Sam16

I would say we spent 2 hours mowing with the DR mower, an hour spraying, 5 hours tilling, another hour spreading lime... As for the planting, i havent planted yet, so is there anything i could add into the plot to maybe make it last longer? I've seen those little 2 pound biologic bags of chicory, alfa alfa, clover, and others that are meant to mix into your seed. I wouldnt be against doing something like that, making it into a mixture. Would chicory make it last longer into the fall? Thanks again guys... Yes you guys are right, we are definitly learning on the fly this year. Gotta start somewhere, and we dont really have access to a knowledgable person per say on the food plot subject. I'm going by what i've learned from you guys on the forums and what ive read about in a few articles. Thanks for gettin me this far guys...

After preparing 3 areas totalling a little over 1/2 acre for my first food plots, i have to hand it to you guys... this is tough! Granted we didnt have the best suited equipment to work with, but good golly im exhausted. We had to mow w/ a push mower, then go over it with a tractor... Then we sprayed. Then we tilled with a push tiller, which was our biggest mistake. It took me and my buddy 5 hours and all the energy we had to get the tilling done. We then sprayed again with the extra weed killer we bought. Then put in the necessary lime. 2 days of extremely hard work. We are now waiting for a good rain to put the turnip/brassica blend into the ground along with 10-10-10 fertilizer. I keep telling myself it will pay off come october, and hopefully it will. None the less, we need to find a local farmer with a tiller for next year, haha. I'll get some pics up when i go to seed, we were too tired yesterday to get out camera. Thanks for all your help fellas.

Just got the pics off my Wildview camera... I have two sequences of bucks, they are 4 days apart, and i would be amazed if deer could grow antlers this fast. I know they say 1/2 a day, but i'll leave it up to you guys to tell me. The pics of the second buck arent real clear either to make things harder. Here there are... First sequence... Second Sequence... (4 days later) Notice how much wider he is and already splitting into a G2.. What do ya'll think? I'm hopin for two different bucks. Also compare the body sizes... first one looks tiny, and second one looks normal size...

After looking at roundups website, i found a gallon bottle of round-up concentrate. You are supposed to mix 1.5 fl oz/gallon of water. It contains 32.5 fl/oz. My question then is how much land does 32.5 oz of concentrate cover? I have 1.5 acres of planned land to spray. Thanks again for all your help on my first food plot, trying to do this right. Thanks guys.

I usually wait for retail stores to have a huge sale on good camo. I bought a nice fleece jacket last year for 30 bucks. It's all i wear into the woods. Thats your best bet, to kind of get lucky. Once September rolls around though you wont see any deals though..

Looks like a honey hole. I'm startin my plot next week. Good luck with all, cant wait to see new pics...

Ok, since i really do wanna go through with these food plots... where would one buy lime? Also, what type of fertilizer do you guys use? I figure if we do it, i guess we should do it write... Thanks again guys...

I am hunting for whitetails in illinois, and dont plan on making shots any farther than 100 yards. I like those 15 yard shots myself, haha. Bluelks page seems to be very helpful, thanks guys.

Hey guys, I just applied for my first ever muzzleloader tag after i received a muzzleloader for my birthday. I have never shot one, never witnessed anyone shoot one, and dont even know how to load the thing. I've been bowhunting and shotgun hunting in Illinois for 6 years, but muzzeloaders are foreign to me. It's a Knight muzzleloader, and im asking, what is your recommendations for ammuntion that i need to buy? Like i said, dont leave anything out, becuz you cant assume i know anything. I figured i better come to the experts. Thanks everyone...

It is illegal to feed in Illinois due to CWD... but i do plan on planting a couple of plots for the fall. Thats when they seem to need it more anyways.

I'm having second thoughts about planting 2 or 3 foot plots that would total about 1.5 acres. Me and my hunting buddy are in college, we dont have a ton of money to waste if the plot fails, and we have limited equipment and limited no how. This would be our first time trying it, and i was very excited for it. That is until i continually read the preparation needed for a successful plot. So i'm relying on you guys the experts to give me an honest to God truth of whether it would be a good idea. My plan as of now would be to mow 3 areas that would be about 50X50 yards in front of my stands. Then i have access push tiller, but have never used one before. Use that, and then basically throw out some a turnip blend over the field, and see what happens. No lime, no fertilizer, no water since we r limited with resources. Will it work? If turnips wouldnt be the best for this type of plot, let me know what may work. People have mentioned the throw n gro in other posts, and i wouldnt be opposed to that either if it would be successful. Thank you for any and all input, i'm really going back and forth. We r willing to put in the effort, but not if its going to flop. Thanks again

Re: Illinois Public Land Hunting I hunted the public land 20 minutes from Champaign, IL since i go to school at Illinois University. Let me know if you want any information about it...

Re: Anyone grow turnips? or know how? does everyone else agree that turnips arent the best solution to actually hunt over? I would go with a clover or something, but the farmer of the land only grows alfa alfa all over the farm, most of it unhuntable, or at least tough to hunt. Maybe i shouldnt go with turnips at all? Being that i'm no farmer, more of a city slicker to be honest, is there anything else i would just have to roto till and plant? Any other ideas would be apperciated... thanks guys! Like i said, im no farmer, so try and spell everything out as simply as possible...

Re: Just A Question! I have a soft case, but im all for putting hunting stickers on anything, including my truck. I have a great pride in being a hunter, and am all for advertising the sport.

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I'm thinking about putting several mini turnip plots in this summer around my stands. I have about 4-5 stands that are over small meadows, and was considering putting turnips in there. I hadnt in years past because the farmer mows down these meadows once or twice a year, usually around august. When i learned today that turnips will grow back even healthier after they r mowed, a lightbulb appeared over my head. What do you guys think? Make a few snack bars for the deer. I'm planting in Northern Illinois... When should i plant them to optimize the plots for oct-nov. Do you think i would need fertilizer? Any other tips? Thanks a lot guys and gals.

Re: I\'m kicking into bowhunting mode! im a muzzy guy myself, and i feel they are pretty durable. Other than that, ive heard great things about g5 montecs if you like fixed blades. I shot thunderheads for a few years and liked them as well. If durability is your main concern, maybe look into the 2 blade magnus or something similar to those. Hope this helps.

At the Illinois Deer Classic last weekend, i picked up a brochure for a guy who comes to your land and helps your deer numbers increase. Im not willing to dish out hundreds of dollars for something i dont really believe, but part of his gimmick was producing buck beds and doe beds. He mentioned 7 elements necessary for a buck bedding area. I was wondering if any of you knew how to do this, i am interested in making some of these areas on my uncles 210 acres in north west illinois. Thanks a lot.

Re: ILLINOIS hunters..has anyone heard about the n another illinois hunter against it...

Re: top deer countys in ILL no wonder we r known for trophy bucks... unfortunately, i did not contribute

Re: Wall Pedestal! I like the wall pedestal as well, got my 10 pt like that this fall. Cant wait to see him, he's no 190 though

Re: How to take a picture. Agreed, i love the perfect pics also... I am very guilty this year... leaving plenty of blood and a tongue hanging out of my 10 pt. However, i dont really feel necessary to completely doctor the scene. I like to remember what happened exactly. On one hand, if i want a picture of the perfect deer, i'll wait till he's mounted, but the field pics do give a little perspective of what happened. To each his own for sure, just my opinion. I feel if the blood/tongue disguists you when you walk up to it, then do something, but otherwise, do whatever you want

Re: I choked.. once we felt the hit wasnt a slam dunk kill shot we got out of there that night... we came back in the morning and followed the blood trail. We looked for 4 hours in the morning... an hour looking for more blood/sign at the last spot. I'm pretty sure he's alive, all we can do is hope i guess. Thanks though guys

Well guys, i've waited a week before posting this one cuz i'm still pretty frustrated with last weekend's hunt. before i get to the main course, listen to my luck. I was hunting NW illinois on saturday evening. I decided to sit on the ground and try a new area. I get set up at 3 oclock, and at 3:05 i look up to see a big ole buck comin my way. He spotted me, stared me down, and kept walking. I was preparing to draw, just a few more steps until he's in my lane... and A TREE FELL BEHIND ME! the buck took off for the hills and i sat there staring at the tree. Never in my hunting career have i witnessed a tree fall of this size... and it happens when a monster is on my trial. Anyways, i stayed optimistic since it was the rut and bucks were moving. The following evening i set up in the same area with a climber. At 3:30 i heard a deer coming my way. I see it's a beautiful 8 pt coming through the thick brush. After watching him take his time towards me for 2 minutes, he presented me with a beautiful 12 yard broadside shot. The shakes got to me, i rushed the shot, and hit him low. I still felt i could have gotten heart though. He takes off, runs 50 yards, looks at me, and takes off again. We waited an hour, followed the blood trail and decided to come bakc in the morning with more light. We wake up to rain hitting the windows. My stomach sank. Luckily some of the blood trail was still visible. We followed it for about 500 yards and 4 hours. Our last blood was a pool the size of a basketball in a crp field. We looked forever and could not find any more blood. It would have been my biggest buck to date, but it wasnt meant to be. Anyways... just needed to get htis out.. haha. Hopefully he's alive and will be bigger next year. I have a hard time believing he lost so much blood and is still alive, but he did make it 500 yards, so who knows. Any ideas? I believe i hit him about 2-3 inches above the white of the belly, but it wasnt a gut or shoulder shot, looked good. Any similar experiences?

Re: Rattling in IL I havent given it a try yet... still a little early. I grunted a 10 point in on saturday and shot him. He came right to the single grunt...