It has been a much better week here at the Preserve. We had just over two inches of rain this week and a cold front moved through which has brought the temps down into the fifties at night. The humidity is also much lower and things have become much more comfortable. (I think you have to be a deer hunter to appreciate the feelings you get this time of year when the temps start to drop!) The deer are much more active with the cooler temps and we have been getting a lot of trophy buck pictures in the last couple of days. Judging by the trail camera pictures it is going to be a great year of hunting this fall. We have several mature bucks ranging from eight to twelve point main frames and they are all very unique. It will soon be time to start getting some stand time to determine some scores and see just how many mature trophy bucks we really have this year. Trail cameras have added greatly to the scouting but there is just no replacing the actual time needed in the woods.
We will be starting the fall food plots this weekend and it is time to get them growing. We are going to plant Buck Forage Oats and ladino clover this fall. There are plenty of accorns and apples this year so I am more concerned with protein than tonage. Both of these crops will give us higher protein levels and a good attraction for later in the fall and early winter.
July 30, 2010
Fall Planting Time
July 20, 2010
Dog Days
The hunting preserve has been having it’s share of hot weather this summer. It has been really hot and dry for the last couple of weeks and it keeps the deer from moving around much during the day. We had our first cooler evening last night and finally were able to see some of our trophy bucks moving around the food plots. We have one really nice young non-typical buck and also have added a couple new drop tine bucks to the mix. The two new drop tine bucks are nice but the drops are a little on the thinner side and will be much more easily lost once the fighting begins. Most of the bucks still are showing some signs of possible additional growth although most of the tines and stickers should already be visible. There are several trophy bucks that show 10 point main frames and it should be a great hunting season come this fall.
We were also able to see ten new fawns last night during the cooler evening. This was the first time that there were so many moving around in the same night and I am guessing that the older age will have them moving every night from here on out.
Our food plots are doing good inspite of the dry weather and it will soon be time to begin planting the fall plots. We are planning on adding several oat/clover patches this year. We are trying for something a little more frost tolerant and also providing higher proteins going into the winter. The apples are all loaded and most of the trees are being checked nightly for anything that has dropped that day. The oaks are showing a good crop as well this year although they are dropping some right now because of the drier weather.
July 6, 2010
Fence Buck
You could easily ID this buck with his two G-2 stickers.
[/caption]In the summer of 2008, we decided that we would move forward with our plans to start a hunting preserve on my family farm. This decision brought with it a year like we have never had before in our nineteen years together. We began by laying out the perimeter fence and meeting with the soil and water advisor from our county. Once we had the layout ,it was time to begin the project and try to stay on schedule to meet our goal of hunting in the Fall of 2009.
Our first step was hiring a local track hoe operator to help us clear and level over two miles of ground and install the twenty five plus culverts that would be needed to navigate our streams. While the progress was moving along very well, it became harder for me everyday as the archery season had started and for the first time since early high school I wasn’t able to hunt. As late October came upon us it also brought with it the rain and early snow which caused us to miss our first day of work in about six weeks. Since we were not able to work for a couple of days it only seemed right that I would try to spend a day in a tree stand.
The following morning I was up in my tree well before daylight and as it was just breaking light my cell phone went off. (I then understood the mistake of having it with me in the tree!) It was Curtis, our track hoe operator, and since we were not able to work the day before he wanted to work thru the weather today. An hour later we were hauling diesel fuel back to the track hoe and prepping for the day’s work. As Curtis worked on top of the hoe he got excited and said, “Look at that buck!”. There not more than fifty yards away stood the buck that I had wanted to hunt all year. He was covered in mud, neck swollen, and head straight out. He walked within twenty five yards of us and never even gave us a glance. I told Curtis that I had several trail camera photos of this buck and you could easily identify him by the two stickers coming off of his right G-2.
This was almost more than I could take. Once we had finished the fueling, I told Curtis to get started with- out me for awhile and that I wanted to make a couple of swings up the ridges. My good friend and hunting buddy, Don Graham, was hunting in my “Condo Stand” that morning and I had hopes of pushing this buck his way. I took the Ranger back to the house and grabbed my crossbow and headed back to the area where the buck had been headed when we last saw him. Parking the Ranger I headed back our main south trail on foot. The woods on the south half of our property is thick with a series of ridges and sharp ravines and I figured on walking each ridge out progressing toward the north and Don’s location.
I had slowly walked about two hundred yards and was looking for a good place to cross the first ravine when I spotted a deer. It was about seventy five yards out and with all the brush all I could tell was that it was a deer. I had grabbed my grunt call when I went for my crossbow so I thought I’d give it a try. I hit the grunt and the deer immediately raised its head and I could see antlers. I was still not sure if it was the buck I was after and gave two more short grunts. The buck spun on a dime and headed my way! As it came my way I was trying to decide on which side of the ravine it would travel. Can I find an opening to shoot thru? Will I be able to stop him when the time comes in the opening? This all seemed to take forever and I could not decide on the best option. Finally I knelt on one knee and held the crossbow in place for him to pass down the north side. When the buck was twenty yards out he crossed to my side of the ravine. Now I was screwed, everything was set for him to go right and he went left! I decided it didn’t matter it was either going to happen or not. I stood up turned left and picked an opening. He was still coming and I couldn’t believe it. This buck was the one I had all the photos of and now he was walking right to me! When he was broadside he stopped suddenly and looked directly at me but it was too late. (I figured he could hear my heart pounding.) I pulled the trigger and watched as the arrow blew thru him right behind his front shoulder. He jumped, kicked and was gone. I had watched him travel out of sight some fifty yards out and I could see the blood spraying from both sides.
Was this really happening? It was like a dream and I had not done anything to even remotely deserve this buck. I was on the ground walking, wearing my red Ohio State hat, dressed in my Carhartt work clothes, smelled of diesel fuel and this buck walked to within thirteen steps. I know that you cannot take off directly after a buck you shoot with a bow but I was in serious need of something to hold me down.
I phoned my brother Scott and asked him if he could give me a hand tracking a buck I had just shot. He asked if I had a good shot and I told him, “ I know I killed him but need a reason to stand here for awhile to be sure he’s down”. Scott and my niece Siera came down on their four wheeler and the first words my niece said were, “ Are those Scent-lok Carhartts?
We found the buck after a short and quick blood trail. He scored 141” SCI with twelve scorable points and was a main frame eight point. Once we had him loaded I called Don and told him to get ready I would be driving the buck by him in the next few minutes. As we approached the “Condo”, I could see Don climbing down. While I can’t actually tell you what he said about my call, I can tell you he was glad that I had killed the buck.
I think that this buck was a good omen and that it was a sign that our dream of having a hunting preserve was the right one for us. I call the buck the “Fence Buck” and he now hangs on the wall of our new lodge. What a great way to enjoy your one day of hunting for the year!