lorihadams
Always doing laundry
We planted two small food plots for the deer....one in clover and one in a mixture of clover, rye grass, and chicory. I have yet to shoot one in either food plot. We know they are eating it cause there are tracks all over it and I am happy to provide them a little extra to eat, especially if they are calling for a hard winter.
The only red meat we eat is deer meat. We tend to shoot does and only shoot a buck if it is big enough to be mounted. We also hunt on private property and are happy to share with others that need the meat. This is the first year we have done a food plot and to be honest, we haven't really killed any in the food plots. We are seeing them when they move from the bedding areas to the open feeding areas so we are getting them in transit, I guess.
I am the only gun hunter in the family and my husband hunts exclusively with his bow because he believes it is harder and requires more skill and thought. I agree but because of my lack of shoulder strength and fibromyalgia, I cannot hunt with a bow. I cannot hunt with a gun unless I have a gun rest so I usually don't hunt from the ground unless I have one of my children with me and I need to get a tripod if I do that again because I cannot hold the gun up long enough to make a decent shot. I hunt from a stand with a gun rest so I can get a steady aim and good clean kill shot.
Hunting food plots is okay but I prefer to plant things that are already in the area that they are feeding on anyway. That is why we planted clover and chicory and the rye grass was something that we did to try to extend their feed into winter a bit. We don't bait deer....we don't have an automatic feeder, we don't put out corn, we don't put out a salt lick. My husband put out a bag of mineral but did it before the season came in and he did it cause he thought it would be good for them. We haven't put any more out since they cleaned it up. We had a friend that had a ton of acorns last year and bagged them up for us so we spread them out in the woods for the deer but didn't hunt right on top of them cause that ain't fair
I don't like how people bait bears with barrels of food to get a shot...I wouldn't do it with deer either. I also don't like running dogs cause I think stressing out the deer by making them run is pointless and makes the meat taste off. I also think it is safer to still hunt because I have heard countless stories of friends that have hunt clubs that run dogs. People have almost been shot (my BF, she swore she would never hunt with her hubby again if they were running dogs) and lots of deer have been wounded because someone had to shoot them running.
IMHO, if you can't use your brain to figure out where they are or where they will be then you don't need to go. If you make observations about your land and know where the deer are bedding and feeding then you should be able to set yourself up in a place where you can see and maybe kill one. Now if you only can hunt public land it is definitely harder but for those of us with private property access I don't see how baiting would be necessary if you are willing to walk the land and make the needed observations about where they would be.
Scouting is a big part of hunting. Lots of people think we just go sit in a tree and kill deer but it isn't that easy....we are out at least 3-4 times a week right at dark looking to see where they are coming out and when and what changes they make when the weather changes. There really is a process to it.
We enjoy it and use it to get our kids out and into nature. They learn all about the weather patterns and how it affects animals and what different animals eat and where they like to sleep and all about habitats and seasons and such. For us it really is a process that hopefully results in us getting meat for the dinner table for the year and maybe some to donate to some friends that need it.
The only red meat we eat is deer meat. We tend to shoot does and only shoot a buck if it is big enough to be mounted. We also hunt on private property and are happy to share with others that need the meat. This is the first year we have done a food plot and to be honest, we haven't really killed any in the food plots. We are seeing them when they move from the bedding areas to the open feeding areas so we are getting them in transit, I guess.
I am the only gun hunter in the family and my husband hunts exclusively with his bow because he believes it is harder and requires more skill and thought. I agree but because of my lack of shoulder strength and fibromyalgia, I cannot hunt with a bow. I cannot hunt with a gun unless I have a gun rest so I usually don't hunt from the ground unless I have one of my children with me and I need to get a tripod if I do that again because I cannot hold the gun up long enough to make a decent shot. I hunt from a stand with a gun rest so I can get a steady aim and good clean kill shot.
Hunting food plots is okay but I prefer to plant things that are already in the area that they are feeding on anyway. That is why we planted clover and chicory and the rye grass was something that we did to try to extend their feed into winter a bit. We don't bait deer....we don't have an automatic feeder, we don't put out corn, we don't put out a salt lick. My husband put out a bag of mineral but did it before the season came in and he did it cause he thought it would be good for them. We haven't put any more out since they cleaned it up. We had a friend that had a ton of acorns last year and bagged them up for us so we spread them out in the woods for the deer but didn't hunt right on top of them cause that ain't fair
I don't like how people bait bears with barrels of food to get a shot...I wouldn't do it with deer either. I also don't like running dogs cause I think stressing out the deer by making them run is pointless and makes the meat taste off. I also think it is safer to still hunt because I have heard countless stories of friends that have hunt clubs that run dogs. People have almost been shot (my BF, she swore she would never hunt with her hubby again if they were running dogs) and lots of deer have been wounded because someone had to shoot them running.
IMHO, if you can't use your brain to figure out where they are or where they will be then you don't need to go. If you make observations about your land and know where the deer are bedding and feeding then you should be able to set yourself up in a place where you can see and maybe kill one. Now if you only can hunt public land it is definitely harder but for those of us with private property access I don't see how baiting would be necessary if you are willing to walk the land and make the needed observations about where they would be.
Scouting is a big part of hunting. Lots of people think we just go sit in a tree and kill deer but it isn't that easy....we are out at least 3-4 times a week right at dark looking to see where they are coming out and when and what changes they make when the weather changes. There really is a process to it.
We enjoy it and use it to get our kids out and into nature. They learn all about the weather patterns and how it affects animals and what different animals eat and where they like to sleep and all about habitats and seasons and such. For us it really is a process that hopefully results in us getting meat for the dinner table for the year and maybe some to donate to some friends that need it.
