Hunting 160 acres...

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Bowhuntermnsd
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Re: Hunting 160 acres...

Unread postby Bowhuntermnsd » Sat Apr 08, 2017 6:31 am

MN Slick wrote:Cool looking place and congrats on the kills. My two cents. Switchgrass stands better in winter than Big Blue and is easier to seed. Big Blue is fluffy and needs a special drill while switch can be frost seeded onto prepped ground. Some recent CRP seeding requirements called for a mix of switch, big and little blue. A combo might be better than one type of WSG. Even better would be to kill the cool season grass in the pasture and let nature take over. Takes longer to produce cover but it would likely turn into better deer cover.

For food plots I’m a fan of Doubletree’s (went by Lick Creek on some forums too) rotation. You can find info on it on iowawhitetail and outreach outdoors. Has something available for the deer almost year round. If you have enough acreage beans would be killer too and I would overseed them as they yellow with Rye and radish.


Great information thanks! I've been looking into it today and it looks like I could get a mix of Switchgrass, Big and Little Bluestem, along with some kind of crop cover.. some suggestions were wheat, oats, or rye. I'll also look into your recommendation for food plots. Thanks


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Bowhuntermnsd
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Re: Hunting 160 acres...

Unread postby Bowhuntermnsd » Sat Apr 08, 2017 6:38 am

Jonny wrote:My buddies brother in law owned 500+ acres in buffalo county. They used to follow the rule where they only shoot deer of a certain size, and never any does. Well for a few years it was ok, then all of a sudden they had small bucks, bad genetics and herds of does running wild. Finally they went out during gun season, and their group of 15 guys tagged out. Buck for each, and 2 does each. One heck of a picture when I saw it. Gun season every year they all drew straws to see who shot a doe, I think they shot 8 each year, and they really emphasized shooting bad genetic bucks during gun season, or youth season. Bow season was strictly trophy hunting unless there was a kid, who could shoot anything besides a couple young bucks showing the right genetics.

Couple years later they were shooting multiple 160+ bucks again. They don't see lots of deer anymore, but the quality is unreal. But they also have the land to really manage and hold deer well.

The guy just sold the property for one heck of a profit.


Wow! Owning 500+ acres in buffalo county would pretty much be a dream come true!
Reading their scenario is exactly what I'm scared of. We've taken ten nice 3.5 - 5.5 yr old bucks in the last four years and last year was the weakest year we've had. I'm thinking next year we'll have to do some cleanup. Thanks for the example!
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Jonny
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Re: Hunting 160 acres...

Unread postby Jonny » Sat Apr 08, 2017 9:49 am

Bowhuntermnsd wrote:
Jonny wrote:My buddies brother in law owned 500+ acres in buffalo county. They used to follow the rule where they only shoot deer of a certain size, and never any does. Well for a few years it was ok, then all of a sudden they had small bucks, bad genetics and herds of does running wild. Finally they went out during gun season, and their group of 15 guys tagged out. Buck for each, and 2 does each. One heck of a picture when I saw it. Gun season every year they all drew straws to see who shot a doe, I think they shot 8 each year, and they really emphasized shooting bad genetic bucks during gun season, or youth season. Bow season was strictly trophy hunting unless there was a kid, who could shoot anything besides a couple young bucks showing the right genetics.

Couple years later they were shooting multiple 160+ bucks again. They don't see lots of deer anymore, but the quality is unreal. But they also have the land to really manage and hold deer well.

The guy just sold the property for one heck of a profit.


Wow! Owning 500+ acres in buffalo county would pretty much be a dream come true!
Reading their scenario is exactly what I'm scared of. We've taken ten nice 3.5 - 5.5 yr old bucks in the last four years and last year was the weakest year we've had. I'm thinking next year we'll have to do some cleanup. Thanks for the example!


Yep. Honestly considering your track record, I wouldn't do anything drastic. Small changes might really work well, or do nothing. Last thing you want to do is totally overhaul your property and lose what you have.
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Lockdown
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Re: Hunting 160 acres...

Unread postby Lockdown » Sat Apr 08, 2017 10:45 am

MN Slick wrote:Cool looking place and congrats on the kills. My two cents. Switchgrass stands better in winter than Big Blue and is easier to seed. Big Blue is fluffy and needs a special drill while switch can be frost seeded onto prepped ground. Some recent CRP seeding requirements called for a mix of switch, big and little blue. A combo might be better than one type of WSG. Even better would be to kill the cool season grass in the pasture and let nature take over. Takes longer to produce cover but it would likely turn into better deer cover.

For food plots I’m a fan of Doubletree’s (went by Lick Creek on some forums too) rotation. You can find info on it on iowawhitetail and outreach outdoors. Has something available for the deer almost year round. If you have enough acreage beans would be killer too and I would overseed them as they yellow with Rye and radish.



I googled "switchgrass" and I dont think I've ever seen that stuff, but it looks awesome. Might have come across it in a mixture and not known it. I have nothing bad to say about big blue stem (other than I've seen thin stands) but that switchgrass looks even better.
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Re: Hunting 160 acres...

Unread postby IkemanTx » Sun Apr 09, 2017 5:39 am

A great perennial plant for screening is Miscanthus Gigantus. It makes good cover about year 3, but Egyptian wheat could be planted the first two years to provide seasonal screening as the Miscanthus grows.
They grow from rhyzomes, any seed produced is steril (no worry of invasiveness), and come back every year.

Here is a long thread focusing on propagation, but there are some pics of the progression of growth and how effective a screen can be.

http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?t ... tings.480/

Edit: you can buy rhyzomes easily and have them shipped, don't think you have to worry about propagating like these guys are. They are just looking for an easier and cheaper way than digging up the rhyzomes or buying online.
Go where none other dare to go, and there you'll find success.


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