WNYBuckHunter's Outdoor Journal

[WNYBuckHunter]

Friday evening I stopped down to the farm to check on our food plots. The buckwheat is doing good, but the corn pretty much failed. What had come up was 3 to 4 inches high, but i dont think that the harrow we used to plant got us enough seed depth. There were seed hulls all over the place, so i think it was all sitting near or on top, and the critters had picked it clean. Next year ill try broadcasting again, but with a disc or spring haoorw to get the seed to a better depth. For this year though, my buddy got ahold of a small garden style row planter, so yesterday we replanted half the plot with that just to see if it does the job. The rest of the field is going to be done in beans and then winter rye will get tossed in there late.

After we got done with the corn plot, we took the brush hog over to a spot where we have been wanting to open up a new access trail and got that cut in. Once that was done, we had to fix the pasture fence. Next up was mowing out a couple of plots and a bunch of trails. My buddy met me back at the farm a little later and we decided to get a new plot brush hogged out, so we did that. This one is a smaller plot, about 1/3 of an acre or so, and we found a couple of apple trees in there, which we left. Once that was done, it was back to mowing trails. On one trail, i spotted something ahead of the tractor, and when i got up to it, it looked to be a fawns laying in the trail. I stopped and hopped down to check it out, and sure enough, it was a very small fawn laying there dead. Not sure how it died, there didnt seem to be any marks on it, but it had been there for a couple of days. I was actually more surprised the fox or coyotes hadnt found it before that.

I hopped back on the tractor and finished up the day mowing more trails. It was a great day and we got most of the work that needed to be done finished up. Now we will have time to get tilling done in the rest of the plots.

I also pulled a trailcam I had set next to one of the barns, where some foxes had denned up. Got a ton of great pics of them. Heres a few examples, ill post more when I get them transferred to my PC.

[WNYBuckHunter]

A couple more pics from the day...

Heres why I like having the LED light bar on my truck. First with just headlights, second with the light bar on as well. Really lights things up and lets you see whats ahead.

[WNYBuckHunter]

More work on the shooting house done today. Roof sheeting is on, started adding top sections of walls and started framing in windows. The windows will be 12" tall, not sure on the exact width yet. I found a design where they will slide up and down on a track and latch at the top with a handle to slide it up and down. It should be simple, cheap and silent. I will just need to buy a sheet of plexiglass and cut the pieces.

[WNYBuckHunter]

So I havent been doing a whole lot at the farm lately. Have some cams running, been mowing and brush hogging the normal stuff, thats about it. Last week my buddy got down there and mowed everything that needed it, including 2 new plot areas we are putting in this year. Saturday after the rain stopped, I took the ATV down with the sprayer onboard and sprayed those 2 plots and our failed corn plot. The buckwheat I planted is almost chest high, and ready to be mowed down and tilled in. This weekend we will be tilling up the failed corn plot and planting some DoubleBeam Brassicas in there, and the buckwheat will get mowed, tilled and some PTTs and Rape will be going in. Next week will be the first round of tilling for the two new plots, which are most likely going to be winter rye this year, and then going into our new buckwheat/brassicas rotation next year. We also need to finish up brush hogging a couple of other new plots, which will also be winter rye this year just to give the deer something to eat. Both of those will become clover plots in the spring. We are still waiting on two other plots to dry up a bit more so they can be tilled for brassicas this year. The rain has been killing us, but it looks like maybe this week will be the break in the rain we need. Only Thursday has a chance of rain in the morning. This coming weekend should be perfect to get most of our stuff in the ground.

[dbHunterNY]

not sure how it is out there but here it's getting HOT.... with a shower here and there it should make for a good start with anything you put down.  separate note, I saw a guy post a similar picture with a similar hat laying in a food plot the other day on facebook.

[WNYBuckHunter]

The forecast is looking perfect for planting this weekend around here

[WNYBuckHunter]

Its been a very busy weekend, we got started Friday evening with mowing down the buckwheat and brush hogging the rest of the plots now that the weeds have been knocked down. I also hung a new camera in a spot that Ive been wanting to get one into for some time. Saturday morning we got started by bringing in a second tractor to run the tiller while the brush hog was running on other areas of the farm. We started by tilling a brand new plot that was an old hay lot that was plowed up and then not used, so it was kind of a rutted up mess. I went over it 3 times with the tiller before I moved on to the next plot. I did the buckwheat plot next, followed by the failed corn plot. Both went very easy, as we have been working them for a few years. The failed corn plot had received 250lbs of 15-15-15 when the corn was planted, but with little growth I figure most of it is still in the soil. I added another 150lbs of 15-15-15 and tilled it in. Next was another small, new plot that my buddy has been wanting to play around with for a few years now. After that, I headed down to two of our best plots and got them tilled up. The smaller plot always does great with no fertilizer, as its basically a flood bottom, but this year I figured Id give it a bit of a boost, and tilled in 200lbs of 10-10-10. The larger plot down there was full of clover that stayed from the mix we put in last year. I was considering saving the clover and spraying with cleth to kill off the grass, but I second guessed it and tilled the clover in. Last up was another brand new plot, which I went over twice before I called it a day.

 

This morning I headed back down with the kids to plant. We started out in the failed corn plot. I rolled it, then spread DeerAg Double Beam Brassica mix, dragged and then it got rolled once again by my daughter. Next we went to the lower plots and rolled them both. In the larger plot, I spread a mix of PTTs and 2 types of Rape. That got dragged and rolled, and then I spread a similar mix in the smaller plot, but added sugar beets to the mix there. Dragged and rolled that, and moved on to the buckwheat plot. That got the Rape and PTT mix, dragged and rolled. The small plot my buddy is working on got done by him in Hog Radish.

 

The last two plots will be planted in WR later this month. We also have a couple of other new plots that didnt get tilled yet, that still may get scratched up and done in WR.

 

One thing I noticed was the buckwheat plot was almost completely weed free and super easy to till. Im thinking that any of our plots that are going to end up as fall plots will get planted in buckwheat in the spring to keep the weeds down and give the deer something to eat.

 

Here are a few pics from the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

I also pulled a card from one of my cams. Got a bunch of yearling and 2 1/2 year olds. The last 2 pics on the card, from this morning were of this guy. Im pretty sure this is Hooks, but need a head on shot to be sure. He is a 4 year old this year, and the backline and belly look about right for that. He always has his brows. Im not sure how much more growing he has, but he fits my bill for a mature buck. I passed on him 3 times as a 2 1/2 and had a 10 yard encounter with him last year during bow season. Hopefully this year he gives me a shot.

 

[dbHunterNY]

awesome... seems to me like I could see him being a 4.5 yr old; full skeletal growth, depth of body equal front to back, muscle mass equal front to back, neck connects lower into the chest below the point of the shoulder and leg bone, etc.
 

good luck seeing him this fall.  reminded me I should pull a card from the cam behind my house.  also should mow the plot it's in one last time.

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

Decided to cut out of work a few minutes early yesterday and take the kids fishing with my buddy down at Conesus Lake. Had a great time. My son caught a mess of sunfish, and learned how to cast by himself. My daughter learned how to fish with lures and had a great time throwing topwater. I caught a few largemouth under the docks and a couple on topwater. It was a fun evening, but now the kids insist that I have to get a boat lol.

 

 

 

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

 

 

 

[steve863]

I like the mohawk haircut on your boy.  If you are ever in a pinch for a broom you can just turn him over and sweep away! LOL

 

 

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

LOL, he loves it. I told him he could get it once and now he wont give it up. Might as well let him keep it while hes little and can still get away with it. He has lots of time where he will need to be grown up ahead of him.

[wooly]

Great installment to this thread Bucko!

I enjoy following along with this thread as the seasons change even if I don't get into some of this stuff the way you do.

Looks like the kiddos had a blast out there with ya!

[dbHunterNY]

I'd swear they were the off-spring of a fisherman.  that one bass is a nice one.  deer stuff can be time consuming.  good see priorities always in order.

[grampy]

Food plots, deer pic's, kids fishing, sunset pic, you are living life large!!! Keep posting updates, They are great!

[Lawdwaz]

One of the most enjoyable threads on the web, no kidding.

 

The years are going to pass sooo fast you won't believe it, filling every possible minute you can with your kids is great.  They won't remember much of it at their young ages but PRINTING all the pics you can will preserve the memories for all of you.  Some might call that "precious moments". 

 

Keep up the good work Dad!

[WNYBuckHunter]

Thanks guys, glad you are enjoying the thread. I really do enjoy looking back at it and remembering all of this stuff.

 

dbHunter, my dad didnt hunt, he brought me up fishing. Hunting didnt come until I was in my teens. I love all kinds of outdoors stuff, not just deer hunting, though its one of my very favorites.

 

My box blind is next, I have to take some time to finish it up this coming week. We have to get it in place soon.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Got down to the farms last night to move and setup a couple of cams, pull a couple of cards and check the plots. All of the plots are starting to germinate nicely with the rain that we got this week. Im thinking with the sunny weather they are calling for the rest of this week, they should really pop. The only odd thing we found was a dead fox at the edge of one plot. Not sure what happened to it, no marks, not chewed up and looked to be relatively healthy. Its a young one, and Im thinking a yote possibly got it and it left it there or thats where it ended up running and dying.

 

 

I also pulled a temporary card out of my new Browning camera, and made the mistake of putting it into one of the other cams and formatting it. Whoops. That pretty much wiped out the chances of getting any new pics/vids of bucks on that farm for now, as I didnt want to pull the other cam card, which had only been soaking for a few days. I hung another one of my Coverts in place of the Browning, as I had other plans for that one to really test it out.

 

Next I headed to the other farm and pulled my Covert cam out of its spot and setup the Browning there. This spot is a hot bed of activity, so its gonna give the Browning a real workout. I then headed to another spot on the farm to place the Covert. Along the way we spotted some deer out in the neighboring field so we stopped and watched for a bit. We then checked the corner of a corn field for sign, found plenty of it and a trail that looked like a bulldozer had gone through, so thats where we decided to hang the cam. After that we headed out, and I checked the cards once I got home. Heres a few vids...

 

 

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

http://vid95.photobucket.com/albums/l160/jwolfe1976/IMAG0145_zpsokweitjk.mp4

 

http://vid95.photobucket.com/albums/l160/jwolfe1976/IMAG0132_zpsaocxju5h.mp4

 

http://vid95.photobucket.com/albums/l160/jwolfe1976/IMAG0110_zpseks3d9cb.mp4

 

http://vid95.photobucket.com/albums/l160/jwolfe1976/IMAG0080_zpsla1h7lr0.mp4

 

Heres a 2 year old I really want to see grow up...

 

http://vid95.photobucket.com/albums/l160/jwolfe1976/IMAG0165_zpshndwxdbw.mp4

[WNYBuckHunter]

Got down to the farm for a bit last night. Setup containment cages in all of the plots. Everything is really taking off in the last week, some of the plants are on their 3rd and 4th set of leaves. I didnt think to get any pics though. Ill be back down later this week and this weekend, so Im sure Ill get some pics then. One thing I noticed is that I seemed to miss some spots when I broadcast the seed in a couple of plots. Ill grab some extra seed and go over those spots Friday.

 

I started scouting out a new stand location on the other farm, back in the swamp. Im going to need chest waders to get back in there, but a nice high stand should get me some good looks into the reeds where I know the big boys are bedding and hanging out. It wont be a bow stand, because we wont be able to get that close, but it should give me some good pokes in there with the rifle. Might need a canoe to get the deer out of there though.

[dbHunterNY]

swamp bucks are definitely the hardest recovery I've done.  in my experience travel patterns are to spread out to bowhunt in them without getting busted unless you're at the fringes of them.  I've weed wacked a 2-3' wide path along my preferred trails I want them to take with good results.  just once then stay out of there.  banks creeks along the transition from timber to swamp are always good spots.  especially if the wind is coming off the swamp to there.  shot bucks scent checking swamps that way.  just have to make sure you're not silhouetted up in the tree as you're near an edge.  looking at topo maps work great for bigger swamps to predetermine where bedding most likely will be.  deer will go where it's wet if they have a reason but they seem to always bed where it's higher and dryer.  likely you probably already know much of this.  thought I'd share anyway. 

[WNYBuckHunter]

All good tips. In this area, topo isnt going to tell me much. We know the general areas where the troughs and mounds are. The trick is going to be finding the right tree that I can get 25+ feet up in without being silhouetted. I bought some adjustable angle stands for this venture. They will do a 30 degree lean forward or back. Opens up a ton of tree options.

 

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/big-game-platinum-horizon-stand?a=1734885

[dbHunterNY]

I've used similar stands in the tree.  if it's big enough I go to the crown where the trunk splits angling out and place the stand in the center as much as possible without getting to confined.  idea is you use the others splits to the trunk as cover partly surrounding you and to brace your gun (hand) for the shot.  also found you don't need a bigger platform as when you tip the stand back while leveling the platform it hunts bigger than it is.  usually throw on an extra strap too.  stability sucks with the more angle you've got.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Yep, I do the same with my Muddy stand that levels. I would rather buy stands that level anymore. Its just so much more versitile. Cant wait to try these out, with no side cables to get in the way. Might have to order more of them.