G-Man

If someone puts in time scouting , glassing, trailcams. you can tell a buck very fast and if it is a shooter by your own standards. unfortunatly 98% of hunter are not fanatics. they do not have or care to use their free time observing deer. these are the people behind antler restriction, and the false presentation of qdm. that being said most hunters do not care about points, age, or spread.. it has horns good enough.. forcing them to look for specfic things is met with great resistance, if they are happy with it they want to shoot it period. for those that are more fanatical..aging on the hoof becomes quick and natural with practice.

the biggest problem is they have no idea how many deer there are..no mandatory check in.. my town take was 100 buck and 99 anterless acording to them.. (its 7 miles long by 5 miles wide) on 300 acres we took 8 buck and 10 doe.. so we took 10% of total take? one square mile is 640 acres... if i add in the neighbors 4 buck and 5 doe..we are at 15% of total take? on only 500 acres? there are 19700 acres in the town(35 square miles) numbets are way way off.... so how can they manage anything? its up to the indivduals to manage their own herd by usuing what is issued...just cause you have a tag doesnt mean you have to or should fill it..

garders, grass snake, redbelly racers, corn snakes, lots around this year... first grass snake i've seen in 3 years.

Really bow hunters in general need to shoot more doe, seems everyone waits for a good buck...thus enter the crossbow... I know a lot of hunter that report doe take when tags are not filled(thinking they are helping the herd.) Lots of deer is not a good thing.. again DMP are issued to a large area dmu's. If your local herd is suffering don't shoot a doe.. you can manage your own area better than the Dec, if you stay within the law using permits available. My own place I try to get 10 doe removed every year..keeps population stable. If i have to I invite more people in, especially muzzloader to hit that number . Deer move and they are not your deer..I have bucks I have multiple pictures of get shot on neighboring properties. To minimises thaI leave a sanctuary or. But I don't get mad if a deer wanders off my property ...everyone buys a licence and is entitle to shoot what they are happy with.

So your not in a summer bucks range... if you have does the bucks will show up...wait till September... July and august pics are nice ...but nothing beats pics right before the season

Nice

lots of buds froze and late frost for some,Trees that may of had some kind of shelter (close to pines or under them may have apples) get out in the wood with your binoculars and check the treetops, find any oak,hickory,apple, or other mast trees with nut/fruit and you will have your best and easiest hunt yet... I hate good apple years, let alone a bumper mast year like last year, game doesn't have to move to find food. But make food scarce and game will travel great distances to find it.. spray down some weeds somewhere rake out the debris and get some turnip/brassica in..there is still time... now is the time for scouting your fall foods,not a week before the season...

Raspberry and black raspberries are ripe now be 2 weeks or more for black and Boisen and loganberry

as long as your set up for bow is 150ft away from any building(on your property and any other property and 5oo ft away for gun your set.. unless you have permission from building s owners then the setbacks are removed and you can hunt of their roof/deck if you so choose. now recovery of said game you shoot is another matter.....

cool, mine took a lot longer..planted a few trees just far enough to hang hammock, should be ready just in time for retirement

A bad apple year is usually a great hunting year, get your scouting in..find the few trees with apples and the deer will be there...like candy... when there are 20 acres of apples tough to find the tree the deer will come to..

A bad apple year is usually a great hunting year, get your scouting in..find the few trees with apples and the deer will be there...like candy... when there are 20 acres of apples tough to find the tree the deer will come to..

then using their definition birders and wildlife photographers should need a licence as well.. i've seen birders chase them for miles to get a pic. There i hope the state charges them for a hunting licence...non hunters watching and photographing bird being forced to buy a hunting licence...that would make my year.....

hope they show up during season. i have always taken july and early august pics with a grain of salt, the groups break up and move off your property. always hoping one or 2 stick around.

the smallest fawn i have seen was under 25 lbs button buck taken the last sat of muzzloader.about 5 years ago. i thought it was my friends heart and liver bag. and no he has not lived it down. though he said it made the best 5 sandwiches he ever had.......

An amendment to state constitution for right to hunt, and then if we had an actual game comission making the rules and regs for hunting and fishing instead of a bunch of legislators making them this would be a lot easier to solve with a mentor requirement/licence.

Private roads are not maintained by your taxes, and maintance and plowing are up to the property owners. It can be good if the road is in good shape more often than not it falls into disrepair as no one want to put money in and if your at the end of the road your out of luck. Stone, ditch and culvert work aren't cheap... they may be gated or non gated roads. IIMO stay away from private roads unless its your own on a right away.

I'd rather leave a young buck with 8 pts or more than a spike... they 8 plus will be 8 plus the next year, a spike well you never know what it will develop into.. that is the problem with just point restrictions in heavy pressured areas you remove the best ( potential) and leave the rest.....

I take extra shells, cell phone, knife (most of the time)... I hunt close to home and have never spent more than 3 hours in the woods.. kudos to you guys that can sit / hunt all day.

perhaps your eligable for a reduced or free licence?. I guess the reasoning behind it is the same as why i have to pay huge school taxes when i have no kids in school or ever had childern?

yep him and mr j came down 2 stands done in 3 hrs and trimmed.. mike is a beast... of course its good to be a lot younger....lol

i pull all my portables everyyear and check cables,metal joints and straps and seats, the permant stands i have have been very effective and are checked every year. my nephews started hunting as did a few wives and girlfriends, they like the big perm stands better and most are big enough for 2 people comfortably. I would never go in a perm stand that wasnt checked though. and by checked i mean wood, nails and attachment points gone over very well. while safety strapped in . or by the tractor loader pulling or pushing down on on them.

i have well over 20 portable stands. as for killing trees its only good for firewood. there are six permanant stands on my property, one permant stand has accounted for 53 deer alone. i use both perm and portable, along with boxblinds, ladders and even one pit blind.. everyone has its own purpose.

yep a falling out divorce, illness anything can lead to family land being sold. i would get at least 25ft min row. if you can get more a log landing by the road is worth having. maybe 50ft wide. other than that if you inherit your familys land you'll have a nice addition. i say if as my friends father in law sold his camp out from under him and hiis wife cause the price was right..... they had hunted it for 20 years

2-4d for broadleeaf weeds wont kill grass, can mix with amine for pre/post emergent weeds. safe for corn up to 8 in tall.. lots of options are available if you know the weed your trying to kill