"the pasture"....long read and pic heavy

[unclefish]

well, the gameplan is to get one of you rich suckers to buy me a governors tag! do we have those here?

i kept the same routine of checking/filling every week, usually either on sundays or mondays....what i think did it was discing/planting the week before opening weekend. if i remember right we did it on tuesday or wednesday (the last day he was seen), right before a bunch of rain and right before bow season opened.

in my defense, i plotted the fall before in mid-septmber, the 16th i believe, and had him on camera at the feeder that evening, and when i plotted last spring it didnt have any impact of him showing up either, which is why i went ahead and did it. and checking/filling all summer never had an impact on him either, he was always there the evening after i was there. and heck, i just disced/planted on friday and the first good pics of him were that night.

who knows if thats what did it but i will not test that theory this time.

i will also be hunting only south winds out there this year, i had a few spots for a north wind but it involved a little too much walking too close to the plot and i never really liked doing it, so i wont be hunting those spots any more.

i am about 90% sure i know where he goes, its almost where he HAS to go, its a few hundred acres of woods and ZERO legal hunting pressure. the property is only a few hundred yards from me but there are a few hunters between us that i am pretty sure literally cut my place right off once the season starts.

i am just going to keep the feeders going, activity to a minimum, and hope the plot affords him the food he needs until september 27.

Good stuff! Sounds like you have a good game plan. Its so hard to say what caused him to vacate...they are so fickle once they are hard-horned. He might have just left as a normal seasonal movement and nothing "made" him leave.

Maybe planting something in early Sept without using a tractor or implements at all would help. Rye, chicory, clover, and radishes can be planted just by spraying and broadcasting and waiting for a rain.

I think your last sentence is the best plan you could possibly do....I sincerely hope you get a crack at him this year!

Oh yeah almost forgot.....don't forget the kale! The destroyed mine early and often last year.

[jshouse]

ah yes, so my fall mix is looking like radishes/kale/lupine/AWP...like i said the other day, i am going to keep my fall plot to the north half of the plot and only hunt south winds, obviously with my stands on the north side of the plot.

i planned on leaving whatever is alive from the spring stuff going on the south side as long as it lives, are you recommending spraying the spring stuff on the north half (I/C peas) and then broadcasting my fall mix in? or could i just broadcast my fall mix into whatever peas are standing and go from there?

i know i am getting ahead of myself, my spring plot was gone by july 4th last summer so if i dong get some water on it i wont have anything left by september annway...

[jshouse]

the good thing is that we have water on the property, i will have to move it a few hundred yards to the plot, via hoses or pipe, bad thing is nobody knows exactly where the meter is or where the line ends, its been about 15 years since anyone has used it.

i am going to go to the city next week and see if they can help me out locating it.

[unclefish]

ah yes, so my fall mix is looking like radishes/kale/lupine/AWP...like i said the other day, i am going to keep my fall plot to the north half of the plot and only hunt south winds, obviously with my stands on the north side of the plot.

i planned on leaving whatever is alive from the spring stuff going on the south side as long as it lives, are you recommending spraying the spring stuff on the north half (I/C peas) and then broadcasting my fall mix in? or could i just broadcast my fall mix into whatever peas are standing and go from there?

i know i am getting ahead of myself, my spring plot was gone by july 4th last summer so if i dong get some water on it i wont have anything left by september annway...

Yeah if you have any spring/summer stuff left by then...yes spray it if its tall and shading the plot. It might have some weeds and grass in there too that will need to be sprayed.

If its bare ground then just broadcast and wait for the sky to open up.

[jshouse]

thank you sir

[tbgascorer]

Wow, I thought he was gone. I'm glad he came back for you. I wonder how many other folks are watching this deer?

[Mex. Bowhunter]

And the fun begins. Awesome

[jshouse]

here are a few pics of the small clover patches i left going, they have some standing grain in them still too, i may try to mow them in the next couple of weeks.

i already had some peas sprouting, really hoping this rain hits tonight like its supposed to.

[Tshelly]

Just got all caught up. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the sob was back. That's an awesome feeling. It has me wanting to get to work on my stuff asap.

Can't wait to see how this goes

[KR-oldmexico]

Awesome brother! Read entire thread and will be following! good luck!

[jshouse]

made it out sunday to check pics and fill the feeder and saw that the buck was there saturday evening at the feeder, which was good. but, in typical fashion, right before i leave i "test" the feeder to see what the battery looks like and the dang thing wont stop spinning, i disconnected it and messed with it forever but as soon as i would hook it back up it would start spinning and wouldnt stop.

so i poured out a bunch of feed before i left and will have to wait till this weekend to get back out and replace the controller.

the plots were looking good though, i plan on fertilizing and putting out a bit of lime next time i get out there....

this is the MBS spring mix


cowpeas on a new spot, pretty happy to see this spot doing so good


cowpeas

[Darton]

Awesome progress!

[3DW5]

WoW, place is looking great. Just gotta keep that big ole boy eating all summer so his horns get huge... What a blast.

[jshouse]

i dont have any doubt he will eat all summer, i just need him to be there at 7am on 9/27!

thanks guys

[bermise]

Great plot and pics! Thanks