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Whats your plan for next year??

MACHINIST

By MACHINIST,
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MACHINIST Newbie

MACHINIST

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So now that the year is done for most of us,what do you plan on doing differently for next year after what you learned this year.I am going to hunt a few choice spots harder than I usually do.I am not a aggressive hunter so I am going to try this on a few pieces of state land and see how it goes come bow season next year.Past that the only thing I need to do is figure out how they are skirting around me and also check out a few new places.So whats your plan?????

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loworange88 Collaborator

loworange88

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Hang a bunch more stands for the first time in a long time I limited myself to a spot that wasn't producing and I just kept going back over and over thinking that the next sit was going to be the one

 

^ This!  Except I am investing in a quality climber stand (Summit or Lone Wolf).  I plan on doing more scouting in the spring and late summer/early fall, to try to get some better patterns of travel, and familiarize/plan MY travel routes.  I also plan on hitting up a few "new to me" spots that I never really checked out before.  I hunt almost exclusively public/state land, and I want to get some spots that are closer to home.  I basically had 2 main spots that I went to for the last few years(40 Mins away from home), and this past season I only ever saw one deer in the woods, and she busted me from behind.  Every single sit, I saw ZERO deer, but kept going back...I was frustrated out by Thanksgiving.

 

Perhaps even check out a few "bowhunting only" areas a week or so after Gun season starts, never tried that before, and always wanted too.

 

TL;DR: More stand locations, different/more land locations to goto.

Edited by loworange88
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Pav2704 Rookie

Pav2704

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All depends on the mast crop for me.  I should have hunted one area way harder than I did, I REALLY dropped the ball on that.........................

This may sound dumb... but how or when will you know what the mast crop will be.  I wanted to hunt some local state land this year.  Roughly 6000 acres... how would I know what oak trees are going to produce unless I walk around late summer??  I really want to avoid scouting then because the tics and chiggers are out of control on the island.  I want to do as much as possible right after the season ends... hopefully with a couple of inches of snow on the ground.

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Merlot Collaborator

Merlot

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With the tree harvest under way and having a nice check in hand, I will propose to the club that we not only buy a suitable ATV, but also reclaim an alleged food plot, using the ATV to spray, turn the dirt, lime it and eventually plant some simple stuff for the wildlife that has abandoned our property. Also buy the "Groundhog Max" tiller/cultivator and use with the ATV to tear up the plot.

On the other hand, not having the support of my fellow club members, this may not happen...getting support on such an obvious venture is like herding cats...Oh well..pass the Merlot.

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growalot Newbie

growalot

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I am not going to plant soybeans....I do not want the buck here during the summer....once was enough thank you...I am enlarging the bedding area...adding alfala...more grasses/grains and finishing at least 2-3 shooting houses...I'm done dealing with the wind.... snow and rain...making trails bigger to accomidate the gator...finding something to plant infront of the pines to feed but not block sun to pines yet add to the permanent screen...planting more trees...NOT GET HURT this coming summer...joined gym to help with that...

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growalot Newbie

growalot

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Well if you can tell the diffeence between a wht. oak and a red...go in any time there is a melt and walk the area...you can tell what produced acorns by caps in the trees and all the ones on the ground...if they produced heavy last year they probably won't next year...same with wild apples...if they look like cattle yards under them they had apples...many,not all, are bi-annual in production...next check size of briar patches and the buds in the canes...if none and or all dried up ...not going to produce. Next look where they are scratching up woodland grases...if you find an area where they have dug a lot...it's a favorite snow on ground feeding area

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ants Newbie

ants

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I screwed myself this year by not moving a climber about 30 yards, and by not trimming out another stand that I knew needed to be trimmed. That one cost me a shot at a buck Sunday night. So basically, for me?…….  don't be a lazy a$$ !! 

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chiefbkt Newbie

chiefbkt

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I put in a small turnip plot this summer to see how the deer reacted to it.  They seemed to really enjoy the greens in October so I'll expand that.  I bought a tiller for the tractor and plan on increasing the size of the plot to an acre.  Also noticed a lot people were seeing deer in the plot from the road (its about 100 yards off the road).  So I am in the process of looking for some arbor vitae's (~4-6 ft tall) to act as a screen.  I am also considering using burning bushes or forsythias instead.  I also plan on putting in an acre or two of corn or beans behind the house in an attempt to hold deer there later in the season.  Have 2 new trails to make for new stand locations, brush hog the CRP, re-post the boundary lines, cut up the downed trees in the hardwoods, move a stand about 30 yards closer to a bedding area, and hang a new stand on the other end of the food plot.  Seems like a lot to do.  Since I'll be off in the summer it should keep me busy.  

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upstate Newbie

upstate

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I have to decide if I am going to lease the land I hunt in 7M since my neighbor has decided to falsely file reports with the DEC, invade my privacy by running me and my family's DMV, pistol permit and criminal records (nothing there) and create problems for the locals I hunt with. For those that followed my other thread, the improperly tagged deer charge was dismissed. My buddy was given the ticket because the tag was attached to a doe's leg which we cut off when we skinned the deer.  

 

Since we have always been successful there, even in "bad" years, I'm not inclined to give it up just yet. During bow season the coyotes were terrible there and we saw 1 lone button buck, that's it for deer. We did see about 6-8 different coyotes.

 

Once gun opened up we saw more deer and was able to get a buck and 2 doe off it. Typically my buddy and I each take bucks during bow and gun, plus doe, passing on many deer and that did not happen. Speaking with the neighbors, which we get along and hunt with there and at other places, we were not alone with the light deer sightings.

 

My inclination at this point is that we will continue to lease it because frankly we've learned more and more about how the deer use it early and late, with some snow, with heavy snow. We have numerous stands that are trimmed out and figured out. Not sure I want to start over. 

 

What I should do is spend more time in the big woods of the Tug Hill. We have 388 acres up there and over 20,000 of state attached that is very lightly touched. 

 

 

 

 

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Skillet Rising Star

Skillet

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Posted (edited)

 Next year will be my son's first year of bow hunting, so we've got a lot of work to do. We're going to spend a lot of time scouting, hanging a few double sets, and getting his bow dialed in. I'd like to get a crossbow before next season. I'm gonna try and bank as much vacation time as possible, so I can hit it hard again next year. Going to focus my time off around Halloween, instead of taking a day here and there all season like I did this year. Can't wait!

Edited by Skillet
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Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

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Find someone who will accept $ in exchange for a chance to hunt to their land

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Are you looking for land within driving distance to hunt daily from home?  What, approximately could you expect or hope to pay for that Biz?  Priced per acre I assume?

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G-Man Veteran

G-Man

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I put in a small turnip plot this summer to see how the deer reacted to it. They seemed to really enjoy the greens in October so I'll expand that. I bought a tiller for the tractor and plan on increasing the size of the plot to an acre. Also noticed a lot people were seeing deer in the plot from the road (its about 100 yards off the road). So I am in the process of looking for some arbor vitae's (~4-6 ft tall) to act as a screen. I am also considering using burning bushes or forsythias instead. I also plan on putting in an acre or two of corn or beans behind the house in an attempt to hold deer there later in the season. Have 2 new trails to make for new stand locations, brush hog the CRP, re-post the boundary lines, cut up the downed trees in the hardwoods, move a stand about 30 yards closer to a bedding area, and hang a new stand on the other end of the food plot. Seems like a lot to do. Since I'll be off in the summer it should keep me busy.

arborvite is a prefered Deer food try a spruce
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BizCT Grand Master

BizCT

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Are you looking for land within driving distance to hunt daily from home? What, approximately could you expect or hope to pay for that Biz? Priced per acre I assume?

Just looking for another option to hunt the weekends on. Not looking to buy the land, just something to scout, stop in every few weekends to check cams, etc. not sure per acre-wise, honestly have no idea. I'd be open to hunting 2 acres if it meant a chance to see something decent. I can't take many days off in Nov or Dec, so maybe I'll go to CT or PA for a week in October with xbow or go down south for a week to hunt deer with rifle.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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