FSU_Seminole

I'm on about 100 acres & I'm planting exactly 1.5 acres of food plots this season consisting of 3 1/2 acre plots.

I used it last year. Here is the deal, it says "throw & grow" & it will grow just about anywhere but the seed must make contact with the soil. I plan on using some in a cut corn field this season. I'll spray to kill the weeds, then go back & fertilize & put some seed on the ground right before a good soaking rain.

Hey man I'm with you. My property borders a swamp thats full of deer & people tell me all the time the only way you can kill a big buck is to get off the fields & head back into the swamp. THAT AINT GONNA HAPPEN in the early part of the year. I've killed some rattlesnakes where I hunt & I've killed some cotton mouths as well. I've seen cotton mouths under a bridge down this dirt road where I hunt. I've seen them sunning under this bridge like they are ants or something. I don't mess with them there, only if they are on my property. I don't hunt in a swamp in September or October in SC. I know some people that do but I'm just not going to go in there until the first hard frost. Call me soft or call me crazy but its some HUGE rattlesnakes & cotton mouths were I hunt.

You're not kidding. I thought that Elk was between 350-400 yard when he said 800 I nearly fell out of my chair. That's just crazy!!! BTW Strut I'm about to pull the trigger on a 300 WSM. I tried to put a deposit on 1 I fell in love with this past Sunday but Sportsmans Warehouse here doesn't accept deposits anymore. They make you pay the entire thing at once. That sucks but oh well I'll get her in a few weeks.

Wow! I went home today for lunch & was channel surfing. I flipped to Versus. It was a hunting show on there I've never seen before. Its called "Best of the West". These guys hunt with rifles & obviously they hunt with the big boys "magnums". I was shocked at the distances they were taking animals. This one guy shot an Elk at 800.................yes 800 yards. Not 800 feet. 800 YARDS. How long has this show been on TV & what calibur rifles are these guys using? If you saw the show today or this past Saturday please do give details.

Things I need & some of them I've already purchased. I buy all of my scents in July or August. When the rut & pre rut kicks in around here stuff flies off the shelf. 1. New hunting cap for the warm season 2. Shooting gloves for the warm season 3. Tinks Trophy Buck Lure 4. Tinks Scrape Maker 5. New compact flashlight with multiple lens covers, blue, white, red & green. 6. Buck Forage Oats!!!!! I buy 1 or 2 bags every season 7. Scent elimination products I buy throughout the year.

Less than 30 days here!

Superman has always been my favorite comic book hero with Batman second. But after seeing TDK Superman is 1a & Batman is 1b. That movie was INCREDIBLE!!!!! Best comic book movie ever.

I know your question is a week old. But my answer is yes. I don't know how anyone does NOT hunt without a tool like Google earth. Not only do I scout and use it to hunt deer but its been useful with turkey hunting as well.

Excellent post. But I disagree with you about 1 thing. OPEC is playing a cat & mouse game with the USA, China & India. China & India need oil very badly because of their growing economies. Instead of increasing production, they've kept production the same & now they sell oil to the highest bidder. I believe that cetain players in this country DO NOT want increased oil production because of the huge profits being made. And I know some might disagree with me but something just is not right the the Bush/Cheney relationship with the Saudis. When they were first elected it disturbed me that the VP was having secret energy meetings structuring an energy policy without any participation or insight by the congress. Something else I just don't understand. Before the war in Iraq their were 2 oil fields discovered. They can supply the USA at our current rate of usage for the next 200 years. Why isn't that being prepared to drill? Whats the hold up?

This has been my biggest fear. The biggest threats to hunting isn't the left wing anti gun nuts. I believe the biggest threat to hunting is urban sprawl & land developement. Just in my county alone in the past 10 years we've lost thousands of acres of whitetail & wild life habitat due to development. Wal Mart just developed a super WM here & in doing so they basically destroyed a few hundred acres of land bordering along a creek. It was bow hunting paradise. A guy that lives down the street from me has a big 10 point mounted he shot with a rifle less than 10 miles from our street in a corn field. That same area now is gone, the farmer sold the property & Century 21 developed 3 or 4 sub divisions there now. The Wateree river runs through my county & the land there is a gold mine. But you can't hunt that property unless you're a doctor, lawyer or dentist. They all got together & have these expensive club fees where you only get in if you got really really deep pockets. My fear is if land keeps shrinking only people with deep pockets will have a place to hunt.

Hahahah Go Noles!!!!!!!! Even though ya'll killed us last year. But yeah I'm fed up with both national parties. I'm sick of the Clintons & tired of the Bushes as well. Their has been a Bush or Clinton in the White House since 1980. Its like dueling family monarchys. As Americans we can do better, we are the smartest freest most inovative people on the planet! Give me Chuck Hagel, Mike Huckabee or even a democrat like Heath Shuler even though he's a congressional rookie. I just wish John McCain was a younger man.

What I mean by Reaganess is he "connects" with people through speech. Ronald Reagan had the gift to get people excited & connect with them through speech. Thats how he got all the "Reagan democrats" to vote for him. He made America feel good again after the debacles of the Carter administration. Obama is trying to go down that same path after this W's white house. Granted not everything that's happened bad is W's fault but high gasoline, Katrina, the mortgage crisis, the mismanagement of the war all have happened on his watch. That's why Obama is so popular & that's why he beat Hillary. Hillary simply lost because she's not the speaker Obama is. Obama has accomplished little or nothing in Washington as a senator but he's got that gift to make people feel good & to make people believe he's something new & fresh.

Their is alot of good advice here. Since you'll just be hunting whitetails with it I assume, & I don't know your body type I'll say it like this. Pick the gun you can shoot the best without flinching. Both of these rounds will kill a deer dead in his tracks. The trick is which calibur's recoil can you handle best? If you aren't good with handling the recoil of a .30 calibur gun go with the 25.06 which virtually has no recoil. Nothing is wrong with the calibur. Some guys are just blessed with the ability to be able to stand recoil from magnum 30s and standard 30 cals to shoot over & over to become great shooters in the field. If you can handle the recoil of a 30/30 or 30.06, go with the 308 because like some of the guys have mentioned, the 308 is common & comes in many bullet weights.

I think Obama will win the election in Nov if he doesn't pick Hillary. If he does pick Hillary I think McCain may have a shot. Obama may not be that bad. Lets not forget something. The supreme court is set to rule on the second amendment this summer. That ruling will be key for gun owners & sportsman for at least another generation & it won't be overturned no matter what judges Obama selects to the court or no matter what legislation his administration tries to pass. If the GOP wins back the congress Obama's administration will have checks and balance. Its pretty scarey when 1 party has sole power of the entire government. We've seen what happens when politicians from both sides get drunk with power. I like John McCain but the GOP made a huge mistake in 2000. Thanks to the far christian right like Jerry Falwell, they helped Bush get the nomination through the evangelical vote. I voted for McCain in 2000 primary because I thought he would have made a better president by far. But he basically lost here because "he was precieved as being a maverick not born again". It was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen in a political contest. McCain should have won the nomination in 2000, if he had gotten into office then we wouldn't be in the mess we're in now. I consider myself an independent, actually I'd consider myself a Libertarian, I'm left center on some issues & right center on other issues & heavily right on gun rights ect ect............. I believe in live & let live, strong defense with moderate government spending. Again as for McCain I think that Bush has taken things to such a low its going to be very very tough for him to over come that. He'll get slimmed from Bush's administration like Gore got it from Clinton's mess. Slugshooter said something so true. Obama is a powerful stirring speaker, he's Reaganess with his speech & thats what gets votes. Any politician that can connect through speech is a formidable opponent. Plus McCain is old now. Again I go back to 2000, he would have been perfect for the job at the perfect time. The guy is like 72 now? If he did win no way he lasts 2 terms. The guy is taking daily medicine for skin cancer surgeries, high blood pressure & a prostrate issue.

WT, what brassica seeds have you tried? I was going to give up on brassica myself until I started using shot plot brassica.

Its a good product I used it year before last & the deer pretty much ate it down. The area I used it in was a cut corn field. I used a drag & my 4 wheeler. I dragged an area about 40 yards long & 25 yards wide as best as I could. I used a broadcast spreader threw out some fertilizer & seed & it came up fine. The biggest thing is the seed making contact with the soil. If it hits the soil, it will come up fine.

Thanks for the advice guys. I do feel like beating him with a stick but I can't do that. I'm going to use the cable locks for sure & I'm also going to confront him about it & tell him he missed a camera, because I do have pictures of him tresspassing last year albeit it was him riding past a tree on a 4 wheeler. Thanks for the info.

I made a mineral lick back in Feb of this year along with 2 trophy rocks I sat on top of the lick. I left my trail camera out until late March. I go check it & sure enough several healthy does & 1 big 8 point buck were caught on camera using my lick. I refreshened the batteries & figure I'll check the camera & refreshen the lick again after turkey season is over. So turkey season ends May 1st. I'm all estastic because the farmer planted soybeans in 1 field & corn in the other. This lick is about 50 yards back in the woods just off a trail that forks off into either field & the deer have plenty of cover. Its the perfect ambush spot for a rifle or bow hunter. I get back there & my frickin camera is gone & someone threw my trophy rocks around & looks like they purposely had been stepping directly on top of my lick. I know who did it but I have no proof. This is a teenage little brat with a few friends that enjoy trespassing with 4 wheelers & they enjoy tresspassing on your property during mid day when you're at work. I've caught this boy & his friend tresspassing 2 times when I hunted odd hours. The second time I politely asked him not to come back & he said he wouldn't with a smrik on his face. I saw them riding through another guys land in a truck during turkey season. I'm sure the camera took their picture they saw the flash, panicked & snatched the whole thing from the tree. His parents are the type to claim their child would never do such a thing. What can I do? And who makes a decent trail camera where it can be locked to the tree?

I totally agree. I have always believed a child should be set up on the hottest crop field in the area. Whether its corn wheat or soybeans ect ect. They'll see plenty of animals. Thats how I got hooked on hunting.

No you won't see any real antler growth in early May. Bucks are beginning to sprout "nubs" this early. Beginning in late May the months of June & July is when antlers seem to grow over night like the hulk.

Hey guys thanks for the congrats. I was at work today showing the pictures & of course nobody believes how I shot him. LOL!!!!! Oh well, I can't wait until this weekend. I'll be back out again & maybe I can get another 1 in conventional manner. Although my story is 100% true now that I think about it, it was pure luck. I guess the old saying is true. Sometimes its better to be lucky than good.

Guys I'm running on about 3 hours sleep. I'm going to hit the sack after I write this but I wanted to share my first ever turkey killed with you all. Special thanks to you Leo & the others of you that have answered my simple yet some times silly questions of a turkey novice. What made this hunt so exciting is that it did NOT happen in the traditional decoy call method but I actually stalked & killed my first bird. My girlfriend & I got up this morning at 5 am & drove out to my hunting location we set up using B mobile & 2 hen decoys and calls in a recently plowed corn field. We sat there for 2 hours calling & we had 1 hen show up and walk by. We kept hearing a turkey gobble on the other side of the woods. So by 11:30 am we moved to another location, we sat down & I called called and called for another 2 hours. NOTHING We were both sleepy and tired & wanted to go home. We decided to call it a day and as we are going back to my truck I decided to take a short cut through an old field thats grown up with weeds. We turned the corner & their is a huge gobbler standing there about 40 yards from us. We startled him he scared us, he hauls butt about 50yards to the back of the field but about 30 yards from going into the woods. I was carrying my shotgun and my decoys in my other hand. I dropped my decoys & I immediately got on all 4s and froze my girlfriend ran back & sat next to the base of a tree. These weeds were about knee high. The turkey at this point was about 100 yards from me at the back of the field I told her to hang tight & lets see what would happen. I could still see his head over the weeds. I froze on all 4 for about 20 minutes watching him because he was scanning the field to see what happened to us. He finally let his guard down and started milling around. He was still about 100 yards from me. I thought to myself, I would never sneak my fat butt up on him because he'd see & hear me. I had no choice so I started crawling on all 4s with my gun in 1 hand. I crawled about 20 yards and he was looking in the other direction. I slowly started crawling again, it seemed like it was taking forever because I was trying to crawl like a lion in tall grass & I was trying to be super quiet. I'd crawl a little look over the weeds and amazingly he was still standing in the same spot looking in the opposite direction. I crawled some more and I was shocked to see I had crawled within 60 yards or so. He was still standing in the same spot but now he was looking in my direction. I knew he was going to bolt any second so I froze again & slowly looked over the weeds. He walked to my right about 10 yards but he didn't seem alarmed. I started getting a little nervous at this point because I never really believed I'd get this close at all & he had no idea I was there. So I started crawling again keeping my eyes on him. I must have crawled to within 50 yards & the turkey was looking right in my direction. Again I froze & now I'm starting to shake a little bit. I slowly looked over the weeds and he's still looking in my direction. I'm thinking I'm busted he's gone but oh well this stalk was fun. But no, he starts back to his left. I got down on my belly almost as low as I could and I guess I crawled 10 yards. I look over the weeds & he's looking back in my direction. I wait for several minutes & he keeps walking back to the left. By this point he's 50-60 yards I guess. I said, Lord please distract him long enough to just let me get 10-15 more yards. So I started crawling & when I stop this turkey still has no idea I'm there. I said its now or never. I slowly raised up got on 1 knee & I slowly raised my shotgun, when I did this the turkey froze, his head went up like a periscope. I knew I was busted and sure enough he turned to run off, I aimed my sight right on his neck & pulled the trigger sending a load of heavy shot down the barrell. BOOM!!!!!!! The shot connected with his head & he dropped in the weeds like a sack of bricks. I was so excited I wanted to pinch myself. I just sat there in the middle of this field asking myself did I really just shoot this turkey. I stood up at must have walked 40-45 yards and their he was dead as a door nail!!!!!! I still can't believe I stalked to withing 50 yards of this great animal & got my first turkey this way. I'll remember it for the rest of my life & I have a witness also. Well here he is I was so excited I almost forgot to tag him. I didn't weigh him & I'm not sure how long his spurs are but he's got a 10 inch beard & I'm getting his fan, spurs & beard mounted. Its safe to say I'm a life long turkey hunter.

Same thing here. Also Heavy Shot Heavy 13 did pretty good also. 17 pellets in the head & neck at 40 yards with a 3 inch shell. The Winchester #5s got 22 pellets in the kill zone at 40 yards.

Thanks, I'm using 2 different chokes. Briley Super Turkey chokes made for heavy shot, with a .675 constriction. The other choke I'm using is HS Strut Undertaker. Its suited to shoot any shell except steel. I'm going to try and pattern Winchester double X turkey loads with it. As for the Benelli the guy at the store where I bought my gun told me the only difference between a Beretta and Benelli was the Benelli may be a tab bit lighter with narrower demensions. I just bit the bullet and bought the Beretta without the kick off. I really don't hunt geese or anything so it will be rare for me to shoot the 3.5" shells.