It seemed early to me. I felt the field was still a couple weeks out.That first load off the combine will likely mold
1023's 2022 Season Journal
- Thread starter bowhunter1023
- Start date
Moisture level had to be high. Corn is either going to mold or get hot.
Big_Holla
Senior Member
Corn on our place. Pretty sure most will end up in bags.
Lol, I understand what causes mold....but why must it be too moist to harvest?? Any decent farmer will do their best to avoid such a situation unless running dryers. Trying to understand why ya went straight to this hypothesis?
Plenty coming off all over the state under 13%.
My observation was based on a 60% brown, 40% green stalk on a late crop. I'm not a farmer, just judging off 20 years of observation as a hunter.
JARHEAD
Active Member
All fields are different. I'm not a farmer either but I did work on farms when I was younger. Some fields would be harvested before others every year due to drainage, fields on top of a hill as opposed to in a bottom...
I was basing it on the fact that they have been in the rain belt. Like the farms in my area, they got planted very late. Our farmers are just hitting the beans and the corn is coming off around 22%.
Starting to feel like @Spencie's second cousin Mr. #worstdeerguideinohio 
Skunked again.
Skunked again.
It's possible this buck is on one of the cams I haven't checked yet, but he was living next door and was certainly one I could have seen. Corn piling neighbors get to take him home. I can only hope less pressure and plenty of does can combat piles of golden acorns.
Finally had a chance to look through some of the drone pics from last week's flight of the farm, so here are a few of my favorites.
This is a look at the Big Plot down in the creek bottom. On the left (N side of the creek) is the North Ridge, which is full of oaks and a couple of different shelves that funnel deer E/W through the farm. There's some decent S-facing bedding along there, but it needs to be improved. On the right, you can see the sanctuary and portions of Hippie Ridge. That section is super thick and is where I encountered, then killed my buck last year. You can see how the bottom half (W end) of the creek bottom has grown into some CRP-esque type of cover. The food plot failed, but that's an atypical result for this spot.
Here's a great look at the south half of the farm, which includes the "2nd Field" and the "3rd Field" that borders the Corner Pocket (11 o'clock top of the picture). A lot of the area between the fields used to be mowed clean and now it's amazing bedding. Off to the left (W) of the 3rd Field is another sanctuary that holds does all year long. The main access trail to hunt the farm is hugging our E line, with another trail cutting down the hill into the Pond Holler.
And speaking of the Pond Holler, this is a great look at it. You can see the pond at 11-o'clock at the top of the pic, with a lot of topography and cover dropping into the holler that then runs N where it intersects with the holler where the Big Plot is located. You can see how the back half of the 3rd Field is now a nice secluded food plot. This pic is looking slight SW and you'd be amazed at how many deer cross the road at the fenceline and drop into that first drainage. When we weedeated that road bank, it was full of goat trails crossing over from the S. The vast majority of big bucks we see, enter our farm via that drainage.
Here's a little tighter look at the Corner Pocket. You can see the new blind and the "Kill Hole" that I started for the kids. The blind just N of that in that CRP area, is where I'll be putting a box blind. Some of the best bedding areas on the farm are within 200 yards of this area and with the food plots, oaks, crabapple, and all sorts of browse, this is the busiest section of ground we have. My 2019 buck came out of the corner on the right-hand side and a grunt brought him all the way across the field and down into the corner. Last year's buck was frequenting this corner as well. Most of the big buck scrape pics you see me post, are taken here. This is the one true "handcrafted" location on the farm.
This pic ties it all together. The corn on the left (N end of the farm) has been picked and is part of the farm that's leased. The holler that disappears in the top left of the pic, is super thick and brings a lot of deer on to our place from the E.
This is a look at the Big Plot down in the creek bottom. On the left (N side of the creek) is the North Ridge, which is full of oaks and a couple of different shelves that funnel deer E/W through the farm. There's some decent S-facing bedding along there, but it needs to be improved. On the right, you can see the sanctuary and portions of Hippie Ridge. That section is super thick and is where I encountered, then killed my buck last year. You can see how the bottom half (W end) of the creek bottom has grown into some CRP-esque type of cover. The food plot failed, but that's an atypical result for this spot.
Here's a great look at the south half of the farm, which includes the "2nd Field" and the "3rd Field" that borders the Corner Pocket (11 o'clock top of the picture). A lot of the area between the fields used to be mowed clean and now it's amazing bedding. Off to the left (W) of the 3rd Field is another sanctuary that holds does all year long. The main access trail to hunt the farm is hugging our E line, with another trail cutting down the hill into the Pond Holler.
And speaking of the Pond Holler, this is a great look at it. You can see the pond at 11-o'clock at the top of the pic, with a lot of topography and cover dropping into the holler that then runs N where it intersects with the holler where the Big Plot is located. You can see how the back half of the 3rd Field is now a nice secluded food plot. This pic is looking slight SW and you'd be amazed at how many deer cross the road at the fenceline and drop into that first drainage. When we weedeated that road bank, it was full of goat trails crossing over from the S. The vast majority of big bucks we see, enter our farm via that drainage.
Here's a little tighter look at the Corner Pocket. You can see the new blind and the "Kill Hole" that I started for the kids. The blind just N of that in that CRP area, is where I'll be putting a box blind. Some of the best bedding areas on the farm are within 200 yards of this area and with the food plots, oaks, crabapple, and all sorts of browse, this is the busiest section of ground we have. My 2019 buck came out of the corner on the right-hand side and a grunt brought him all the way across the field and down into the corner. Last year's buck was frequenting this corner as well. Most of the big buck scrape pics you see me post, are taken here. This is the one true "handcrafted" location on the farm.
This pic ties it all together. The corn on the left (N end of the farm) has been picked and is part of the farm that's leased. The holler that disappears in the top left of the pic, is super thick and brings a lot of deer on to our place from the E.
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I did indeed have this buck on cam. He was clearly a 3 year old and one we'd have passed on our side of the fence. He was killable the first week of the season headed back to bed in our sanctuary on opening morning and again 2 days later. One of these days, I'm going to gain control of that farm so we can see these stud 3 year olds reach the next level of potential.
It's been a fun season so far and it's nice to have Kaydence's buck tag filled since it takes a little pressure off old dad. She says she wants to shoot a doe in the snow, so we'll be waiting on the conditions to dictate that adventure. True to historical rut data, the first does came into estrous off our farm and that sucks all the bucks off our place for a while. The stud 3.5 was out last night, but I'm hoping he stays nocturnal until February! We're not even to November yet and I have a suspicion that my 3-year run is over and I'm about to return to familiar grounds: tag soup. My schedule has been absolute garbage and it won't get any better. I'm looking forward to mixing things up and will likely hunt some new spots in the next few weeks, and with K being done buck hunting, that means I can hunt behind the house with no guilt! We always see some random giants roaming our woods the week of Thanksgiving as they widen their reach to find that last doe. It'll be a crap shoot as to whether I'm there or not, but it's on my radar to be in the woods that week.
My next hunt will be Wednesday morning. I'll be able to sit until 10:30 and with a N wind, can hunt one of my favorite rut stands. Here's to Sweet November being upon us!
My next hunt will be Wednesday morning. I'll be able to sit until 10:30 and with a N wind, can hunt one of my favorite rut stands. Here's to Sweet November being upon us!
The last two weeks have been a struggle. The internal battle between wanting/having goals that likely exceed my reality has been a constant conversation in my mind. The reality is that I need access to better ground if I want to kill great deer and not good deer, but I'm so tied to the farm, it's a real struggle not to hunt there when I do have time. Honestly, I haven't hunted all that hard this year, so if I eat a tag, that's on me. I had a good run from 2019-2021 and I've let the internal strife dampen the fire a bit. What hunting I have done, has been strange. Seeing lots of single deer behaving like it's September and not November. It's clear that the pressure on the surrounding farms is impacting activity and all bucks older than 1.5, have been nocturnal since before Halloween. I'm already looking towards the firearms seasons and how I can best enjoy those, with thoughts of the last two weeks of the season also top of mind.
There's still time, but I feel the fat lady warming her chords already. I'm already laying awake at night and early mornings thinking about how to best improve my hunting access next year. Frankly, next season is already underway in my mind!
There's still time, but I feel the fat lady warming her chords already. I'm already laying awake at night and early mornings thinking about how to best improve my hunting access next year. Frankly, next season is already underway in my mind!
Gotta be a realist sometimes, as hard of a pill that is to swallow. I struggle with this as well and I think that I'm beginning to come to terms with it. Try and have fun and enjoy your time. We only get so many deer seasons.
Spencie
Senior Member
This!!!
I'm going through all the same struggles mentally about my place. It's humbling to come to the realization that no matter how hard you work at it, you are never going to have a farm that holds Booners or even 150s. I'm hoping I have 20 good Novembers left in me. Realistically, 10. It might be time to just enjoy what's offered.
bigten05
*Supporting Member*
Your like me, I didn't shoot a buck for 7 seasons because I was wanting to shoot a booner. Had my chances at a few, but it got to the point I didn't enjoy it, my expectations are still high and I pass deer still that everyone gives me shit about but since my kids have started hunting I have a different outlook on it and I remember the days when it was simple and fun and I'm trying to keep it that way for their sake. I don't have a single farm now that I can hunt and manage, everything I can hunt multiple people have access to I just hunt harder and try to hunt smarter than them. I'm already planning my late season spots because gun week sucks anymore.
A trophy is in the eyes of the holder. K did exactly what she needed to. She wanted to kill that yearling and she did. She had a huge smile and was proud of it. If you can figure out how to get that back in you, you will be just fine. My problem is a lottler different than yours as I just can't find the motivation to hunt at all. Either way, we are having very similar seasons again. We aren't having fun.
It feels more like an obligation than I'd like it to and I'd made progress in turning that corner. If our 80 acres felt like 180 and not 8, it would help. Part of the longing for the old days was the rawness of the new experience and the adventure of exploring new ground. Even when I venture to the "big woods" around here, it's overrun with people and the adventure is downgraded before you even get out of the truck. Sadly, I've grown into a cranky old man that wants its to be like the old days. Old COB would be proud 