layin on the smackdown

Great to hear! I killed nice a yote, shot him in the head while I was bow hunting the rut back in 2014. I knew I had to kill it, but I was afraid of making a bunch of noise so I head shot him at 20 yds and literally dropped him in his tracks. That was at 3pm...I thought I was done for sure, 20 minutes later I killed a nice 3.5 yr old 140 inch 10ptr within feet of the dead yote. that's been the most exciting thing for me in the woods for a few years other than, like you said, getting others out there. Turkey hunting has been hit and miss. Great to hear from y'all!

I own a sweet 20 acres surrounded by hundreds of acres of pretty depressed bow hunting timber and bottoms. I have 9.5 acres of the only CRP within 8 miles...I have a 1.5 acre soybean foodplot that gets my undivided attention surrounded by 8-12 rows of corn on two sides with another .75 acres of perennials (chickory, clover, turnips) that leads into what I call the honey hole since its .5 acres surrounded by timber. I do everything I can to keep deer close, provide food, cover and water, but it all goes down the drain when that first gun season rolls around. It turns into a free for all and I end up with blaze orange on every property line I have. Its a crap shoot and no one cares anymore.

Whats the deal with uploading vidoes? I took some video of my 6 mo old pup doing incredible retrieves but RT wont allow them to upload without a domain like youtube. ​any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Everything depends on what you want to plant or what you already have planted. I have a large perennial plot that consists of chickory, clover and turnips; I mow it down once to twice a year depending upon how I feel about turkey clutches. If you want to plant corn, you need to have it nitrified and planted asap. I just put my soybeans in last week and already have a good amount of emergence...Fall annuals are no rush in most cases, depending on where you live.

Hey folks, its been a good while, coupla years since I logged in, but life's been abundantly fluctuating...I think, I hope, I pray things are going to maintain some consistency here for the average, so id like to say hello to all the ones ive missed and hello to the the new ones I have yet to meet. Its been a whirlwind since I last visited, but things are good at the smackdown homestead!

I hung a stand around noon yesterday in these 80 degree temps and hurricane force winds, then hunted a different stand in the evening. When its late October and you have a massive cold front knocking at your door, you better be heading to the woods! dan

i read the first couple posts and i was like, good gumballs man, theres no way illinois has the cheapest - and then i saw the dates...We are sitting right at 3.35 a gallon here in south central IL. News said the other night it is predicted to continue to drop through Thanksgiving....i guess we shall see - did that 2-3 years ago - went from 3.30 in august to 1.69 in november.

I will second Ruth! Those spypoint cameras are outstanding. I bought one last May and loved it so much i had to have another. They don't miss a darn thing and take excellent pictures and video. Fastest trigger speed out of any camera i have ever owned. Only downfall is that when i have it on video mode, it does not display date or time. Aside from that, you will not find a better camera out there for $110! I still have full battery power in both cameras and both have been running since June of this year. dan

I love crop dusting my in laws and my wife....crop dusting and fart balls are priceless. If you don't laugh at the title of this thread, there is something wrong with you. dan

Ok, here is a clip of the same buck from my other post. This clip is from the stand and is very shakey - i had to unmount the camera from the camera arm in order to get him on video, too many leaves were in the way where the camera was viewing. This may give you a better look at his body size. anyone have a change in mind in either direction regarding his age or score? dan

Well done Mathew! congrats! dan

This is a clip of a buck i got after pulling some cards the other day. It is from the same camera i got the bobcat on, except it is days before a gas line crew came through and leveled this transition zone from 80 acres of CRP to small creek bottom that funnels into a soy bean field. I'm pretty sure i know his age and what he might run the tape, but im interested to hear your thoughts. dan

i was pulling cards the other day, and had a nice little suprise waiting for me. I had this camera set on video mode, and couldn't be happier with the clip i got. my first bobcat on a trail camera, and he looks to be a pretty good size kitty! dan

i know im late, but i'll throw in for alternate availability. Layin on the smackdown 32 Oct 1- Jan 20 IL

Ahhhhh! the mayans didn't take into account Leap Year....it shouldve happened like 8 years ago. And it would be alot nicer if we had 4 fridays, 5 saturdays, and 6 sundays instead of 5 fridays, 5 saturdays, and 5 sundays. thats my philisophical rant for the month. dan

i get a very uneasy feeling when i look into his eyes.....like he's about to make me his woman! Looks good Chris! Congrats! dan

Ahh...nothing to worry about. Its not exactly easy to kill a mature buck this time of year - you can know exactly where they are, when they move, where they move to and you still have the odds stacked against you. If you are serious, then you need to stay out of that spot until you know these big deer will be on their feet in daylight - like the end of the month. if you keep going out there stinking it up, youre only gonna keep the deer alert and aware of your ongoing presence. leave it alone - this is a major part of the year when deer transition thier patterns, especially from daylight to darkness, and especially mature bucks. Scrapes aren't really even a big deal right now, they are social scrapes and don't carry the same degree of relevance or importance as breeding scrapes - most are made, forgotten and never returned to. What happened was just a small and common case of early season education. they'll be back - just dont pressure the crap out of it. dan

Yes sir! when that happens, its time to call it. I've had it already happen to me, but its been while guiding - it was a short burn out factor. Aside from that, i am gonna go and go, and hopefully infect as many future generations as i can while on the way, and when i am no longer physically or mentally able to head out, thats when i will call it a hunt of a lifetime. dan

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!!! Love it Johnboy!

NAILED IT!!! Well said Corey... dan

ya, i agree with William and Hoosier...This deer is for sure older than 3.5. My guess is i don't know on age, he's 4.5 or 5.5, either way he looks like a darn tank, so im gonna up the score due to body size and give him a midish to upper 130's. dan

First of all, if you are in a tree or blind, and a dog is chasing deer, there aint a snowballs chance in **** your gonna stop it, much less hit it, with a bow when its at full tilt heavy on a deers tail. Secondly, almost all deer hunters have encountered a dog, or cat, in the woods at some point or another, it happens, and it will happen - let it go. If it is a common thing, then you may have an issue that needs some attention and a solution, and you should take the appropriate actions to fix the problem - which generally doesn't start with shooting. People who shoot first, and think later are the biggest detriment to all hunters. How would you feel if your dog, or your son or daughters dog got picked off by some jerk who thought he was the man for killing someones pet because it "ruined his hunt"? Yep, if that happens to me, God help to person who i find responsible. Bottom line is, regardless of what your buddy thinks, don't let anyone sway your ethics and values - keep doing the right thing. dan

Rain is not a bad thing regarding deer activity, but it can be a very bad thing in terms of tracking. If you make a marginal hit on a deer in a decent rain, youre in for a long long recovery attempt. dan

A Bad Deal would be if you got booted from a 1000 acre tree farm and were left with a 100 acre lease split 14 ways in which one guy carries the marbles. Aside from that being the largest part of this "Bad Deal", if you paid money, youre in, bottom line. thats all of my 2 cents. dan

experience is the greatest teacher. The more you hunt (not kill) the more you will learn. Ive been at it hard for a solid 12+ years, and i learn more and more each year. Eventually you will start putting the pieces together as to why deer do what they do when they do it.