Stressless 2022-2023 Whitetail journal

[Stressless]

Neighbor Cliff got back from his overseas trip to the holy lands and Mooch got back from his Finland Link-16 work and I limped back from CO w my T4-T5 a faqn wreck all on Sunday.

Got this from Cliff this AM - so I'm guessing we're Kicked-off for the 22-23 hunt. Serendipity that's it's Summer Solstice. So the down and in of the hunt is on while the sun winds down the year.

Had Mooch over and we caught up and then dialed Cliff in to catch up on all the trips and such. Then got to planning for the summer and fall.

The plots that I experimented with in 2020-2021 have all been returned to mixed legumes, clovers. BFT and chicory.

I'm pleased with the IMOX/treatment results even if they were too a bit too strong.

Ski Jump. Established plot.

FrontPad new legumes plot frost seeded 2022.

Bottom plot 1/2 Established and 1/2 new plot frost seeded 2022.

With my back issues I'm going ahead and biting the bullet and getting a couple enclosed blinds for 22-23. Going to have 6 spots 15'x15' cleared and leveled by the young man running the a company I have much respect for Milray Excavation and maybe dig deep enough my wallet for two blinds.

Won't check cards until later in Aug. Plots will get clethodim around July 4. Overseeded w rye and crimson clover in early Sep.

I am extremely grateful for the friends above and the opportunity to share this passion we collectively embody.

On the 6 day road trip to FL, TN, OH, CO and FL the Mrs and I listened to the Frontiersman - both one of our top books. Much discussion of the Frontiersman is over on the Book thread. Even so it brings chills to us as we traveled through the tales and toils of taming America - while we glided almost effortlessly across the same territories of our forefathers.

Looking forward to others tales and capturing ours here.

 

[Stressless]

I have a crew coming in tomorrow, same team that opened up those .15 acre openings in the woods, to clear downed trees from that strom in June. Big question is if we can get the switchgrass mowed before its completely shaded and dies.

Conversely, the drought, -6" since 9 June, hasn't killed off the new plots frost seeded in early March. FrontPad has been getting crushed like a destination ag field, 8-9 hours of browsing daily for the last two weeks....

Every plot has the same mix now so hopefully the pressure will even out but I think its as Albert described in episode 8, the chemistry of each field is different nutritionally so... we'll see. More on the plots in the mgt blog when I get BOG.

 

[Stressless]

Big happy family dinner, with the neighbors. This was right in the middle of a ton of activity all thru much of the farm, but all the activity happened outside the bedding areas.

Plots are as good as I can get them - I would have liked to have seen a mature buck or two but am hopeful the food will bring a couple around sometime during the shift. Got the blinds with 10' stands up and that was a true task with me and 75%ish of a back at the moment and just two other 55+ y/o dudes. Funny, it was a Joint effort, Marine, Army and Air Force vets - and we got ~6500# of gypsum put down to loosen the clay and remove some MG. It's very high calcuim so I'm interested in the soil test next spring.

 

[Stressless]

Well, not shooters for me(at this point) but nice to see bone walking around, now if a couple mature guys come in behind them and stake out a core area things will be looking up. Nothing over a forky all summer and in the last 6-7 days since the beans have been drying up the boys are showing up.

The ladies are piled in and I'm hopeful that the deeper woods bedding areas will collect a older buck or two... we'll see.

 

[Sgt Fury]

Plenty of ladies in your area so it’s only a matter of time before the big boys come sniffing around.

 

[Stressless]

These frisky boys started at 0827 up the hill and pushed and shoved their way down, last pic at 0836. Scuffled for 10m on camera.

Cliff and Chris are sitting the cold front today, one across the gravel and one in Glenmont at his family farm. Having "those" conversations with the Mrs. on When and How long I'll be at the farm for this hunting season...

THIS ↘ is not helping my objective outlook

 

[Stressless]

Neighbor Cliff passed on a buck he thinks is Frank from last year's list on a 8 Oct sit this year. Then sent this pic that he's almost certian is the buck, Frank he passed 8 Oct at 15 yds. He figures 145 Net....

---

Cliff: I think that this is the buck that I had by me last Saturday. His body in huge. The G-1,2 and 3 should go >20". Add 5 for the G-4 give 25". Add 23 for the beams and 16 for mass put it at 64" per side or 128". 17" for inside spread comes to 145" net. What do you think?

---

I sent back that I'd be lucky to breathe let alone do that kind of math with that brute in front of me! ...and that if he walks across the road he'll get shanked in ratchet town! (My place)

Frank from the 2021 List.

Maybe ~ 75% sure Frank the Tank 2022!

 

[finelyshedded]

Neighbor Cliff passed on a buck he thinks is Frank from last year's list on a 8 Oct sit this year. Then sent this pic that he's almost certian is the buck, Frank he passed 8 Oct at 15 yds. He figures 145 Net....

---

Cliff: I think that this is the buck that I had by me last Saturday. His body in huge. The G-1,2 and 3 should go >20". Add 5 for the G-4 give 25". Add 23 for the beams and 16 for mass put it at 64" per side or 128". 17" for inside spread comes to 145" net. What do you think?

---

I sent back that I'd be lucky to breathe let alone do that kind of math with that brute in front of me! ...and that if he walks across the road he'll get shanked in ratchet town! (My place)

Frank from the 2021 List.
View attachment 163485

Maybe ~ 75% sure Frank the Tank 2022!
View attachment 163486

I’d say you’re in the ballpark on score, imo.

 

[Stressless]

Getting ready to head up for the archery hunt. Had to slip it to the right with no core bucks on camera, now focused in rut hunting. Plans are to load up a couple feeders early next week in mid-day heat.

The tech at our fingertips.. just damn...

Sitting 900 miles away watching and listening to two JV bucks tussle, browse and roughhouse below the cabin in SkiJump.

 

[Stressless]

Some bucks showing up but nothing I'd draw on at this point.

Chiropractor lined up in Millersburg for next week to hopefully maintain my current margins to hunt and enjoy the vertical bow.

Regardless of the outcome, TOO autum is the big draw for me. Plan to leave NWFL ~0400 CDT Sunday and hit daybreak around Montgomery. No need for anything but my eyes to watch nature and the seasons literally change before me with every mile and state I cross on my journey North.

Ratchet Hollow... aka the Retreat calls me home, where the ghosts of Dad, brother, Dean and Cliff slip around the shadows of my memories.

 

[Stressless]

Got to camp Sun evening, picked up some golden acorns and got them out Monday, also setup my first ground blind for deer Monday. With the warm I'm just letting the woods soak with the added food.

Very pleased with how the plots are holding up to the relentless browse going on.

Gotta love coffee and TOO.

 

[Big_Holla]

Got to camp Sun evening, picked up some golden acorns and got them out Monday, also setup my first ground blind for deer Monday. With the warm I'm just letting the woods soak with the added food.

Very pleased with how the plots are holding up to the relentless browse going on.

View attachment 164561

View attachment 164558

Gotta love coffee and TOO.
View attachment 164557

Those exclusion cages sure tell the truth. Very cool!

 

[Stressless]

Yep they do, I try and have one on every plot to help figure out whats going on.. that's also the primary reason I knew the brassica would grow here- except the browse pressure made them worthless as a addition.

My experiment with the tillage radish is the same. It would be a good addition but even mixed into the legumes and rye they destroyed the radish tops never giving them a chance. So they are out of the lineup as well.

The WX gods smiled on me today rained .33" so far. The cool season legumes and rye will both produce well with the next 10 days forecast. ~ Mid 60's low in the 40's.

Couple bucks walking around more every couple days by the cameras. Might go sit this evening to knock the rust off.

Yep, gonna sit Spoil North tonight.

Sat ffirst sit on spoil North was tonigjht, and it was alright.

Lil buck but first sit, first hour.

 

[Stressless]

In the week leading up to Halloween I've bumped the woods harder then I normally do trying to get things ship shape for hunting. Things just slipped to the right sue to my back, work and 'life'

So far I've had very good hunts, been posting in the Live from the Stand but this thread link is what I generally send to family and friends so there will be some overlap. Also it's a reference I can look at next year to see where I sat and what I saw.

This is just to catch up my journal from the last week.

Sunday: Drove up and watched the seasons change, I65, I71, then State routes to the farm.

Monday: Got the yellow acorns distributed. First load since last year. Moved two feeders to new locations. Pulled cards from cams that were on the routes for above. Also I checked stands for safety issues that I hadn't gotten before in 2022.

Tuesday: Warm no decent buck's in a pattern or otherwise. Got two kicking branches up, again should have done that earlier but... didn't. Back didn't much like sitting for 14 hour drive or moving/lifting that many 50# bags from Monday- not a bit. Went the chiropractor ...

Wednesday: W wind sat Spoil ^ see post above, good first sit, sat Spoil AM and PM,

Thursday: Supposed to be NE breeze, went to Pine, saw a first for me Bobcat bushwackin' a pile of gray squirrels. Two bucks got busted in swirling breezes by a doe. Sat Pine AM and PM. Midday

Friday: Worked th AM went and PM'd the 2 Redneck blinds and put the chairs in them(they were supposed to Arrive Monday- they got delivered on Thurs which messed up my PM hunt at Pine. Got into Halfway Blind about 1430 and had a hellofa fun hunt. Two flocks of hens got into it and a nice 2.5yo gave me a foreleg stretch at 21 yds just begging to get shot. Also my boy Zak said he's planning rolling up for gun season so that confirms I'm just buck hunting this trip.

Today- all caught up. Sitting a new Redneck Blind, Funnel at the bottom of Greenbrier in a big X of movement. Forecast said 0.0 mph wind so that's one of the reasons I got them, contain the oders - that is yet to be confirmed.

Well... 4 bucks 1 doe little over 70m in the blind.

Seeing more and slightly better age class in the last couple days. Moving the feeder down past Spoil plot to make Spoil N stand a cruising stand was a god bit of effort for the results.

 

[Stressless]

183 years. That's their two ages added up. So thankful I got to share TOO with Mom and her companion and my wife's 2nd cousin Lowell.

Had two patio heaters on with those reflection shields, felt like I was in a toaster oven but they absolutely loved it. On the way out......

... Lowell shook my hand and said my dad would be proud of what I've done with the place. He was an usher at mom and dad's wedding and the were friends their whole lives.

That was tuff to write.

 

[JARHEAD]

Awesome memory for you. Thanks for sharing with all of us.

 

[Stressless]

Neighbor Cliff and I have been doing dinner and drinks at my place for a week. This is my friend that got the Bear and Elk this year, super Bowyer, archer and hunter. Anyway, just setting the background.

Only one of the hit list bucks from year is on camera. We compare pics and cards, total area we know what gets legally harvested is right at 1,000 acres, with the outfitter areas conjoinong the property the 2800 acres.... he posts all his kills for advertising. None of those bucks got killed and posted.

This is the second year in a row that we've captured live and healthy, over 7 (8 in 2020) 3.5 y/o's that we're past 125 net, on ot after 15 Jan that didn't show back up the next year

No EHD in this area/township.

We have lots of diasour does.

Listening to Don Higgins latest Pod with Pat on Bowsite, he stated to kill a big buck bait heavy in the late season.

Period.

There are no residential areas, homes within the areas, no highways or other areas of high mortality.

The genetics are good. He's killed 7 BBB on his section alone.


We're trying to figure out if it's just bad luck... or organized and if we should advise the county warden. Don't want to cry wolf but it's a bit of a puzzler.

The outcome desired is to advance WTD to the net age class and everything is in order for that to happen but at 3.5, or P&Y+ they all "vanish like a fart in the wind."

Thoughts?

 

[giles]

Stop shooting all the deer with the "it" factor. Him shooting 7 BBB's means he took the genetics out of the pool. For years and years you guys have killed the biggest antlered deer. I'm no scientist, but I know if I butcher all my boars, they can't reproduce. And if I want championship pigs, we don't breed them with the feeder pigs.

 

[giles]

Also, from my experience, those big old bruiser bucks don't like high deer traffic areas.

 

[Stressless]

Thx looks like two hypothesis

-
we shoot all the old deer removing the genes that allo them to get old and or antler potential.

Neighbor didn't harvest a buck in 2020 or 2021 nothing he saw or cam that he wanted to shoot as 'another year' they may really blown up.

There are no older bucks to shoot thuo... based on body without regard to antler size. This isn't just observing while hunting but running cams from July-Feb.

--
Deer density negatively effects older age class bucks.

In the adjoining lands they haven't provided any additional forage, The 1400 or so acres of adjoining land used to be open to hunting < 2016, is when he killed most of his BBB they got driven onto his place where he hunted with stealth.

We've increased the annual dry tonnage available on our lands but no does are being taken on the adjoining lands they hunt buck only and the 400 to the South has one land manager that only buck hunts gun.

One of the things we've been doing for 2-3 years is killing 'lots' of mature does w the appropriate tags to open up recruitment for those bucks at 1.5yo when they establish new new home ranges. Trying to increase that kill now that I have two new 'kids' in law.

We have always gotten pics of old bucks, body, with good 'inches'... until 2 years ago.
We have verified many, 15, at the 3.5 'nice potential' past 15 Jan.

Past that date none of those 15 have been seen on camera even once over the last two years.

Correlation does not equate to causation.

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At any rate hard to get between bedding and food when they sleep in the salad bar.