped, and that was it. It rained off and on all night and the remaining snow melted, so I had poor conditions for tracking. I walked out the trails, checked under blow downs, busted through the brush and checked the nearest stream and a fence crossing. I find it odd that she went more than a couple hundred yards after I jumped her out of her bed. Bottom line is that I didn't shoot enough and I treated the ML like a rifle. It really doesn't make any sense to sight in for 100 yards and then shoot farther. I paced it again today and it was 120-125 yards. I can't say I know the bullet drop between 75 and 125 yards. With my 7mm I have it an inch high at 100 yards and don't worry about it. If I can see it, I can hit it. I probably should have given her more time after the shot. Not sure it would have made much difference, but jumping her out of her bed sure didn't help. I treated the hit like I was using a rifle. Any ideas here? That's a wrap on my deer hunting. Our season ends Sunday. I'm disgusted with myself and have no confidence in the ML. I'm not interested in figuring out a solution at this point. Next year I will probably look into different powder, a different ML, or just limit myself to 100 yards and under. I would probably benefit from thinking of the ML as a type of crossbow. Maybe somebody else can learn something from this. Hopefully I have. It puts my stomach in a knot. I don't know where I hit and I don't know where she went. Maybe she's coyote food. Maybe she makes it. Either way, I need to make sure I do my part in the future.

I mix up what will fit in my bag seeder. It's just to keep me from overseeding. If you put 10lbs of tiny clover seed in a spreader it will be gone in a jiffy. I probably put in 5 lbs of seed, then 15 lbs of lime. It's not an exact science. It just helps me spread the seed out further and closer to a recommended rate. So, I would bet you only need 10-20 lbs of clover. On the other hand, most land could use a pH adjustment. To me, that would mean 200-400lbs of lime. It might not be necessary. You could do a soil sample. Some rough measurements would help too. An acre is 4840 square yards. So if your trail is 20 yards wide, then roughly 240 feet of trail would be an acre. I would bet you could get it all done for $2-300. Or you could skip the seed, add the lime, mow at least twice and it would still be pretty great.

Your best bet would be to mow it 2-3X. If you already have some clover, it will spread with some mowing. Adding lime would help with some of the less desirable grasses etc. Frost seeding could help. I would stick with a mix of white clovers like Dutch and Ladino and seed at a rate of 10lbs to the acre. For more even distribution, I put my clover seed in a bucket and mix it with pelletized lime before I dump it in a bag spreader. You could also try a light application of a legume friendly fertilizer like 0-20-20, or something with a small first number (Nitrogen). It will benefit the clover more than the grasses etc and help it compete.

I take a whopping 3 practice shots with my 7 Rem Mag at 100+. Probably because I don't have to run a patch through it between shots...

I'm wondering the same thing. She jumped and mule kicked and "dug" out of the field. I felt really good about the shot. Hopefully I can do an "autopsy" and figure out what happened. Last year I shot a very small doe at 75 yards. She was quartering to me and I slipped it behind the shoulder. She dropped right there, but I recovered the bullet against the ribs on the far side.

If I don't find her it will be because I didn't shoot enough. I shot a bunch of different bullets and am really happy with the accuracy. However, I didn't put in the time to practice over 100. The ML isn't a rifle.

Thanks for the reply TF. I sighted in an inch high at 75. I don't feel like the load has much punch. I never get two holes. In this case I may have hit the far side shoulder. Hopefully I find her, but there will be no blood or tracks after the rain and melt. I have all day to grid search. Fingers crossed.

I shoot a CVA Kodiak and run 2 pellets of Triple 7 behind a 250 grain Shockwave. What is the effective range of this load? This afternoon I took a 125-135 yard shot at an adult doe. I had a rock solid rest. She jumped at the shot and took off running. She didn't bound out of the field, but ran and dove through a thick hedgerow instead of using a path. I realized I had taken my reloads out of my wet jacket pocket, so I walked back to the house. I reloaded and walked back out and found blood. From the blood in relation to the tracks, the shot was great, as far as front to back. She had only gone 100 yards and bedded. My heart sank when I saw her bound off. I went up and checked out the bed. There a blood spot the size of a softball. I backed out for 4 hours and went back with a headlamp. I only found 2 spots of blood. It had rained a bunch and the snow was melting. She went through an area with big pines where there was no snow. Either the rain washed the blood away, or she clotted up. I combed all the trails for 200 yards and backed out. I will be back out in the morning, but I'm not feeling hopeful. The shot felt great. Her reaction was right. I probably should have given her a half hour instead of 15 minutes. I'm not sure what else I could have done differently. I'm upset, but I am also in a bit of disbelief. I feel like I did my part, but I'm not sure the muzzleoader is good for that range. I will report what I find in the morning.

I would really doubt it. Without a fence I think they would wipe them out.

The only way to plant corn without plowing or tilling is with a no-till seeder. I don't think you want to buy one for a couple acres of corn. The point of a food plot is for the critters to eat it. There shouldn't be enough corn (seed) left for it to grow. On top of that, corn likes to be planted fairly deep. Soybeans are easier to grow. Others have managed to seed them with a roller or a crimper. I use a rototiller and a roller. I have never had soybeans reseed either.

Up drinking coffee before hour drive to the farm. VT muzzleloader starts today. Last hurrah. Hopefully the newer snow will help with the old crunchy snow. I will sit a couple hours, then go look at tracks and maybe check a couple cameras. My buddy has too many other obligations, so I'm on a solo mission. Nothing new there. Good luck to everyone headed out this weekend.

Can you mentor me Moog? I have never shot a deer (in NY) either. I won't let you down with the rifle, muzzleloader or Xbow!

Not sure what the rules are in NY. Here in VT, solar farms of a certain size have to install deer fence. They did this near my buddy's place. He was worried, but he put in a 1 acre food plot and the fence ended up funneling deer to him.

Leftover ag beans from farmer friends. If the deer find them they will eat them to death unless you can plant a large plot, or put up a fence. By large, I mean an acre+.