More pictures, but new stuff!

I wonder if you guys were wondering when I would post coyote pictures, and I haven't, because I don't have any.  Well, that's not true anymore.  I have some now.

These were all taken in one place, as you can see.  Now I'm starting to think, "Hey Coyotes!  These are my deer, leave them alone!"  Now for some predator management.... 'cause I want my fawns to make it!

After Deer Season

The deer season is over here, as it is in just about all of the US.  I enjoyed it, took my first buck, and had some deer jerky (it was awesome!).  What do you do now?  Well, here are a few things:

• Take Down Treestands: You don't need to leave them up 24/7, 365 days a year.  The straps and different metal clamps and such may need replacing.
• Start Mineral Licks: Mineral lick now will give deer a head start in nutrition needs to begin the new year.  It also allows for you to get pictures of deer a little easier, so you can see who survived.
• Frost Seed: In a couple weeks, you should be able to do that.  In February, the frost/defrost cycle will start, which will allow seeds to penetrate the soil.  Clover, Chicory, and other small seeds work best, along with some cereal grain seeds.
• Plant Wildlife Plants: I'm looking at American Beutyberry, a plant that most wildlife will eat and enjoy it's fruit and leaves.  I may eventually do chestnuts.  That is just an example.
• Play Around With Trail Camera's: Like I said, see who survived and where they hang out this time of year, as they will be in their winter patterns.
• Go Small Game Hunting:  Why not?  It's a fun thing for kids because you will succeed almost every time when you hunt squirrel.  But it's hunting nonetheless, and it's fun!

Don't Forget the Does

A lot of the hunting world today revolves around bucks.  You'll see on websites "How to get a bruiser in the early season" or "Where to catch the big boys" and so on.  And many lose sight of the does.  And actually, they have a lot to do with genetics and herd health.  Not only that, but they offer more opportunities to shoot and give kids an opportunity for a deer.  And, you hunt does to find bucks in the rut.  But here we go...

• Does give half of the genetics to the fawns.  So they give just as much genetics as bucks.  An unhealthy or sickly doe will not give great genetics even if a great buck breeds her.  
• Not only that, but the more does there are, there is less rut activity.  If there are more does, then it will be harder to pinpoint where a buck will be if there are a lot of places does could be.  If there are less does, then bucks will have to search out for them more, leading to more buck activity.  
• The more does there are, the higher the population of deer.  You may ask, "Isn't that good?"  Yes and no.  More population means more deer which mean more hunting opportunities.  No because if the amount of food a deer population eats exceeds the amount of forage a piece of land produces, then the herd suffers.  Less food means less nutrition.  Less nutrition leads to smaller deer and unhealthier deer and smaller racks and fawns. 

Yes, I did read about some of this, but all you need is a little logic to get to those conclusions (I mean no disrespect to anyone).

Till next time!

Ice Storms

A almost two months ago we had a bad ice storm in my part NC.  Some people were without power for almost a week.  Personally, we regained power after half a day.
A lot of tree tops were down, causing brush piles in many places.  But whole trees went down as well.  In one place a tree caused other trees to fall on other trees that it created a nice sized opening.  My instant thought: food plot!  Bedding and night feeding is close by, and deer have been in those woods.  I've seen a doe and a couple rubs in that location.  I know some that have management plans different from mine, say, planting oaks where trees fell and created an opening, which is fine.

Keep camera's running and keep scouting, because something good will come out of it!

Trials and Tribulations of a Treestand

Hello from Snow Camp Outdoors!!  It's been a while, I know, things have been slow and I have some posts drafted, so be ready for some updates in the following weeks (even days!).  Besides that, I recently put up a treestand in my front yard!!  75 yards away from my house with a small food plot in front of it.  Not bad right?  It is a two person stand by Ameristep.

Behind the stand

Next to it, looking up

Looking at it from my plot

The stand is not that high, only 8 feet.  It is really only 20 to 25 yards from my stand to the plot.  It took me and the help of two 9 year old boys to put it up.  But we did it.  

  Once it was up, I tried to tighten the "installation" straps.  Did it, then went to the ratchet straps.  I couldn't figure it out, but eventually I did.  Then, I found the installation straps needed more tightening!  I took maybe an hour, but I was really proud once I put it up, my first stand.

  So, what is the plot?  Well, it's clover and chicory, but it's just coming up.

The feeder is out there mainly to get deer coming into the area.  So when the plot comes up, they'll eat it.  By the way,  I'll post some of my recent pictures soon.  

Until next time!! 

Guess What!

Hi!  So, I think that all the big bucks have vanished, but there are at least three different spikes on my property!

This little guy visited the feeders about three times that night. 

The top buck has curved antlers.  The middle has three points (sorry, they're hard to see), and the bottom one has straight spikes.  So, the big boys (if any) are hiding, but I can see that the fawn bucks are surviving!

More on My Camera Pictures

So, here is an up to date look at my camera photo's, thanks to my Wildgame Innovations game cam.  I told you I would let you know about the status of the buck, so here he is:

You can't really see the antler on this one, but he has three points.

To be honest, I think I may have two fawn bucks on the property.  The buck I showed previously was like the one on the bottom, not so much on the top.

There are a couple other pictures that my camera took this morning:

The does where at my corn.  I away the trough (see the night picture of the buck above), to see what happened.  You can't see the corn, but the doe is eating it in the bottom picture.  It seems that these are healthy does too.  Nice winter coats on them.

That's all for now.  Merry Christmas!

Established Bait Piles Work

So, in the previous post, I showed you my first deer.  Well, I just wanted to say that, established bait piles work.  The place where I shot the doe was 50 yards from a bait pile.  I saw four deer that morning, and four the previous evening.  I'll even share some pictures of my bait site (haven't used it yet) that I put in less than a week ago:                                                                                  

So, I think you can see that they work.  The next to bottom picture features a spike buck that my camera took a picture of.  I actually got two pictures of him, but that one was the best of him.  The bottom has two does standing behind a log close by the feeder.  I'll keep all of you posted on my camera pictures if I get some exiting things.  By the way,  most of the pictures were taken on the night of Dec. 17-18, I got over 10 pictures in one night!  And the bait site isn't that old!  They do work when acorns and other food isn't well available.

Take a Leaf Survey

I took a leaf survey a few days ago.  I found I had these tree's in my area:

1. Beech
2. White Oak
3. Red Oak
4. Chestnut Oak
5. Sweetgum
6. Hickory

Pines and cedars were obvious.  But here is how I did it and why I did it.

How
I took a walk in the woods.  And I collected leaves from several different areas.  So I got to see what tree is where.

Why
I wanted to see what tree's were where by looking at their leaves.  That way, I knew where to go to hunt.  Or, if you don't do that, you can know where to go to observe wildlife.  Oaks provide food for deer, squirrels, and probably more.  Hickory provides food for squirrels, it's one of their favorite nuts.

In all, taking the survey helped me know more about my woods, and what's there.  If you manage wildlife, you can know where to apply fertilizer (or help in some way) to mast providing trees to increase their production of nuts and fruits for wildlife.

Merry Christmas!

Baiting vs. Supplemental Feeding

Baiting deer is a very debated topic.  I've read the pros and cons of it, and I think that if you want to bait, and it's legal too, fine.  If you don't bait, that's fine too.  I personally might bait a little bit, and I still will hunt over natural foods and when available, food plots.  But, let's make the difference between baiting and supplemental feeding (minerals)

Baiting- Attracting deer to a hunt site with the use of corn or deer attractant.
Supplemental Feeding- Giving deer minerals they need to get big, strong, and healthy.  You don't hunt over the spot, you leave it alone.  Doing this after the season would help deer to get through the winter without a lot of weight loss.

Baiting can be done with help from a feeder, or it can be piled on the ground.  I don't think it matters if you get a $400 one or make it out of pvc pipe for $5.  Deer have patterns, and they will stick to those patterns unless they have a good reason, so if you use a gravity feeder, it will only use feed if deer come.  Meanwhile battery feeders throw out feed that may or may not be eaten.

Mineral blocks can be used for bait, but I would say that they should be used to give deer much needed minerals.  Giving deer corn and mineral blocks can help them during winter, when food is scarcer than during summer or fall months.  Food plots are another example of feeding deer, if the food plot is there in the winter.

My personal experience.  I only used a little bit of corn in front of a camera to see if deer were coming to a particular area, that's it.  I haven't done the whole thing long, only a couple weeks.  But I think I will mostly stick to supplement feeding.  And if you have pvc or gravity feeders, why not just catch some acorns and put them in it so deer can have them?  (Check out my article on acorn gathering: Gathering Acorns for Hunting)

Big and J, Sportsman Choice, Whitetail Institute, Evolved Habitats, C' Mere Deer, all make good feeds and mineral items.
Salt blocks are another good investment.  But use them for minerals, not for bait.

That's all for now, happy hunting and Merry Christmas!

(CORRECTION): A couple weeks after I posted this article, I decided to hunt over my corn pile a little bit, as a last resort to get another deer, and I almost succeeded.  (3/26/14)

Food Plot Setup

I got this idea after reading about food plot shapes and native warm season grasses (NWSG). Here is a picture of this idea:

Here is the explanation of the illustration:

• The big green "S" is a food plot, it can be clover, chicory, peas, sugar beets,  whatever you want.  
• The brown stripes, on the inside bends of the "S," are NWSG, they are put there for cover for deer when they enter the food plot, cover for bedding, and cover for quail.
• The large green area with brown dots is, as you might have guessed, a forest.  If they are oaks, the deer have a great area for them.  Where else do they get, cover, lots of great food, and socialization all at once? 
• And lastly, the big black dots are treestands, which might have been obvious.  You can put them in different locations than shown, but this way you can hunt with almost any direction of wind blowing without it carrying your scent to the deer.

This is just a picture, okay?  Realize that there are no dimensions, it's that way so you have the freedom to do however big or small you need.  You might have done that even if I did dimensions.  

  But I want to do a note on the NWSG, if you want tall grasses (this would help with calling, because the deer can't see the "buck" or "doe" or even "fawn" that's calling to them, so they must come to investigate, putting them in your sights. 1 ), it is recommended by the University of Tennessee, that tall grass blends are usually made up of: big bluestem, indiangrass, little bluestem and switchgrass 2 .  You might also could add a little broomsedge in there.  But, the tall grass may not stay up in the winter, but they're still a good choice.

Short grass blend include: little bluestem, broomsedge and or sideoats gama, and other legumes and forbs. These types give cover for wildlife also, but maybe not quite as much for a deer.

  Another idea to make this even better would be to put a water source close by the area of this setup.

That's all for now!

1.QDMA How to Hunt Native Warm Season Grasses

2. Native Warm Season Grasses, University of Tennessee, pdf, pg.92

Scouting for.. Squirrels?

Yes.  It is quite easy.  Scouting for where squirrels are in the preseason is a great way to know where they are.  Here are some things to look for:

1. Nuts:  Nuts are must.  Oaks, Hickory, Beech.  Any squirrel food source (including crops like corn).  Identifying nice squirrel food also might help with finding nice deer food sources (both like acorns and corn for example).  Look also for opened nuts on the ground.
2. The squirrels themselves. 
3. Look for the nests.  They look like big balls of branches in a tree.  Squirrels also use hollow parts in a tree for nests.  

Knowing where squirrel habitat is and how much of it there is can help a lot in wildlife management.  You know a rough population of squirrels and can know how many to harvest in the future.

Scouting Tips

Today I'll talk about some things I have learned and come up with for helping me scout in the hunting off season.  Both are helpful in ways that you may not have to go into the field (you still have to, but these lessen the time).

Google Earth
Great program.  Use place markers to mark spots of stands, blinds, points of interest, etc.   Trails can be marked also.  Use them to mark out logging roads (if any), trails, any other thing related to paths.

Printable Maps
I use a downloaded topo map and printed it and marked down all the sighting I had of deer and used them to locate likely spots for next season.

Food Plots

Food plots are very important to wildlife.  Providing food, and, depending on the type of plant and animal, even cover.

What to Plant

Plants that you can plant on your own are included here:

Clover
Clover is one of the most popular food plot plants out there.  A good food source that provides protein, deer love it.  Given good care (mowing, fertilizing), clover can last forever.

Corn
Also a favorite of hunters, corn is a deer magnet.  If the corn field is big enough, it can provide ample food and cover for a bunch of whitetails.  But, don't rely on corn as your only food source, it can run out (depending on how much you planted).  You may need to plant another type of grass or clover to provide more food.

Others
Other seeds include: the popular soybean, wheat, turnips, chicory, buckwheat, and others.

Popular food plot brands that sell seeds and food plot blends include: Whitetail Institute, Antler King,       and BioLogic.

Care For Your Plot

Food plot plants don't prosper by themselves, they need help to grow.  Here is a few tips on helping the plant get their maximum potential:

• Increase pH.  7.0 pH is the target for soil acidity, which is neutral.  Check your pH with a soil tester or send it to a lab.  Once you know the pH, if needed, lime your plot to increase it (pH).  The lower the acidity, the better the plants.
• Once you have improved pH, you can fertilize.  Use a fertilizer that will target your specific food plot plant (or plants) needs.  Antler King has come up with great fertilizer's Plot Max and Jolt.  Both help increase pH and increase the amount of food plot foliage.

Tip

• When you don't use brand name seeds to plant you plot, it may be helpful to plant a mixture of seeds,  because different plants provide different nutritional needs for deer.

A good food plot will pull in deer from around your property and the surrounding properties, if put in the right place.  Happy hunting!

Rubs

Rubs, you know, the rubbing that you see on trees that deer make?  Here is a few things you should know about them.

1. Bucks rub to get the velvet off their antlers and to mark the tree with that particular buck's scent.
2. Sometimes you are able to tell what the size of the buck is depending on the size of the tree.  Any buck can rub on a small tree (as in a couple inches in diameter).  But only larger and more mature bucks can rub on large trees (trees that are a foot or more in diameter means it was a really big buck!).
3. The rubs can help you monitor your herd that you have in your area.  You can see the sizes of your bucks,  and help you figure out what their patterns are.

Managing Land for Squirrels

Many people manage land for deer, but they don't manage it for what I have heard to be the "big game of the small game," the thing you most likely wouldn't manage land for, the squirrel.

Now you may have some nice squirrel habitat already, but here are some points that you need to make a prime squirrel hunting area.  Squirrels need three basic things, food, nesting, and water.

• Forest managing (food)- A variety of oaks, hickories, elm, walnut, beech and other fruit and nut bearing trees.  You can also grow the nut and fruit bearing trees you need if needed.  Growing corn at the woodland edges will help with the food supply especially if the nut or fruit trees have decreased in their production.    Providing oaks and corn for squirrels can also provide food for White-tails, and other animals, so, your not just helping squirrels, your helping deer and other animals too!  Planting natural shrubs and saplings for ground cover will also be great.  
• Nesting sites-Provide three to five den trees per acre.  A squirrel den is a hole in the tree that they use as their home.  They also build nests up in trees.  But they prefer tree dens.  If you don't have very many den trees you can make den boxes and put them up in trees about ten to thirty feet up in the tree.
• Water-A creek or river or other body of water is a good place for squirrels to come and drink. If you have no water readily available you can dig a small pond or make a couple watering sites.            

These small steps can lead to many more squirrels on your property and can lead to memory making hunts.