stubborn1VT

Unless you are very far north I would plant turnips in late July/early August. In 3-4 weeks I would broadcast rye and clover. Personally I would mix in some oats too. 3-4 weeks after that I would see if there are any thin spots or bare dirt and broadcast rye again. Check out Jeff Sturgis on food plots. I don't agree with him on all things deer hunting and deer management, but he has his food plot stuff dialed in.

I've built miles of electric fence. Looks like a PITA to me. You still need to actually disconnect the wire to get through. Your switch would shut the power off. Another solution that I have seen is to go up and over a gate with the wire, like a telephone wire. Doesn't look great, but I've done it where I couldn't bury a wire. You end up the same though - no power ON the gate to discourage the pups. I think your situation is what led to the development of the "invisible fence".

If you build the gate close to the ground will the dogs try to dig under? My dog has a yard made of board fence on 2 sides and welded wire on the other 2. He stays in. Also, if your dog gets shocked by the fence I doubt he will be testing the gate. You could put a piece of electric fence wire across the gate, but not hook it to either side. That way it would look like it was electrified. But that's getting pretty tricky. A gate handle would allow you to electrify the gate, but it would be a 2 step process to open it.

What type of gate?

I planted at about the same time. Since then we have got maybe .3" of rain. The corn that came up looks good. Too bad I only got about 30% germination. I have broadcasted corn successfully in the past, but no such luck this year. Not sure if I should try to plant again (since the seed was free) or not. If it fails I will just till it again and add it to a couple strips of a fall blend when I plant in August.

No way to open the gate without disconnecting the electric fence, unless you bury a wire under the gate. That's easy enough. Just have to get a piece of insulated wire and bury it enough so you can drive over it with the mower.

That's a Maine thing. There is a reason they call them "Maine-iacs". A white perch is actually a bass. They are alright when caught through the ice IMO, but don't compare to yellows. Not even close.

I would just use a gate handle. Hook the hot wire to the insulated handle. Make a loop at an isulator on the other end. The gate handle has a spring in it to keep the wire tight when you hook it to the loop. Then you can unhook the handle and open the gate. You can buy a handle at Tractor Supply for 3 or 4 bucks. Just look up rubber gate handle.

X2 Very economical. As in $250. I have one and like it alot. Taken a couple deer with it, including a dandy buck last fall.

Good luck out there folks. I've been locked out of the site for a couple weeks, but I'm back. Congrats to all the successful hunters, especially Cynthia and Bill. Good luck TF and Sam. Been a tough season for me. Lots of hunters and lower bird numbers. I will be out tomorrow and at least one more morning next week.

Opening day was a drag. Rain and wind and only saw hens. Heard 8 shots on neighboring properties. Roosted a whole flock before dark. Set up this morning across the field from them at 80 yards. 2 hen decoys. At 5:15 one of the toms is strutting and eyeballing the decoy. He drops down on the far side of the field and struts. The whole flock came down. An hour later 2 tiny jakes broke off from the flock and came through the decoys at 5 yards. I was in a brush blind behind a stonewall, so they never had a clue. After 2+ hours they wandered off into the hardwoods. It's too open to make a move, so I went back to the cabin for a coffee and a donut. Checked another property. I went up to the neighbor's posters and worked up from soft yelping to full-on cutting. No response. I backed off 60 yards and was texting my buddy. I look up and there are 2 toms running across the neigbor's hay field. They wouldn't from the green hay field to the brown overgrown pasture, so I dropped down into a brook and moved up tight to the posters. I cut at them and got them fired up, then backed up into a strip of mature softwoods. I laid down next to a big hemlock and they were there in a couple minutes. They crossed the posters and I let them weave through the trees until they got to 25 and let the first one have it. 18lbs. 9" beard. 7/8" spurs. After the frustration of watching 9 birds for 2+ hours, it was nice to have birds gobble to my calling. Now I'm back home. I will probably drink my coffee in the back pasture in the morning, as long as it isn't raining. If something gobbles I will hunt. If not, I'll get some work done.

All day rain tomorrow in the forecast for me. In preparation for rainy days I cleared out a spot in an abandoned cabin. It has been there since before I was born. The only thing left standing is one wall and the metal roof. I have two windows to shoot out and I cleared shooting lanes and paced some landmarks last weekend. I don't care for decoys, but will use them with this set-up since I can't run and gun. The cabin is 150 yards above a hay field that the birds use a ton. I should be in the game at least. I will snap a picture if I manage to be successful. If not, I like my odds for Saturday.

Does anyone wait until late May when the tops turn brown? The bulbs are much bigger. I may grab some then for pickling. I have a spot with several acres of ramps, so I can harvest from different patches.

Happy Birthday Man!

I was messing with a flock of birds in the neighbor's pasture once. I don't have permission, so I was in the woods leaning back on a bank along a log road, cutting on a diaphragm call and making the tom gobble. A coyote jumped OVER me from the bank behind me, ran into the pasture and scattered the flock. I didn't even have a chance to move. Gun was in my lap. I have called in 1 tom, 2 coyotes and a bobcat in that patch of woods over the years.

Rabbit. I don't think the striped thing is it's tail and it's ears are layed back.

Soybeans and coyotes are also suspected of being liberal, voting for Democrats, poisoning groundwater and spawning Corona virus!

Dusting of snow this morning. Cold and windy, but on my short drive back from a pruning job I saw 4 toms in 3 different spots. The big flocks appear to be breaking up. I have had a lone hen feeding in my little food plot at the house for the past week or so. Hard to believe it's almost here. I went through my gear and conditioned some pot calls. Found a mixture of ammo. 8 rounds total. I'm all set except for spraying down some cammies with permethrin. Good luck to all.

Use any old bird shot #8-#4 and get within 30 yards. Don't limit yourself!

I can see the logic, but it doesn't work that way in my experience. Were the 20-22lb birds I shot much heavier on May 1? Could be. It just doesn't seem to me that toms "rut" like deer. I agree they don't seem to show much interest in food, but they also don't chase the way bucks do. I have shot 20lb birds early in the season, but only by calling in the hens. My biggest birds were shot the last week, and came in to calling more like a 2 year old.

Both have their advantages. Birds are easier to call later on and I have also killed my biggest birds in the last week. Fewer bugs early on, as others have mentioned. I love the first few hunts because it's brand new again. I enjoy the later hunts when people have moved on to other pursuits and the hens are nesting.

Also, skunks come in all variations and patterns. Saw quite a few skunks on Martha's Vineyard that had no stripe. They were mostly white. I found a skunk tail in my pasture a couple days ago. I figure an owl caught it and sat on the fence to eat it. The tail was much smaller and had the distinctive stripe.

I shoot a 12 gauge. Never really considered my 870 heavy. It fits me better than the 835 I had before, and I never had any use for 3.5" loads. It may be in my head, but I wouldn't feel confident in a 20 gauge beyond 30ish yards. Then again, I don't shoot over 40 yards with my 12.

Those are lame, mediocre justifications. Trump has cut programs and staff. As for tax breaks, Jeff Bezos pays less taxes than I do. If Trump actually was a Republican he would focus on cutting spending. He got the smaller government part right, but why does it cost more? Pay more and get less? No thanks. I wish he had stuck with reality TV instead of bringing his brand of BS to the national stage.

I'm all for smaller government. What I can't figure out is how Trump's "smaller government" managed to grow the deficit. The only "progress" I have seen from this president is tax breaks for the rich.