Sam16

OK, heres the situation on my uncles 220 acre farm. We have about 10 acres the farmer plants in alfa alfa, and the deer definitly feed in there after dark, but its extremely hard to hunt. This year 10 acres went into corn. Now i tried to plant 3 very small 1/2 acre plots with turnips, unfortunately the land caretaker accidently mowed most of it down. So my plan for next year is to plant a mix of clover, chicory, alfa alfa, and lancelot plantains to equal to almost 2 acres. This way, if it goes mowed, it will come back. I think we would plant these plots in April or so. My question is, will deer still be hitting these fields coming November, or will it have lost its luster? My other option would be to plant annuals in late summer and put orange tape around it and hopefully it doesnt get mowed again. What do you guys think I should do? I cant help it, since my plots got screwed up this year, i'm already looking forward to next years plan. I'd also like to get some summer plots in to recruit more deer to the property. Thanks for any help

we do one deer drive a year... after our morning hunt on the second day of shotgun season.. Have been very successful in the past. Last year we got a 120 and a 160 inch deer out of it... An extremely good year...

Sorry to hear about the misses, but at least both does are still alive and well. Sounds like you are onto them pretty well anyways, good luck the rest of the way. It may seem bad, but im sure many people had worse days...

I'm going this weekend, and i noticed the high for friday is a stifling 83. Not looking forward to it, but i cant wait to get out there for the first time this year.

Hey awesome looking plot bud. Hope my maxi-rack looks half that good. Last i saw though, they havent started browsing on the brassicas yet, but just wait till thats the only green forage in the area, especially after a frost. Hope it works out for ya..

I dont think the meat would stay good, but again if shes gut shot she may not die for a few hours, leaving the meat good. As for the tracking, if shes hit hard my guess is she bedded down not far from your stand and perished. Hope you find her tomorrow and give us a report.

Had the cams out for the entire month of august and finally got 2 new bucks in addition to a few regulars. The first made 2 appearances and is a young deer, i think we are passing him, but nice mass for such a young one... Would you guys agree to pass him? Another one... Then here's a shooter, too bad we didnt get a better pic of him... Looking forward to him. By the way, this cam is about 100 yards from where i arrowed my 10 pt from last year.

A yearling doe at 5 yards...

hahaha guess i was way off with the porcupine then...

Porcupine???

Is your gun season open already?? I'm dying seeing all these nice bucks down already by the way! Great job on a great buck!

I'm a huge advocate of fixed blade. I think while mechanicals may be more effective on a perfect shot, fixed blades are more beneficial on marginal shots, such as if you clip a shoulder. The added penetration and reliability of the fixed blades (cough cough muzzy's) are important to me. I killed a doe last year at 38 yards directly into the front shoulder. It was the first deer i shot with a muzzy, and i couldnt believe the penetration i got on such a terrible shot. Also left a whole the size golf ball. Just my two cents on this never ending debate.

Yea we have had a ton of rain in northern il... especially during late july and august, right after i planted them... Rain has slowed down the past few weeks though. That maxirack blend has taken off... hope the deer like it...

I'd say he's probably around somewhere... May not show himself until november or so... Good luck finding him!

We are also getting bombarded with acorns in northern il

Pretty cool experience i bet... I dont know if i would have smacked the gator in the head like that guy did, but he must know what he's doing... i hope...

I like to find something that will funnel them once they leave the corn. I have one stand 12 yards from a gap in a fence surrounding the field. You should see how bad they've got that fence gap beaten down. They usually will travel on the outskirts of the corn field, so it just takes some scouting. I have another stand at the end of a long and skinny strip of corn. I put a 1/3 acre food plot between me and the corn, giving them a little incentive to come out of the corn. I'm really excited to hunt these two new stands, hopefully i'll have something to show for them.

Guys i just got word from my dad at the farm we hunt that the turnips i planted have bulbs the size of baseballs! this is my first year trying food plots and i am so excited to hunt over them, or to hunt in general. Less than two weeks till i'll be perched in a tree with the stick and string. Hope all the hardwork pays off and somebody on our farm will shoot a monster. Sorry guys, just felt like i was gonna burst, had to post.

Agree with most of these folks... 21st is special. Im glad my birthday is in June so i dont have this dilemma though.

Hey all, I have been extremely excited to hunt my property since Easter. that is when the land owner told me that there were going to be 10-15 acres of corn planted on our 220 acre farm instead of the usual overgrown field. I rushed and put stands up accordingly to hunt these corn fields, and have got some good pics of deer around them. My question is, do you think corn is more beneficial for deer hunting when it is stand, or after it is harvested? My argument for standing corn is because it obviously holds a lot of deer in the fields, giving them all the cover and food they need to survive. The argument for cut corn is you continuously see deer being taken over cut corn fields in all the tv shows (i myself have never taken one over a corn field). However, i also have read that they put a tracking device on a mature buck, and it never left the standing corn for something ridiculous like 27 days. They have no reason to leave, making them almost impossible to hunt. One hunt on public land for me over a standing corn field produced a nice parade of does for me last year though. What do you guys think? Just trying to figure out what to expect hunting over the corn for the full year. Any opinions would be appreciated.

Just got word that my smallest food plot of about 1/3 of an acre was mowed yesterday by the caretaker... I think it was an accident, but still... a lot of backbreaking hours of work for those plots. Sorry to hear about your situation...

Wow those r looking great man! I'm hoping mine look that good, although i havent been able to check on them since early august due to college. Bet u cant wait till hunting season...

I hunted a bench of a ridge last year and shot a 10 point off it. a very good ambush point, but this was the only bench on this particular ridge. I would say hunt the one that is least intrustive, as it sounds like it may be a bedding area. Deer love to bed up on ridges. Good luck and keep us updated

Hey tim, sorry i didnt get back to you about our maxi-rack results. Last i checked was firstw eek of august and the brassicas were about 6-10 inches high. I think weeds are starting to creep into it though, since im so far away i couldnt take care of it properly. Should still be attracting deer though... Your spot looks great and good luck to you!

Talk about getting me jacked up for the season! Great buck man, once in a lifetime deer with that velvet and everything.