Use this site to share thoughts and comments about North Carolina sportsmanshiphttp://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/index.phpFri, 03 Sep 2010 22:33:45 -0400 Phorum 5.2.9a http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,294,294#msg-294 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,294,294#msg-294


Mix:
1 pound ground venison
½ cup milk
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup rolled oats, uncooked
½ cup minced onion

For sauce, mix:
1 cup ketchup
½ cup water
½ cup chopped onion
2 tbsp. vinegar
4 tbsp. brown sugar

Form into one-inch balls. Place in 9 x 13-inch pan. Mix sauce ingredients and pour over raw meatballs. Do not cover; bake at 350 degrees for one hour, turning over once or twice.]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:37:26 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,293,293#msg-293 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,293,293#msg-293


1½ cups water
2 envelopes onion gravy mix
¼ tsp. ground thyme
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
6 carrots, cut into one-inch cubes
1 cup frozen peas
½ cup beer
1 tbsp. packed brown sugar
2-3 lbs. deer stew meat
1 bay leaf
6 medium parsnips, cut into one-inch cubes

In small bowl, blend water, beer, gravy mix, brown sugar and thyme. Set aside. Remove all fat and silver skin from meat. Cut into one-inch pieces.

In Dutch oven, brown meat in oil over medium high heat. Add beer mixture and bay leaf to Dutch oven. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until meat is almost tender for 1-1½ hours, stirring occasionally.

Add carrots and parsnips; cover. Cook 20 minutes longer. Discard bay leaf before serving. Serves 6-8.


[www.venison-meat.com]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:36:18 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,292,292#msg-292 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,292,292#msg-292


1-2 lbs. deer stew meat
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. currant jelly
1 tsp. salt
1½ cups venison stock
2 medium potatoes
2 cups fresh cauliflowerets
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp. ketchup
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup red wine
1 cup carrots, sliced

Remove all fat and silver-skin from meat. Cut into one-inch pieces. Set aside.

In Dutch oven, cook and stir onion in oil over medium heat until tender. Add ketchup, jelly, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Stir to melt jelly. Blend in flour. Add meat, stock and wine; stir well. Cover and simmer until meat is almost tender, for 1-1½ hours. Peel potatoes and cut into one-inch chunks.

Add potatoes and carrots to stew. Cook 20 minutes longer. Add cauliflowerets. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes longer. Serves 3-6.

[www.venison-meat.com]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:35:35 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,291,291#msg-291 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,291,291#msg-291


1 lb. ground venison
4 carrots, chopped
1 can (28 oz.) tomatoes
2 beef bouillon cubes
10 peppercorns
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 can (28 oz.) water
1½ tsp. thyme
½ cup barley
Parsley
Salt to taste

Brown the ground venison and onions. Add remaining ingredients. Cover. Simmer for about two hours.

[www.venison-meat.com]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:34:46 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,290,290#msg-290 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,290,290#msg-290


3-4 lbs. venison roast
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup water
½ cup onion, chopped
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. pepper
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 cup ketchup

Mix all ingredients but meat in saucepan over medium heat. Simmer 3-5 minutes. Pour over roast in roasting pan. Cook in 325 degree Fahrenheit oven for three hours. Baste frequently. Shred roast after it has cooled. Serve with rolls or on noodles. The roast will just fall apart, juicy and tender.

[www.venison-meat.com]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:33:41 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,289,289#msg-289 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,289,289#msg-289


1 whole deer tenderloin, 1-3 lbs.
1 tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
1-2 tbsp. butter or margarine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Madeira Game Sauce (optional):
3 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 cup venison stock
2 tbsp. Madeira wine
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. currant jelly

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat. Stir in flour. Blend in stock. Cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly after 5-7 minutes. Add jelly. Stir until melted. Add Madeira wine and heat just to boiling. Serve sauce warm. Makes about 1 cup.

Remove all surface fat and silver-skin from tenderloin. Slice across grain into one-inch-thick fillets.

In medium skillet, melt butter in oil over medium-low heat. Add fillets; cook to desired doneness over medium high heat, turning once. Salt and pepper to taste.

[www.venison-meat.com]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:32:52 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,288,288#msg-288 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,288,288#msg-288Venison Sausage ingredients list:

8 lb of ground venison.
2 lb of lean ground pork.
6 oz of corn syrup solids.
2 cups of powdered milk.
6 tablespoons of onion powder.
6 tablespoons of Tender Quick.
2 tablespoons of sage.
1 tablespoon of white pepper.
1 tablespoon of nutmeg.
1 tablespoon of black pepper.
Instructions for Venison Sausage:

Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly.

Put in sausage casings.

Fry until cooked.

[www.venisonrecipes.net]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:31:12 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,287,287#msg-287 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,287,287#msg-287Venison Pie ingredients list:

2 lb Venison steak.
3 tablespoons of Lemon juice.
1 cup of Red wine.
¼ cup of Lard.
¼ cup of Flour.
1 teaspoon of Chili powder.
½ teaspoon of Mace.
4 x Bay leaves.
½ teaspoon of Fresh celery seeds.
Rich pastry crust.
Instructions for Venison Pie:

1. Cut the venison into 1" cubes & roll them in lemon juice.
2. Mix flour & chili powder in a flat dish. Dredge the venison cubes in mixture.
3. Heat the lard in large skillet & brown the meat. Once they are all browned add spices & red wine.
4. Cover with cold water and bring to boil. Lower heat & simmer for 1/2 hour.
5. Transfer meat to pie dish and cover with the pie crust. Bake at 400 F oven for 20-25 minutes.


[www.venisonrecipes.net]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:30:34 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,286,286#msg-286 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,286,286#msg-286Venison Meatballs ingredients list:

1 lb of ground venison.
2 medium eggs.
1 cup of breadcrumbs.
½ cup of parmesan cheese.
½ cup of milk
2 teaspoon of dried parsley.
1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
Spaghetti sauce.
Salt and pepper, to taste.
Instructions for Venison Meatballs:

Beat the eggs and milk in a mixing bowl.

Add the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, dried parsley and garlic powder; mix thoroughly.

Add the ground venison and knead with your hands until blended well.

Form into golf ball-sized meatballs.

Brown the meatballs on all sides.

Put the meatballs in a pan of spaghetti sauce and simmer, covered, for about 60 minutes.

Serve as desired.


[www.venisonrecipes.net]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:29:50 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,285,285#msg-285 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,285,285#msg-285Venison Jerky ingredients list:

3 pounds of venison, cut into three-inch strips.
5 tablespoons of sugar.
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of red wine.
2 teaspoons of salt.
1/4 teaspoon of five-spice powder.
1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Instructions for Venison Jerky:

Combine all of the ingredients except the venison strips.

Marinate for 24 hours.

Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until brown; turning once.

[www.venisonrecipes.net]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:29:05 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,284,284#msg-284 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,284,284#msg-284Venison Chili ingredients list:

1 ¼ pounds venison, cut into half-inch dice.
¾ lb of ground venison.
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes.
10 oz can of red kidney beans, drained.
2 large garlic cloves, minced.
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped.
1 large onion, chopped.
1 small hot green chili pepper, minced.
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
3 tablespoons of masa harina.
2 ½ tablespoons of red wine vinegar.
2 ½ tablespoons of ground chili powder.
2 tablespoons of ground cumin.
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce.
1 ½ teaspoons of salt.
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
Ground black pepper, to taste.
Instructions for Venison Chili:

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet.

Stir in the onion, garlic and chili.

Saute over a medium-to-high heat until the onion is just tender (takes 4-5 mins).

Add the diced and the ground venison and keep cooking for about another 5 minutes, stirring, until the ground venison is no longer red.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the kidney beans and the masa harina.

Bring the mixture to a boil; then reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, stirring a few times.

Stir in the beans and masa harina and heat through.

Serve.


[www.venisonrecipes.net]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:28:22 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,283,283#msg-283 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,283,283#msg-283Venison burgers ingredients list:

1 lb minced venison.
½ cup oatmeal.
¼ cup chopped onion.
1 tspn salt.
½ tspn garlic.
2 tspn mustard.
½ tspn worcestershire sauce.
¼ cup catsup.
Instructions for Venison burgers:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Shape the mixture into small balls, using approximately a teaspoon of mixture for each.

Flatten each ball and cook over medium heat in a large frying pan with enough fat to stop them from sticking.

Turn to ensure both sides are browned and cooked for about 5 to 7 minutes.

[www.venisonrecipes.net]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:27:36 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,282,282#msg-282 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,282,282#msg-282Grilled Venison Steak ingredients list:

5 half-inch think venison steaks.
Buttermilk.
Meat tenderizer.
Dry mustard.
¼ cup of margarine.
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
1 tablespoon of pepper.
Pinch of salt.
Instructions for Grilled Venison Steak:

Marinade the venison steaks in the meat tenderizer and buttermilk for about 24 hours.

Brush the steaks with olive oil.

Coat the steaks with the dry mustard and pepper.

Grill until done.

Combine the margarine and salt; brush on steaks.

Serve.


[www.venisonrecipes.net]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:26:51 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,281,281#msg-281 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,281,281#msg-281Fried Venison ingredients list:

2 lb venison steak.
1 cup of flour.
1 cup of buttermilk.
¼ cup of water.
1 teaspoon of salt.
½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
Oil, for frying in.
Instructions for Fried Venison:

In a bowl, mix together the buttermilk and the water.

Soak the venison steaks for 90 minutes.

Remove the steaks and drain.

Sprinkle the venison with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Tenderize by hacking both sides.

Roll the steaks in flour and coat both sides thoroughly.

Fry in hot oil, turning once.

Serve as desired.


[www.venisonrecipes.net]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:25:52 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,280,280#msg-280 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,280,280#msg-280Burgundy Venison ingredients list:

2 ½ lb of venison.
¾ cup of Burgundy wine.
1 packet dry onion soup mix.
1 can of cream of mushroom soup.
1 small can of mushrooms.
Instructions for Burgundy Venison:

Cut up the venison meat.

Mix ingredients thoroughly.

In a slow cooker, cook for 6 to 8 hours.

[www.venisonrecipes.net]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:25:02 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,279,279#msg-279 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?30,279,279#msg-279Venison Cutlets with Apples ingredients list:

1 slice of venison, about ½-inch thick.
4 apples.
Powdered sugar, as needed.
1/3 cup of port wine.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Butter, as needed.
12 candied cherries.
Instructions for Venison Cutlets with Apples:

Wipe, core, and cut apples in quarter-inch size slices.

Sprinkle the apple sliced with powdered sugar. Add the wine, then cover, and allow to stand for 30 minutes.

Drain (reserving wine) and sauté in butter.

Cut the venison in cutlets; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 3-44 minutes in lightly greased pan. Remove the venison from the pan.

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in the pan. Add the wine drained from apples and the cherries.

Reheat the venison cutlets in the sauce and serve with apples.


[www.venisonrecipes.net]]]> Poe RecipesSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:24:05 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?13,278,278#msg-278 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?13,278,278#msg-278
[www.secondhandnewsonline.com]


see what you can find]]> Poe Land for LeaseSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:20:43 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?14,277,277#msg-277 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?14,277,277#msg-277Whats on your bow?]]> Poe Gear (New & Old)Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:18:44 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?47,276,276#msg-276 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?47,276,276#msg-276Inferior Genetics or Bad Nutrition....What do you think?]]> Blood_Trail General DiscussionSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:15:24 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?15,275,275#msg-275 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?15,275,275#msg-275by Bill Winke



Over the past several years, I have been watching the quality of the bucks on my farm grow worse. When I first bought it back in 2002 and 2003 there were many whoppers. I felt like I had snuck into my Momma’s kitchen and stolen the cookie jar. It couldn’t possibly be this good without anyone else noticing, could it? And I had huge visions of how much better it would be in the years that followed when I started to manage the land that had not been managed in the past.

A number of things can cause a downturn in antler size so it is hard to pinpoint the true reason for the decline, but the second trend I have watched, a herd with an increasing number of old bucks, seems to shed a bit more light. The poor quality is not because I don’t have mature bucks and not because they don’t feed them (they have plenty of year-round nutrition).

So I have old bucks with scrubby antlers and very few with good racks despite a good age structure and lots of year-round nutrition. That is an interesting puzzle.

During much of this past season, I averaged seeing roughly one mature buck per day – bucks that were 4 1/2 years old or older. I saw 19 different ones. That would normally be reason for celebration, but unfortunately nearly all of them had small antlers, some were disgustingly small – scoring well under 100 inches. I wasn’t hunting Florida, I was hunting Iowa! They were definitely not the kind of bucks I would hope to see at four, five and six years of age.

DEFINING THE “NO-CULL FACTOR”

During the past two years, I have run my problem past a number of hard-core deer hunters, outfitters and deer managers. We all laugh about how the best bucks seem to show up in unmanaged settings and how we have succeeded in managing our way down to 140-inch deer. It seems the more we do to improve our farms, the smaller the mature bucks get. I’m sure that is not exactly the case, but it certainly feels that way.

It is what Al Collins, a large landowner and successful deer manager in northern Indiana calls the “no-cull factor”. Al sees it on their farms all the time. Because we are not actively culling out the mature bucks that have small antlers (and there are some in every herd regardless of where they exist), they are taking over our farms. We have made these properties so attractive to deer that we have created havens. These nasty old bucks have all the food, cover and security they could possibly want. Why would they ever leave?

Additionally, I have read a number of places, and seen firsthand, that when a buck gets older, his range shrinks. Now we have these bucks that we really don’t want that have no intention of ever leaving. We also have a very limited number of precious either-sex tags with which to control them, and we don’t want to waste those tags on ugly bucks. The ugly ones live forever. They have no reason to leave. We have given them everything they could want. They have all the does and they dominate the local action. And we are stuck with their ugly butts.

THEY ARE SCHOOLYARD BULLIES

When I was a kid, my friends and I had to deal with several schoolyard bullies when we went out for recess. For my part, I simply stayed away from them at all costs. My head was on a swivel; I was always trying to stay one step ahead of those thugs. We all avoided the part of the playground where the bullies held court. Granted, they were little bitty third-graders, but to an even smaller third-grader, they were thugs nonetheless. They owned the schoolyard because they were aggressive and mean and most of us were timid by comparison.

I had no interest in confronting them to find out where that conflict might end. I was already pretty sure it would end with me in the nurse’s office with a bloody nose.

Here is the question of the day. What do you think would have happened if there had been five or six bullies on the playground leaving very little room for the rest of us to play? Undoubtedly, I would have pressed the teacher daily to allow me to help her clean the chalkboard erasers rather than take a chance in the mean world outside. Hmmm, could this also equate to the whitetail woods?

Now back to this matter of ugly mature bucks. These old bucks have become dominant partly because of their age and partly because of their attitude. When the rut comes, they hold sway over a piece of real estate and keep all other breeding age bucks away. They come swaggering out into a food plot each evening, ears pinned back daring all the other bucks to put up or shut up. They make way like the parting of the Red Sea.

Even nice young bucks with much better antlers get out of Dodge when the sheriff shows up. No other buck wants to mess with these bullies because they are mean, ornery – like that crusty old man behind the counter at the coffee shop that always growls at you when you walk in. Other bucks seem afraid to even move in their presence lest they draw too much attention.

Younger three and four-year-old bucks with better antlers are moving away from these areas during the rut because they are tired of being bullied and pushed around. If they weren’t leaving I would be seeing them. They are moving off the farm to places where I can’t protect them.

The most likely result of this cycle of not culling bucks is an obvious shift toward a herd dominated by ugly bullies – exactly what I am seeing. As mentioned, I saw 19 bucks that I figured were 4 1/2 years old or older last season from tree stands. Only two of them would have even come close to 150 inches. I saw some bigger young bucks, but no large old bucks.

THE PROBLEM WITH “HIGH GRADING”

My neighbor calls it “high grading”, removing genetically superior deer before they reach maturity leaving only the ugly to survive and thrive, living a long life. High grading is at the heart of this ugly bully problem for a couple of reasons. In managed settings, most of the hunters are actually “trophy hunters”. They give lip service to all the things they are supposed to say, but when it comes right down to it, they do not intend to finish the season with their buck tag still in their pocket. They want a trophy for the wall.

In most cases, they don’t consider how old the buck is when they shoot it, just how much bone he has on his head. As a result, they shoot the very best easy bucks in the herd. The easiest trophy by is a genetically superior buck when he is still young.

have seen 135 to 150-inch two-year olds on our farm and 165 to 185-inch three year olds. These are genetic freaks, the Michael Jordans and Shequile O’Neils of the deer woods. These are the very deer that we should be protecting with all our energy so they can reach full maturity and truly express their potential, yet they are actually the bucks that most “deer managers” are devoting all their energy toward trying to kill. And compared to four year old, and older, bucks they are very easy to kill.

During the rut, these two and three year old bucks cover a lot of ground during daylight hours, making them extremely vulnerable. To someone looking only for a good trophy rack, they are easy marks. In areas with intense “trophy hunting” pressure, (where even normally casual hunters are now trying to shoot a good buck) it is possible to nearly exterminate the best young bucks each year.

If you aren’t guilty of this, it is likely that your neighbors are, so if these great young bucks are leaving your farm, they are quite likely getting whacked. Obviously, keeping them on your farm is the answer. It comes back to those ugly bullies again, but I am getting ahead of myself.

In unmanaged settings, hunters are often satisfied with shooting anything and they don’t make a point of cherry picking the genetically superior bucks from the herd. If the overall pressure is modest, a number of bucks from all age classes (with various levels of genetic potential) will live another year. Hunters in these settings make no effort to distinguish between which buck lives and which one dies based on antler size, only opportunity. They shoot what steps out. This is why great bucks seem to come from unmanaged areas in our part of the state.

In most “managed” areas, the genetically superior bucks are shot when they are two or three years old, leaving the ugly bucks to live another year. It is not surprising that the mature herd in these areas then favors poor antlers.

It is one thing to understand what is happening, another to unravel it and solve it. I remember one time listening to Dr. Harry Jacobson state that managing deer is easy, managing people is the real challenge. No truer words have been spoken.

THE GENETIC RAMIFICATIONS

I’ve studied genetics as it relates to free-ranging deer. Every biologist I talked to said that it is impossible for someone to impact the genetics of the deer they hunt simply by killing a few cull bucks each year. Yet it is not unthinkable that on a wider scale, removing all (or nearly all) the genetically superior bucks from the herd before they can pass those genes on to more than a handful of does could have long-term effects on the future quality of bucks.

That is just a guess on my part, but it seems logical. Genetics can change mysteriously as they skip generations. An ugly buck can produce good-looking offspring. Dr. Jacobson had such a buck in his breeding program at Mississippi State when he taught there as a professor. That buck didn’t score over 135 inches, yet he produced many exceptional offspring with much better antlers. So it is not so simple to say that by high-grading we are causing a deterioration of our buck herd. However, there is no doubt that it can’t be helping matters any either.

THE HUNTER’S VIEWPOINT

Maybe the continued existence of these ugly bullies isn’t directly causing a downward spiral in herd genetics, and maybe it is, but there is no disputing the fact that they are space eaters. They are taking up space on my farm that another buck would occupy if they weren’t there and likely that other buck would have better antlers. So, the obvious conclusion as a serious deer manager is to make the appropriate change to my management plan.

I need to remove as many of these bucks as I can, as quickly as I can and hopefully see them replaced with bucks having better genetics. As difficult as that may sound, it is actually the easy part of the equation. The second step is to try to talk my neighbors and their neighbors into passing up great young bucks.

I would love to see more of them making the decision to shoot or not to shoot based on age rather than by antler size. However, that would mean that some of them who are accustomed to shooting a buck every year will have to occasionally end the season without filling that tag. Though I am friends with all of my neighbors, I suspect halfway through that mission I will feel like a salmon trying to run up Niagara Falls.



HOW TO REMOVE THE BULLIES

You can wait for them to die of old age, I guess, or you can tackle the problem head-on. Ideally, you are early into your own management experiment and you can head the problem off before your property looks like mine.

The answer is simple, and hard. You have to remove them. Unfortunately, most deer hunters are not yet good enough at aging deer on the hoof that you can trust them to make this decision for themselves. In other words, you can’t turn a group of your buddies loose on your property and expect them to shoot your cull bucks while you save your tags for mature trophy deer.

I tried it, permitting a friend to hunt my farm for management deer a few years ago and he shot a 170-inch nine-pointer. When I asked him about the hunt, before I actually saw the deer, he said he was sure the buck was at least 3 1/2 years old. That was not the right answer. He was supposed to shoot only old bucks (4 1/2 or older) that were never going to get bigger. I don’t need 170-inch deer killed; I can do that myself. I need 130-inch deer killed.

It is really hard for someone to pass up a great buck in the hopes of shooting something smaller (but older) if you are not there to keep them honest. The mind plays funny tricks when the eyes are fixed on a great buck. Buck fever can justify almost anything.

You have two solutions. Either you shoot the culls instead of the mature trophies or you sit with your management buck hunters to make sure they shoot the right deer.

CONCLUSION

You need to remove the ugly bullies. In fact, I took my own advice last season and shot two of them. Both were fully mature bucks five or six years old. Neither was a true monster by Iowa standards but I was more than happy to shoot them and more than satisfied with the season when it ended. However, there are still several more that I didn’t shoot (some of them were much smaller) and next season I am going to have to figure out what to do with them.

The only answer I have been able to come up with is to invite my friends to get gun tags and sit with me in the tree. When a buck comes along that I don’t want to shoot but needs to be removed, I will cut them loose. They will know going in that it is a management hunt and everything should work smoothly. I’ll let you know how it turns out.




[www.midwestwhitetail.com]]]> Blood_Trail Land Management Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:13:43 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?16,274,274#msg-274 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?16,274,274#msg-274by Bill Winke




Deer hunting’s “Great Mistake” is a classic, and you may be making it without even knowing. If the first stands you sit in during your long-awaited deer hunting vacation are the ones where the deer activity is highest you are hunting too aggressively.



On the surface it seems reasonable to go right to the best stand on the first day. I’ve done it myself more than a few times. But, there are several reasons why this approach is all too often the first step toward a disappointing season. Deer have amazing abilities to sense human intrusion. They can perceive our presence in a number of ways: sight, sound, airborne scent and ground scent. A high percentage of the deer that come past your stand, even after you've left it, are going to pick up something. Unless the setup is perfect, they know you are or were there.



Think back, how often have you actually been on stand and completely fooled every deer that came past? More than likely at least some of them crossed your trail or got downwind or spotted you or otherwise picked up the slightest signals of danger. You may have been able to ignore it because they were just does, or just small bucks. But, those deer didn’t ignore it. Through body language they communicated danger to every other deer they contacted in that area for the next several hours, or longer. I’ve seen does that caught me on stand one time come looking for more day after day. That’s when an antlerless tag in the pocket is a great asset.



Once deer start catching on to the fact that they are being hunted the season collapses before it even gets going.



TO EVERY RULE THERE IS AN EXCEPTION



Opening day of the regular firearms season is one of the only times when you should hunt your best stands first. When lots of other hunters are in the woods and the deer are being prodded into moving you need to be in your best stand. This is your best chance for success during the entire season so you need to use it to your maximum advantage. Also, if you are only hunting for a few days – a weekend for example – it won’t matter whether or not you educate a few deer. When time is limited, by all means hunt your best stands right away. However, under all other conditions it is only good strategy to keep as many deer as you can in the dark for as long as possible.



START SLOW



Deer react differently to signs of human intrusion depending upon where they find it. Usually in the fringes of their core areas they have come to accept human scent, and don't react as negatively to it. This situation occurs along fence lines that farmers often walk when checking cattle, near roadways that see walkers or joggers or nature hikers and even in fringe cover near active farmsteads. If your scent shows up in these places it will be noted, but the deer aren't nearly as prone to change their patterns as a result.



On the other hand, human intrusion discovered in sanctuaries is another story. In short order the deer will move on, or become extremely cautious. In human terms, a deer's reaction to our presence in these places is similar to the difference between you or I seeing a stranger walking past our house on the sidewalk vs. finding him sitting in front of our television. That's a big difference!



High activity areas are dangerous places to hunt for a more basic reason: when there are lots of deer passing your stand you have the potential to educate lots of deer. That’s a bad risk to take on the first few days of a weeklong hunting vacation. These are the reasons that I advocate a slow start and strong finish.



I’ve mapped out a different way to think about your hunt this year. By starting cautiously and increasing your pressure in stages you keep the maximum number of deer from realizing they are being hunted for as long as possible while still hunting good stands every day. In other words, this approach allows you to make the most of a limited hunting area in a limited amount of time.

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I sketched out a hypothetical hunting area that contains many of the terrain, sign and cover elements found throughout the whitetail’s range. While it may not look exactly like your hunting area, the principles involved are universal and will work just as well in North Carolina as they do in North Dakota. Let’s start out by assuming that the most active spot on the property is listed as location number 6. In the past this is where you would have started. This year it’s where you’ll

Day one: Now is the time to be conservative. Hopefully, you have at least one stand hanging in a low impact travel route. An example is the fence line stand marked number 1 in the sketch. This is a great starting point. It is easy to get to and from this spot without spooking deer – a very important quality of any great stand. Figure out the best route to the stand to avoid the maximum number of deer. That means following fence line in from the south. In the morning you have to contend with the possibility of deer feeding the open fields. Wait until first light so you can see if the coast is clear before approaching the stand. There will still be buck traffic coming past the stand well into the morning hours.



Day two: If your stands are already up you can move on. If not, hunt location 1 in the morning and then shift over to location 2 at midday carrying a stand in with you. Don’t make a special trip to put it up during this part of the season. That will create too much impact.

Now it’s time to increase the pressure slightly. If this were my hunting area, location number 2 would likely be my favorite stand. It is located at the head of ditch that separates two bedding areas used heavily by does. Bucks will travel between the bedding areas regularly as the rut starts to peak and the ditch will funnel them past your stand. You can access this spot easily for a morning hunt by using the creek and then walking right in the ditch itself for cover. If the wind is right (westerly) I wouldn’t be afraid to sit in stand 2 several times during a weeklong hunt.



The fact that location 2 is a fairly long ways from what you feel is the area’s hottest spot (location 6) shouldn’t worry you; bucks move a lot during the rut and this is a great spot.



Day three: Again, if your stands are up move on. If not, hunt location 2 in the morning and carry a stand to location 3 at midday. Now you’re edging a little closer to the hotspot. Location 3 is in a fairly narrow creek bottom overlooking a heavy trail that parallels the creek bank. You can increase the odds a little by also finding a creek crossing that brings in another travel pattern. Again, access it by walking in the creek (if it’s shallow enough) or at least try to hug the water’s edge while staying down below the creek bank.



Day four: Location 4 is only an evening spot. Getting into a feeding area like this in the morning is too risky. You have three good choices for your morning hunt: locations 1, 2 or 3. Which one you choose depends upon wind direction, what you saw from each stand the first time you hunted it and whether or not you got busted by deer. They’re all good choices.



The afternoon hunt on a food source makes very good sense. Does will be coming to the isolated field and bucks will follow them. You are now very close to your hunting area’s core, the sanctity of which you’ve protected dutifully for several days. Carry your stand in and pick the spot that offers two things: a wind advantage and a way out at the end of legal shooting time. Getting back to your vehicle will be tough, but do what you have to do. You probably want to try to slip out by dropping down into the draw and following it east and then north to the road after shooting hours.



Day five: You really need to have this spot up in advance of the season, because it’s primarily a morning spot. Location 5 is made great by the fact that bucks will come to the bedding area looking for does for the better part of the morning. Find a low impact access route, probably coming in through the timber from the north after walking up the creek to avoid bumping into deer that are leaving the nearby crop fields in the morning. Take advantage of any ditches or ravines to avoid being seen or heard when approaching the stand.



Day six: This is the day you’ve been dreaming about all summer. You’re finally hunting the stand that overlooks the big scrapes and trails in the bottom of the draw. By now you realize that there’s nothing magical about this spot. It’s not a whole lot better than the others you’ve already hunted, but your impact here is greater and has the potential to do more damage to your chances if not properly managed. That’s why we’ve saved it for the end of your hunt. Again, like location 5, location 6 is a morning spot.



Come in along the creek from the south to avoid the feeding areas. You should plan on getting in early so you beat the deer back to the cover. Some will begin drifting back well before dawn. Stay on stand until at least noon and then slip up the ridge and into the stand you’ve got at location 7 for the afternoon hunt. The wind is liable to be a problem at location 6 as the heavy sign is located in the creek bottom below the bedding ridge. It’s a one shot deal, but a good one. It’s worth taking a bit more risk because the hunt is almost over. Bucks bedding on both primary ridges are likely to come past the scrapes after they get on their feet in mid-afternoon.



Day seven: This is a free day. What locations showed the most promise as you hunted them earlier? You don’t have to be nearly as conservative now because it’s the last gasp. Of course, you don’t want to bump deer out on the way to the stand, so you still have to hunt smart, but any one of the stands is in play. Go with your instincts. A good plan might be to hunt one of the bedding ridges in the morning (locations 2, 5 and 6) and then hunt the scrape line at location 7 or the feeding area at location 4 in the evening.


The Wild card: The only unknown is wind direction. It may not cooperate perfectly, so don’t get too hung up on sticking to the “letter of the law”. But just as importantly, don’t deviate from its spirit. In other words, don’t hunt sensitive high activity areas (locations 5 through 7) until the end of the week regardless of wind direction.



In summary, a gradual increase in pressure is the key to success when you have only a limited area to hunt and an entire week to hunt it. You don’t want to burn it out right away, but then again, by the end of the hunt you have nothing to lose. Only then does it make sense to be aggressive.

Now you have a basic strategy outline for the hunting season but you still need to put it into operation where you hunt. Scouting during the season is always a dicey proposition. You might be able to learn a lot about the deer in your hunting area but your scent and presence also has the potential to make them more cautious. If you don’t know your hunting area well enough to determine which areas are the most and least sensitive to hunting pressure I suggest that you first grab an aerial photo and use it to help you think this through.

In the process, consider your access route. An area that is difficult to access without bumping into deer must be considered more sensitive than similar types of areas that are easier to approach and exit.



Spend the first few days of hunting focused on the best stands you can find in the areas you’ve determined to have the lowest sensitivity. Don’t make any preliminary scouting trips, but instead carry the stand in when you go to hunt the area. You may not hit the absolute best spot but the element of surprise more than makes up for this shortcoming. As the season progresses, follow the same routine in what you believe to be the higher sensitivity areas.


[www.midwestwhitetail.com]
]]> Blood_Trail DeerSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:10:02 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?16,273,273#msg-273 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?16,273,273#msg-273


We all dream of hunting deer that do what they’re supposed to do – deer that do what we read about in books and magazines. You know, chasing does, grunting, making scrapes – all of that fun stuff. You can definitely find this kind of behavior on big properties and areas otherwise subjected to little hunting pressure, but in a growing number of areas regular human contact has made it nearly impossible to see textbook behavior during the daytime. In the real world we see deer act “naturally” only when they’re running for cover to get away from hunters.

Even during the bow season or late muzzleloader seasons, when the number of hunters in the field is reduced, we’re often still faced with the challenges of hunting small properties – often 40 acres or less. And when the firearm season is open, the deer seem to go instantly underground. To be a successful deer hunter in heavily hunted and urbanized areas you have to adjust to the conditions.

HUNTING SMALL FARMS

Jim Hill, of Minnetrista, Minnesota had permission to hunt a small suburban property in 1993. Jim had heard that a big buck had been sighted on the estate so an hour before daylight on November 20 he slipped around an open meadow to sneak undetected into his stand.

Shortly after sunrise Jim heard a noise to his left, and turned to watch a doe and fawn make their way out of the cover and into the meadow. Soon a big buck leaped from cover to scent-check the deer. Acting instantly, Jim grabbed his call and grunted twice. The buck gave no indication that he had heard the call and began to move away. Blowing even harder, the third grunt was finally heard, and the buck abruptly stopped and snapped his head around to look straight at the bowhunter. Hill grunted one more time and the buck took off on a run – straight toward him.

"When he was still a hundred yards away I drew my bow," said Hill. "He was coming that fast. Instead of crossing my shooting lane the big buck followed it straight toward me. I didn't want to risk a frontal shot so I had to wait until he got closer. Right at the base of my tree, shooting almost straight down at him, I released my arrow. The shot looked good but the buck only ran 20 yards before stopping. It was too thick for another shot, and then he just walked off."

Slowly following the good blood trail left by the single lung hit, Hill and a hunting buddy were able to recover the buck later in the day. And what a buck it was! A 6 X 5 typical, its beautiful wide-spreading antlers score in the 160's. Jim’s bruiser is proof that big bucks can be taken from small properties.

The typical hunting area in many parts of America is a home site surrounded by a five to 50 acre estate either entirely wooded or with a mix of meadows and wood lots. Though people are always present, these deer aren't desensitized to humans. A big buck is no easier to fool in the proximity of humans than anywhere else. In fact, they can be some of the toughest of all because you can’t make any mistakes before they figure out they’re being hunted and move off the property.

"Because you generally have to stay on a single landowner's property the whole time, it can sometimes be very tough to get to your stand without spooking deer," said Hill. "Keep this in mind when deciding on your stand sites and also go to great measures to remain scent-free and out of sight when approaching your stand. If deer see you going to your stand you’ll never get a shot."

THE RIGHT STAND LOCATIONS

Most stand placement advice revolves around reading deer sign. Typically you’re told how to set up near a scrape, what rub line is the best, how to hunt funnels and trails, etc. When hunting small properties you should forget about all that stuff and focus on one thing: your impact. The most difficult challenge to overcome in this kind of hunting is keeping the deer from realizing they’re being hunted. Ideally you’ll come up with a strategy that permits you to hunt the property all season without ruining it. Here are some tips that will help.

Plant a food plot: Here’s one of the most important tips for increasing your success rate when hunting small farms: plant a secluded food plot. Ladino clover is a good choice because it is fairly easy to establish and maintain and deer love its high protein nutrition. Even an acre or two will greatly improve the hunting on a small property. It will cost you a couple of days of hard work during the spring and fifty to one-hundred dollars, but the food source can make all the difference in the world.

Take excellent care of your food plot: lime it, fertilize it and mow it a couple times during the summer because your plot needs to be the most lush, best tasting food source within the deer’s home range. A food plot will also give you a definite feeding area that makes patterning deer easier.

Hunt backwards: I don’t mean walk backwards! When choosing stand sites start by considering access routes first, rather than buck sign or even the availability of good trees. None of the other matters if uyou can’t get to and from your stands without detection. Because limited options will force you to hunt stands more than once during the season, access needs to be foolproof. Ideally, you’ll have only a few excellent, easily accessible stands rather than a bunch of mediocre ones. That will keep you from leaving scent all over the place and moving deer to your neighbors.

Get in front of the action: It’s nearly impossible to hunt deer where they are, you need to figure out where they’re going and get there first. In the morning that means bedding areas and in the evening you need to focus on feeding areas.

Before you jump right in and start hunting smack in the middle of bedding or feeding area, you need to go back to the last tip and read it a couple more times. If you can’t get to and from the stand without spooking deer it is a poor choice regardless of how many deer use the area. In fact, the more deer using the area, the quicker you’ll burn it out if your stand is poorly chosen.

Getting out undetected can be particularly tough in the evening when hunting near a feeding area. You may need to avoid these spots at first until you can figure out the perfect stand location that’s far enough away from the food source that you can slip out after legal shooting time.

Best for last: When hunting a stand with high deer traffic you educate a lot of deer, which is essentially like putting all your eggs in one basket. You may have lots of action on your first hunt, but it will die very fast and subsequent hunts are likely to be pretty boring. Most people think of their best stands and simply can’t wait to start hunting them. Consequently they burn them out – and mess up their limited hunting area – too early in the season.

High traffic stands are usually one-day wonders. If you’re bowhunting, save them for the end of your hunt – right before the firearms season opens or the last couple of days of your vacation. You’ve got nothing to lose by playing your trump card at these times and hopefully by hunting smart in other parts of your hunting area the hotspot will still produce lots of activity. These stands may or may not be good choices for the opening morning of gun season depending upon how close they are to heavy cover.

Discipline: We all have favorite stands that we can’t wait to hunt when the weekend finally comes. But when you’re hunting a small area you have to be very disciplined in choosing a stand. If the wind is wrong (or even marginal) you can’t afford to risk spooking deer. Hunt other stands until the wind is favorable and you’ll be rewarded with a long season of better-than-expected deer hunting.

HUNTING PRESSURED DEER

Now let’s change gears and look at another challenge we all face when hunting in the real world: hunting pressure. Opening day of the firearm season has a predictable affect on deer patterns. Bucks quickly become ghosts. Many times all you'll see are their tracks. Rarely will they venture out of their security cover during the daylight. It only takes a few encounters with hunters before a buck seemingly goes underground, and this often happens within the first two hours of opening morning.

Even long after the opening day invasion, there may still be enough hunters in the woods bumping into deer and leaving scent all over the place that it's impossible for a buck to completely relax. Even the does become unbelievably skittish. This doesn't mean a good buck can't be taken under high-pressure conditions, it just means you have to hunt them differently.

For years hunters believed that bucks completely vacated an area that received hunting pressure, traveling miles to hole-up in no-hunting sanctuaries. Here’s the good news: it’s not true. Recent radio telemetry studies have shown that despite heavy hunting pressure (with hunter densities reaching as high as 16 hunters per square mile) the bucks didn't turn tail and run. Instead, they simply headed for patches of thick cover within their normal range.

During the study, hunter-savvy bucks spent nearly all of their daylight hours tucked away in heavy cover, sometimes within sight and hearing of heavily used hunter access points. You'll never know one is around until you nearly step on him. Sitting tight is the best strategy when the pressure increases. Let the other hunters do the work.

Posting security cover: At least a week before the firearms season, spend an afternoon in your hunting area locating the thickest cover (ideally, this kind of scouting was done after last season). You can be assured the place is a natural draw for local deer, and a trail system will already be in place that will make choosing a stand location (or a place to stand - if you're hunting from the ground) a lot easier. Obviously, you want the wind blowing from the deer toward you, so take the time to scout up a second location if you think you might need it.

Deer hunting is all about playing the odds. If your stand covers three heavily used trails your chances for success are three times better than if your stand covers only one. Scout the perimeter of the cover for the single location that offers the best field of fire.

Stay put: Most hunters don't have the patience to sit for long hours, and a high percentage can't seem to sit at all. When hunting small plots of private land you can use the impatience of hunters on neighboring properties to your advantage. Other hunters may think they're slipping through the woods like a ghost or that their drives don't push deer off the property. In reality, deer know exactly what's happening and take the earliest opportunity to get the heck out of there. That's why you should sit and let others do the dog work.

Hunting isn't meant to be competitive, but there is a little contest that takes place on opening day whether you realize it or not, and the deer act as the scoring judges. The winner is the hunter who is the most secretive and his trophy is a winter’s supply of venison. If the deer know you're waiting for them you can forget about getting a shot. You should be hoping your neighbor is the impatient bumbler, and quite possibly he's hoping you are. If you can get to your stand without alerting a single deer, and stay there quietly all day, you win.

You can take advantage of this strategy on public land too, but with a twist. Since hunters aren't restricted by property lines, things aren't quite as black and white. But the contest still goes to the hunter who gets in early, quietly and with the wind in his face. But on public land you also need to get in front of the other hunters. Go in early, as deep as possible, and let advancing hunters push the deer toward you.

CONCLUSION

Hunting in the real world can be tough. You have to deal with small properties, nervous deer and lots of other hunters. But, if you adjust to these challenges by hunting smarter and sitting tighter you can be one of the 10% of the deer hunters who seem to take 90% of the big bucks.

[www.midwestwhitetail.com]]]> Blood_Trail DeerSun, 11 Oct 2009 15:03:20 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?15,272,272#msg-272 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?15,272,272#msg-272Posted By Bill Winke at 8/1/2009 12:00:00 AM



A Whitetail's life revolves around its stomach. Find the
food and you will find the deer.
Now is the time to start thinking about where the deer will be feeding this fall. Mast crops have started to mature. All the agricultural crops are up and growing and native browse is maturing and evident. A quick, but focused, trip through your hunting area in August should be all you need to figure out where the deer will be during each portion of the season.

Whenever I start thinking that some other factor of a deer’s behavior takes precedence over food in determining its daily routine, I am always humbled. Let’s face it, food is king when it comes to deer behavior. Late in the season, they will even give up a part of their security to get it. The sooner you realize that everything revolves around the food, the better you will do hunting whitetails. It dictates nearly everything. Largely, where you find the food, you find the deer. It is as simple as that. This is why knowing all the available food sources in your hunting area, and when deer will utilize them, is so important.


BROWSE PATTERNS

Noted whitetail researcher, Dr. Harry Jacobson made the following statement, “It is easier to say what they won’t eat than it is to say what they will.”

This ability to consume all manner of leaves and stems makes it very tough to hunt browse patterns unless the preferred browse is very concentrated. Generally, this won’t be the case. Instead, the deer nibble their way along as they travel more or less randomly through the forest. The only place where browse becomes an exploitable pattern is when it is the only show in town, when there are no agricultural fields nearby.

I don’t hunt browse and I honestly don’t know anyone who does. It doesn’t make sense in most areas. To bowhunt food sources effectively, you need the deer to be concentrated so you can set up on their trails and have better control over the variables of the hunt. Random patterns and bowhunting don’t go together. Scout the browse if you like, but from a practical standpoint, knowing where it can be found (everywhere) probably won’t help you shoot a deer.

HARD AND SOFT MAST
Whereas browse is a tough food source to hunt, mast trees are just the opposite. They are concentrated locations that make great stand sites. Starting in the month of June, mast becomes a fast growing portion of the deer’s diet. As a percentage of diet, mast utilization peaks in November and then begins dropping off again. When given a choice of food sources, deer will select mast over almost every other food source available. Where I live in the Midwest, deer will practically vacate the agricultural food sources when acorns begin falling in late August. They will stand for hours under one oak tree gorging on the high energy, high fat food source. In a good year, deer can literally fatten up on acorns alone.

Now is the time to determine how strong the acorn crop will be this year. Look at all the various subspecies of oak that grow in your hunting area. Though they prefer white oak acorns, deer will eat acorns from all of the oak subspecies. This type of scouting doesn’t need to take a lot of time. Using a good pair of binoculars, you can quickly study the undersides of the branches on several trees of each oak subspecies. You’ll soon know which ones are carrying the most acorns. Now, spend a few more hours cruising wooded portions of your hunting area to find concentrations of these trees.

Get a stand in place. Check these areas a few days before the season opens to determine if the acorns are falling. When they start falling, hunt the stand immediately - morning and evening. Honey locust pods are another preferred hard mast found in many areas of the country. Deer will hit these hard throughout the fall. Locust pods aren’t as attractive as acorns, but deer will eat them when it is convenient.

Don’t overlook soft mast. In fact, it would be smart to find every apple, pear, plum or persimmon tree in your hunting area. All of these will draw bucks like iron filings to a magnet during the early season.

If you are wondering how to identify all of these various trees before going out to look for them, log on to the Internet and look up “Trees of Michigan” (or whatever your state may be) in a popular search engine and you’ll quickly find several identification guides.


AGRICULTURAL CROPS

Crop rotation always influences deer behavior. Divide the food sources up by seasonal preference. For example, alfalfa, clover and winter wheat are good all fall but primarily early, corn and beans tend to be better late. Of course, you need to know where these obvious attractions can be found, but don’t overlook non-traditional foot plots. I have hunted over, or near, just about every kind of crop grown in North America and there are a few surprises out there. For example, deer love turnips (leaves and all) during the fall and winter. They also feed heavily in other brassicas such as Dwarf Essex Rape and Biologic. Barley is another good late season food source.

Deer are slaves to their stomachs. Now is the time to determine where they will feed this fall. You may choose not to hunt right on the field, but you will find the best stand sites for afternoon hunting somewhere near these food sources.


IMPROVE YOUR MAST PRODUCTION

First, with landowner permission, cut all the junk trees away from oak trees so they get more light and moisture. Second, place 10 pounds of triple-13 fertilizer in a ring around a few selected trees at roughly the drip line (the outer edge of the tree’s canopy). This will increase acorn production. Finally, plant soft mast trees such as persimmon, apples or pears (depending on your geographical region) in isolated areas where you can hunt them effectively. Buy good-sized trees and fence them in to eliminate deer damage to the young tree. Within only a few years, you can be hunting over them.


[www.midwestwhitetail.com]]]> Blood_Trail Land Management Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:00:17 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?16,271,271#msg-271 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?16,271,271#msg-271Posted By Bill Winke at 1/30/2009 12:00:00 AM

For nearly 300 hours, I sat in the stand on the ridge before I finally decided it was in the wrong place. Talk about your slow learners. We have cats that are smarter than that. I put that stand up originally in the waist-thick oak tree in early November back in 1998 after only 20 minutes of scouting. I quickly looked over the terrain and picked a tree that I figured the most deer would pass within bow range and up went the stand. My mistake that day was greed.

I wasn’t content having only some of the deer within range, I wanted them all. In the process I had moved the stand too far into the middle of the action and deer often got downwind of the stand and smelled me. Despite that fact, I shot a nice buck from the stand after hunting it 12 mornings in ‘98, giving me a false sense of confidence. Had I not shot that buck, I probably would have moved the stand years sooner.

Finally, in 2003 after the umpteenth deer picked up a trace of my scent on the downwind side (not enough to blow out but enough to get nervous) I decided it was finally time. Despite the fact that the tree had become my second home, and the fact that the stand had practically grown into it, I climbed down right then with the stand on my back and moved it fifty yards downwind – just over the lip of the ridge. Here, I found a spot where most of the deer would pass on my upwind side and any on the downwind side would be so far below me on the slope that my scent would go over their heads.

I could no longer see the big flat top of the ridge where I had watched so many deer over the years, but the fact that I was now getting away with murder – none of the deer smelled me - definitely made up for the missing theatre. I felt like I was cheating when the deer went by on all sides without ever lifting their noses. After only two mornings in the new spot, I was fortunate enough to shoot a beautiful 165-inch 10 pointer came that by at 11:00 on a cool November morning for an easy 12-yard shot.

I knew the general area was excellent, but I never felt 100% comfortable with the tree I had originally chosen. Now I know I’ve got one of the best stands I’ve ever hunted. It took me four years of observation (and dozens of alarmed deer) before I found the spot within the spot that is sure to become an annual producer of big bucks. I had finally found what we all seek as bowhunters: the ultimate killing tree.

Every property has one tree that is better than all the rest. Nearly every buck eventually walks past that spot. But, unfortunately, these locations are almost impossible to find using conventional on-the-ground scouting. The only way to put the puzzle together is to log the many hours on stand that are needed to see exactly what the bucks do when they are on the prowl. After enough time has passed and you have seen enough deer, you will start to unravel micro-patterns that you can use to your advantage. Fine-tuning stand locations, even after years of hunting the area, are the final step every successful hunter eventually has to make to have a killing tree.

DON’T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS

You need to strike a definite balance when deciding when to move your stand. You’ll be like a puppy chasing its tail if you start moving every time you see a nice buck pass in the distance. There is too much random movement during the rut to base a lot of importance on each single sighting. A buck can go anywhere. When I first started bowhunting, I moved my stands all the time. I was immature in my belief that I should be seeing the fruits of my scouting every single day. If I wasn’t, I believed the stand was in the wrong spot and I’d move it. I spent more time moving stands than I did hunting them and I left a lot of scent and bumped a lot of deer in the process. There is little wonder that I wasn’t successful.

I almost never move my core stands now. They are like old friends. Patience is an important part of becoming a good whitetail hunter, so is faith. If you are sitting in a good stand, don’t be quick to move. Wait until an overwhelming amount of evidence suggests that there is a better spot.

A stand that sets up well for entry and exit and has a wind advantage should be hunted several times before you give up on it. Spots like that are too hard to find to throw them to the curb casually without giving them every chance to produce action. Four years is probably too long to wait before making the move, but one or two days are definitely not long enough. Always remember, there is no more sinking feeling in the deer woods than to move your stand 100 yards only to see a big buck pass right under your original tree. I’ve had it happen several times, and that’s one of the reasons I’m slow to move from stands where I can hunt undetected.

There is no gauge that will tell you exactly when to make your move. You have to weigh the options and sense the timing for yourself. But, there are some guidelines that will help you decide.

Wind advantage: Having a stand where deer are unlikely to smell you is a huge part of successful hunting. I’m reluctant to give up a good wind advantage without an extremely good reason. I’d rather be in a marginal spot where I never get busted than the highest activity spot on the farm where I get sniffed out nearly every time on stand. For that reason, be very patient when leaving a low impact stand for one that might not be as easy to hunt undetected.

On the flipside, if you’re playing a marginal wind and see deer movement that suggests a different spot could be better, don’t wait another season to see if you were right - get moving immediately.





Bucks vs. does: Not all deer activity is created equal. Mature bucks travel through an area differently than does and young bucks. That’s one of the reasons you won’t necessarily take good bucks in the obvious places where you find all the sign. If you’ve seen a few mature bucks pass a certain tree and you can’t attribute the behavior to the recent passing of a hot doe, you should start to think about moving. On the other hand, just because you see several does and small bucks go through an area doesn’t mean that is the best place to ambush a mature buck. Stay in the stand your first instinct suggested and keep waiting until you see enough to come to an informed decision.





MOVING ON AN INDIVIDUAL BUCK

When hunting a specific deer you shouldn’t be as patient as you might when waiting to unravel general buck patterns. Individual bucks have their own personalities and their own ways of doing things – especially when they start getting old. You have to hunt them as individuals. My friend Jim Hill has taken many nice bucks with his bow, a good number of which he was actually hunting when he took them. He has a philosophy on fine-tuning stands that’s probably as good as any. “If I see a buck I’d like to shoot doing something once, I won’t move my stand,” he said. “But, if I see him do the same thing again I’ll be over there finding a spot for a stand as soon as I can climb down.”

It pays to act quickly on intelligence you gather when hunting a specific deer simply because they don’t show themselves very often and their patterns tend to be short-lived. When you’ve got a line on one, don’t wait around. If a nice buck is vulnerable, you should get on him right away before he relocates, a doe pulls him away or he changes his movement patterns for any number of other reasons.

SCOUTING FOR THE KILLING TREE

It’s hard to find the perfect tree simply by normal methods. Studying the lay of the land and the buck sign, you find while scouting will only get you close. It will get you to the right general area, but not to the perfect tree. That takes fine-tuning. If you were hunting with a gun, it would be easy. You would simply find the right general area, clear some long shooting lanes and log your time. With a bow, you need the exact tree and that takes lots of observation. But, with a little experience your scouting will become better tuned toward uncovering these stands on the first lick. At the very least, you should be able to get closer to the perfect spot right off the bat, making it easier to fine-tune later.

One of the primary ways to improve your odds of placing the stand in the perfect tree on the first try is to spend as much time observing from a distance before the season opens as possible. This is especially valuable when hunting early season food sources. Rather than try to walk the ground, hang back as you watch and learn. Every evening that you can dedicate to watching the best food sources will bring you closer to finding the perfect tree.

One year I hunted the famed Milk River with Michael Waddell and David Blanton from Realtree. It is their business to find killing trees as often as possible to make the work of filming a deer hunt easier. On the hunt I was on, they had one nailed down.

The pair scouted the area before the early September opener looking for trees that the biggest bucks passed when heading to the alfalfa fields to feed. From the bluffs overlooking the river, they watched several fields as the patterns developed. It took four evenings before they felt like they had learned enough to hang several stands – one of them ended up being in a true killing tree.

They hunted this particular stand sparingly to keep it from burning out, but during the next three years they, or their guests, shot three dandy Pope & Young class bucks and missed a fourth one from the stand. They chose the stand only after the bucks themselves revealed which trails they liked to use when entering the field. The hunters were able to identify a tree nearby where the wind would carry their scent away from the trail and the field at the same time. The stand is still producing action to this day. They picked that tree way back in the late summer of 1997. Spots like this don’t come around very often.

Another way you can find a killing tree is to become an expert in your understanding of two or three consistent movement patterns and behaviors. Then all you need to do is find the right conditions and you know the pattern will be there. Here’s an example. Bill Clink is a realtor in Rochester, MN and has bowhunted the bluff country of southeastern Minnesota for decades. One of the Bill’s favorite patterns has proven itself repeatedly to the point where he knows exactly how to play it. Bill has learned that big bucks love to travel on side hill trails found about one-quarter to one-third of the way down a steep slope on the downwind side of the ridge out toward the end of the point. Bill has taken a number of big bucks hunting this way.

Another example is a ditch funnel found between two doe bedding areas. I wrote a complete article about this pattern elsewhere in this issue, so I won’t repeat myself here, but it is definitely a pattern you can master, making it much easier to pick out the perfect tree.

Think about the behavior you’ve watched for years. Knowing a small number of patterns intimately is a great way to find killing trees in new areas. Simply look for the right situation and boom; you are instantly sitting in one of the best stands. Obviously, experience will help you identify and catalog several such patterns, making you a more versatile and flexible hunter under a wider range of conditions.

If you are just starting out in this wonderful sport of bowhunting whitetails, don’t be discouraged if you don’t know any of these common patterns well enough to pick out a killing tree on your first pass. It will come with time. Instead, focus on what you see in front of you every day of the season. That is how you learn and how you become a truly good deer hunter. Always ask “why?” when you see a buck do something you didn’t expect, and always look for connections between seemingly unrelated observations.

Ultimately, you will see enough and absorb enough from the activity around you to answer one question: which tree do nearly all the bucks traveling through my area eventually pass? In the end, keeping your eyes open all the time is the surest way you find the killing tree.



[www.midwestwhitetail.com]]]> Blood_Trail DeerSun, 11 Oct 2009 14:57:16 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?15,270,270#msg-270 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?15,270,270#msg-270Posted By Bill Winke at 12/27/2008 12:00:00 AM

The ability to enjoy quality hunting close to home is a dream of many sportsmen. Often, the only available nearby hunting land is either over-run public areas or strictly controlled private land. If I were a betting man, I would bet that things are not going to improve in that regard. With urban sprawl and development gobbling up square miles of real estate appetite of a shark eating chum, it is unlikely that this trend will ever decelerate, let alone reverse.

If you want to enjoy a quality hunting experience close to home, you have little choice but to lease or buy recreational land. It is the harsh reality of these times. However, the good news is that anyone who has a decent job and is willing to make a commitment to the future can, either alone or with the help of like-minded friends, buy land and save it from the bulldozer. And the best part is, this land that will some day be highly sought as a country subdivision should make a good long-term investment.

In this article, I will look into the two options that you have when setting up a long-term hunting area for you, your family and your friends.

EXPLORING THE LEASE OPTION

We live in a capitalist society where things of value quickly assume a price based on the free market system. The ability to control hunting land and to manage wildlife on it is no different.

I’ve never been a fan of leasing because the free market system is ruthless. Here’s an example. I have a friend who leased several thousand acres in South Texas. During the four years that he had the lease, he sacrificed both sweat and money to improve the property and the deer that lived on it to the point that the place gained a local reputation. When his lease agreement came up for renewal, Jack was floored to find that the landowner had dropped him like a hot coal in favor of someone who was willing to pay more than twice as much.

You will always fight this when leasing land. I dislike it so much that I’m not even going to discuss it further. Unless you have an unusually strong relationship with the landowner, leasing is not a long-term solution.

BUYING LAND

The days of buying recreational land that will cash flow (pay for itself) in most of the United States are about over. I’m going to look first at the cash flow that you can achieve to help make the payments.

Cash flow: Typically, there will be little income from hunting property. Most wildlife enthusiasts don’t want cattle grazing in their timber and that eliminates one source. You can sell timber. If you keep your eyes peeled and buy a property with good timber, you may be able to make about half to three-fourths of your down payment back with the initial cut and average enough to pay your property taxes with regular timber sales thereafter. That would be a good goal, but not always attainable.

In most areas with a solid timber market established, timber sales will net you about a 2 to 3% annual return from forested acres. In southern regions with their longer growing seasons, that can be more than double. Additionally, bankers I’ve spoken with suggest that you should be able to return roughly 6% per year on crop ground in the form of cash rent.

You can also add the cost you’ve been paying to hunt elsewhere to the “income” of owning recreational land. That expense is now one you no longer have to incur. From purely a financial standpoint, it would be tough to justify buying recreational land unless there was some hope that it would appreciate.

Capital appreciation: Recreational land is different from pure farmland. It’s value is not tied to the price of commodities, but rather to supply and demand. Demand is currently growing, in most areas. Recreational land is appreciating at faster rates than farmland. It is not unheard of to see 15% annual appreciation right now in many parts of the country. It would be hard to get that kind of return for your money anywhere else at a similar risk. Of course, this rate can’t go on for much longer, but there is only so much good recreational land out there so the bottom will never completely drop out from under this type of investment. And if you buy in the right areas (more about that later), it could actually be your very best investment.

My point here is that while recreational land may never produce much cash annually, it is actually a reasonably sound long-term investment because of appreciation. If you are planning to save money anyway, it makes sense to consider land. And if you are considering land, why not consider hunting land.

The downside: From a financial standpoint, there is a big problem with having hunting land as your primary investment. The return is only on paper until you sell it – you can’t live off it (in most cases). Let’s say you are saving for your retirement. You have the ability to put $15,000 per year into tax-deferred investments and have a nice nest egg some day, or you can buy hunting land. When you reach retirement age, are you going to want to sell the land? Just what I thought. That’s when you plan to use it most. Like millions of farmers, you will find yourself land rich but cash poor when you reach retirement. You can’t retire with any comfort if all your money is tied up in land unless you sell it.

It is a very serious consideration, and the reason why hunting land should be only one part of your long-term savings plan. If it is your whole savings plan, you will have to sell it, or at least part of it, when you retire in order to maintain a decent standard of living.

As an alternative to this approach, consider buying with partners so no one has to give up their retirement to own the land. Partnerships are fraught with problems, but having a partner is better than driving a long ways to hunt or competing for a spot on public land. Plus, in theory at least, it is still growing in value.

MAKING THE BEST INVESTMENT

Doug Adams heads up a company called OEI Properties, a business devoted to buying, improving and selling recreational land as well as to consolidating recreational land listings from a number of independent realtors throughout the country. Doug recently told me that you make the best money in the land investment business when you buy, not when you sell.

In other words, Doug focuses all his efforts on finding and buying land that is at or below market value and he rarely pays a premium to the market. He keeps his net wide and throws away many fish before he finds one worth keeping.

If you have options and aren’t focusing solely on property near your home, you should adopt Doug’s strategy. Look for a diamond in the rough in all areas that fit your requirements, but be sure to pay special attention to areas where you can buy the necessary non-resident tags (if the land is out of state). You’ll want to hunt and manage the property every year without the worry of having to draw tags.

Again, from an investment standpoint, buying recreational land within an hour of a city is a smart move – an even smarter move if you can buy it close to home. The housing market is driving the prices for this land up faster than similar land in other locations. This ripple effect of rising land value may slow for periods when housing declines, but it is unlikely to fall off the map long-term. While the initial buy-in price will be higher, you should also enjoy a greater annual appreciation in your investment.

Without a doubt, you will pay a healthy premium to buy land in high profile hunting areas. From what I’ve seen in many areas of the country, you should expect to pay 10% - 25% more when purchasing land that is already managed to suit your goals. In other words, for a turnkey operation, you should expect to pay more than you would for nearby land that is still a number of years behind on the management curve.

HAVE A LONG-TERM VISION

Ideally, your hunting land will have exactly the mix of tillable and timberland that you desire. Personally, I like roughly 75% to 80% timber to tillable for deer and turkey hunting. This will permit you to grow plenty of food while still having enough timber to hunt effectively.

However, don’t be turned off by immature timber or pastureland because cutting certain trees to open up the canopy for greater production of ground level brush and planting certain other trees and native grasses can change the landscape dramatically in just five years. If you want an expert opinion on what you might be able to do with a certain piece of ground, hire a private forester to look at it before you make an offer. He or she will be able to tell you quickly if the property will meet your long-term goals.

MY IDEAL DEER HUNTING PROPERTY

If I had a blank slate to design my ultimate deer hunting property, I would settle on about 600 acres. Possibly a friend and I could purchase it together. In my experience, that is the maximum amount of quality ground that two people can manage properly in their spare time without needing big (expensive) equipment.

20081227225334794.jpg Ideally, the property would be an island of 80% timberland in a sea of open pasture or cropland. This would reduce hunting pressure right on the borders and allow me to manage my own herd with little influence from neighboring properties. Most people make a common mistake when they look to purchase their dream property by focusing on trying to border areas with high deer numbers. That is fine if your goal is simply to shoot deer, but eventually you may get the bug to produce big bucks.

It is tough to produce big bucks in areas with high deer numbers. In fact, if trophies are your goal, you are better off buying an over-hunted property in a good county and starting from scratch. This gives you the opportunity to fine-tune the herd as it grows and assures that your habitat will be in prime shape (not browsed to death). The best of all worlds, of course, is low to moderate deer numbers and low hunting pressure on the boundaries – that’s where the island concept comes in.

A range of topography would be nice, with rolling hills and some rough areas producing nooks and crannies for food plots and plenty of terrain features to funnel traveling deer.

Properties like this are out there, no doubt, but finding one that is for sale within driving distance of your home may take a few years of searching. You will likely have to compromise from the ideal. One direction I would quickly move would be toward buying a block of land bordering like-minded landowners who are focused on managing the resource to its fullest. Again, it is important to note that management to the fullest does not mean managing for the highest possible numbers.



Owning land requires time and focused attention if you are going to manage it well. Someone needs to patrol it, work with the government on farm programs, plant the food plots, coordinate the farming on tillable acres, buy equipment, perform basic maintenance on the property and equipment, work with timber buyers, manage timber stands, fix fence, mow weeds, shoot does, etc. Of course, these can be rewarding aspects of land stewardship but only if you have the time.

Just because you want to buy land doesn’t mean someone wants to sell it to you. It may take months or even years to find your ideal property. But, if you invest the time to do it right you may only have to do it once and you and your family will benefit from the fruits of your labor for a lifetime.

The Price of Hunting Land

Hunting land sells for a wide range of prices based on where you find it the kind of wildlife it supports. For example, time-proven duck marshes near significant flyways will sell for many thousand dollars per acre. The price for deer hunting land also fluctuates widely. In parts of Georgia within driving distance of Atlanta, some purely recreational land sells for more than $5,000 per acre. In North and South Dakota, some good deer, upland and waterfowl hunting land still sells for well under $1,000 per acre.

In parts of central and northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, the common price is about $1,000 per acre. In parts of Illinois and Wisconsin with high profile deer management traditions, hunting land sells for as much as $3,000 per acre in medium-sized blocks. As you go east, toward higher human densities, to areas of Pennsylvania and New York the price is even higher. Development value drives the price in these areas more than hunting value.

In general, the farther you get from urban areas, the lower the price for recreational land, but that also brings with it a lower top-end value for the land in your lifetime. In parts of the western and southwestern U.S., (areas in the middle of nowhere) you can buy ranches with huntable populations of big game such as mule deer and elk for under $500 per acre.

Where to Start

Start looking within driving distance of your home. There are many advantages to owning land near home (easier to manage, more time to use, better investment potential, etc.). Make contact with a number of realtors and scan every newspaper in your selected areas for real estate listings. Your best price will usually be from people who are actually trying to sell. If you go knocking on doors, you may find someone who is willing to part with their land - everyone has their price - but it will surely be well over market.

[www.midwestwhitetail.com]]]> Blood_Trail Land Management Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:54:08 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?14,268,268#msg-268 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?14,268,268#msg-268
[www.ragebroadheads.com]

It is like throwing an AXE at em!]]> Poe Gear (New & Old)Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:32:03 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?14,267,267#msg-267 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?14,267,267#msg-267
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Take Bucks on Sapling Rub Lines

Bucks love to rub their antlers on saplings 1 to 4 inches in diameter. And while almost any tree of that size near a deer trail is subject to being rubbed by a buck, in many woods there are large stands of saplings that are especially attractive to deer.

Often such a grove of saplings is found in a low, moist area, frequently along a creek or in a drainage. Deer love such cover, as they instinctively know they are well hidden in it. If the sapling thicket is adjacent to a hardwood stand, or an open woods area, that "edge" often forms a natural trail which deer regularly use. It also becomes a "rub line" for bucks working off velvet, and for sparring as the rut approaches.

The rubs should be fresh, best shown by bark shavings on the ground beside saplings. If they are, and there are fresh tracks and droppings in the sapling-edge trail, it's a choice spot to place a tree stand. Pick a good-size tree within range downwind, and climb. A buck could be along shortly.

[www.mossyoak.com]]]> Poe DeerSat, 03 Oct 2009 14:47:59 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?16,265,265#msg-265 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?16,265,265#msg-265

Speed Scouting

Didn’t get out and scout enough? No sweat, find your buck now.

You probably planned to scout like a wild man over the summer. But then came work deadlines, kid’s ball games, cutting the grass, chores around the house… Sound familiar? No worries. Squeeze a little “speed scouting” into your schedule and you should still get your buck.

New Ground

Let’s say you plan to hunt a new farm or woodland in a couple of weeks. Begin scouting it from your den. Spend a couple of evenings studying topographical maps and aerial photographs, zeroing in on four “deer activity zones”

1. Openings—crop fields, food plots, pastures, rights-of-way, clear-cuts or burns where bucks feed and commingle with does.

2. Security zones—thickets, swamps, overgrown fields, etc. where does and bucks bed.

3. Linear creek or river bottoms that hold a good mix of food and cover for one or more family units of does.

4. Funnels—strips of woods, hollows, saddles and the like that whitetails use when traveling between zones 1,2 and 3.

You can read maps and rule out up to 50 percent of marginal deer country. Which means you can then spend your time scouting the DAZ where you stand the best chance of busting a buck.

Take a day off work in the middle of the week. Drive to a hunt zone around noon when most deer are bedded. Slip on rubber boots, spray down with an odor-neutralizer and go for a power walk.

Hike the fringes of fields and other openings, checking for doe trails that wend back into the cover. Cruise into nearby creek bottoms and funnels, looking for freshly rubbed trees. Mature bucks blaze their core areas with the first big rubs that send sight and scent signals to does and other males. Scout for rub lines. The antler-shined sides of saplings will point toward a buck’s feeding or bedding area.

Look for splayed, three-plus-inch tracks as you poke around field edges, creek crossings and other muddy areas. Big prints near big rubs seal the deal of a good buck.

You’ll find the freshest trails, tracks, rubs and droppings near hot food sources like alfalfa or acorns. You might also find a few early scrapes or pawings that tell you a buck or two are visiting a feeding area.

While it’s not smart to bust through major security areas where lots of deer bed, check “satellite” thickets, like briar pockets, grassy ditches and honeysuckle tangles on ridges. These little covers are fine places to find big bucks staging near food sources or prowling for does; they’re good spots for stands.

Make a couple of sweeps through the DAZ, reading sign and looking for spots for ground blinds or tree stands (go ahead and hang a perch or two if you like). Come back a second or third day if you need to, but be low-impact. A big benefit of speed scouting is that you don’t continuously stomp around the woods and spook deer.


Old Land

Now let’s suppose you’ve hunted a farm for years. You already know the main food sources, thickets, funnels, and ridges and bottoms where bucks love to rub and scrape. It’s the perfect scenario for speed scouting.

Take an afternoon and hike the property’s perimeters to make sure the crops are about the same as last year, and that the woods haven’t changed drastically (i.e. the timber wasn’t thinned or clear-rut). If not, your scouting is pretty much done. Go about your hectic life until opening morning of bow or gun season. Then slip into one of those ridges or bottoms and shoot a buck.

[www.mossyoak.com]]]> Poe DeerSat, 03 Oct 2009 14:45:18 -0400 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?16,264,264#msg-264 http://www.carolinaoutdoors.org/lodge/read.php?16,264,264#msg-264

Hunt Fence Holes for Big Bucks


Some of the best spots deer hunters can locate are “fence holes,” which allow easy travel for whitetails. A man-made fence forms a barrier to bucks. Even a chest-high fence deer easily can jump over alters deer activity. When scouting good deer country, make it a habit to walk along fence lines, especially a well-maintained ones.

You're looking for places along fences where deer are crossing. If the fence is in good condition, anywhere there's a low wire, broken fence pole, hole underneath the fence, deer may funnel through that opening because it's the easiest spot for them to get through the barrier.

Perhaps the best "fence hole" for hunting in woods is where a large tree has fallen, knocking down wire and allowing for easy deer travel from one side to the other. The tree hole is all the better if the fence is otherwise in great shape, and there are almost no other places where game can cross. Be sure to check the fence hole for fresh tracks and hair in wire where deer have rubbed their coats against it. If the hole is well traveled, check the wind, and place a tree stand within range downwind of deer travel.


[www.mossyoak.com]]]> Poe DeerSat, 03 Oct 2009 14:42:36 -0400