[SWO1]

Put a game Cam out last Thursday by my main Deer Stand. Put out a Mineral block along with some Apples and Cucumbers I had culled. Took about 4 days for em to find them. Along with the usual critters, *****, Possums, Squirrls, A Bobcat.....A small Doe and a pretty nice 8 Pt. Buck. He has been there around 1930-2240 last two nights. The doe showed up at 0730-0900 in the mornings. This cool weather should get them moving more.

 

[SWO1]

Going thru the pics off the SD disk ( 442 of them ) I found some I missed on my initial quick run thru. I had put the mineral block out at 1030 Saturday and at 1742 a doe showed up. And then Sunday night at 1930 the buck came by for the first time. Here is a pic of the little Bobcat. He is flashing by, on the run, probley after a squirrl.

Where that mineral block sits is EXACTLY 75 yards from my deer stand. 99 to the back of the clearing. In the Pics it is facing due North into a draw where most of them come from. There are 6 major game trails that cross this clearing. To the South I have one lane that goes out to 125 yards. Over 12 years I have shot 95% of the deer in this clearing. Lots of turkey also.

 

[Gumpy]

Bang!!!!!!!!

 

[artbrownsr]

Thats cool but the only bait we can put out is for Black Bear and only specific season and a lot of rules
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/wildliferegulations/pdfs/bear_baiting_regs.pdf
for those interested

 

[SWO1]

Thats cool but the only bait we can put out is for Black Bear and only specific season and a lot of rules
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/wildliferegulations/pdfs/bear_baiting_regs.pdf
for those interested

"Hunting" over bait in Missouri is ILLIGAL. I am not Turkey hunting in this area and Deer dosnt start until middle of Nov. Mineral blocks do not constitute bait.

I could cultivate crops, i.e. Alfalfa, corn, soy beans, turnips, sow food plots, thats ok. Or in the case of feeding live stock, lose grain, hay, that's ok also. I put out this stuff to capture them on camera well before the season just to see what is in the area this season. By law all traces have to be removed no later than 10 days prior to opening day. By observation and reading tracks I know they travel thru this area. The game camera provides somewhat of a record of variety, times of day, moon phases when they are the most active.

The natural foods provide the best attractants. Like cattle, deer love to munch on vines, Virginia Creeper, Posion Ivey. I don't trim it from around the clearing. Also the Red Oak Acorns seem to be a favorite also. Very soon the little critters, *****, possums, squirrlls, crows, will have it all cleaned up. I will leave the camera and start to sit in my stand at various times and just observe.

 

[artbrownsr]

Thanks for the clarification SWO1. I thought something like that was the case but I also wanted a conversation on the ethics of baits, lures etc.
Here in Alaska "Mineral blocks/ salt licks are also considered illegal for the ungulates

 

[oldbrass]

No Bigfoot??

 

[SWO1]

I guess the "Ethics" of using bait, attractants falls into two catagories. Legal, and Illegal. As you stated in Alaska Mineral blocks are Illegal, In Missouri they are Legal. They do seal the blocks with Acorns, grains and such in them but they are Illigal here, they must be 100% mineral. I do put out a Mineral block or two and have no problems with it. Where as others might. I don't use scents, such as Doe scents to attract or any smell masking chemicals to hide my presence. I hunt from a stand 20' up and its inclosed so don't even worry about to much noise. I even whistle or yell at deer to get them to raise their head to get a better shot. I have never spooked one by cocking my gun or sliding open a window.

This is mostly cattle country and there is a lot of Alfalfa fields, Deer LOVE alfalfa. Lot of guys hunt the open fields and cattle feed lots. I don't, I like the timber.

 

[artbrownsr]

we can make a bait station ( that has to be reported as an exact location using GPS or exact measurements using Lat. Long. and measured from landmarks etc.) Only Black bear may be taken within a specific range of the station all other game within that range are out of bounds for ANY hunter whether they are party to the station or not.

Anyone making a bait station must attend a clinic and receive a certificate BEFORE making and or registering said station.

 

[BeartoothMercantile]

Can I add a photo of some Wyoming whitetails taken with my game cam? Hope you don't think I am hijacking...

 

[Gumpy]

That's a beautiful picture Bear. We don't have any mountains like that around here. Just jungle! Lol

 

[SWO1]

Great Pic Beartooth !! Shows deer arn't spooked by machinery sounds, smells like a lot of folks think. They get used to it if around people, such on farms and ranchs. I've had em walk right up to me while running a chain saw to see what's going on. Also follow the tractor when haying. They arn't run off by the dogs either. A couple years ago the grand kids dog took off after a buck in rut. The buck took him back to the house, he dosnt chase them any more....LOL.

 

[Gumpy]

I've noticed the same thing over the years. I've seen them watch me while driving a tractor, and like you, with the chain saw!

 

[BeartoothMercantile]

Yeah, the deer sure know where to find the best feed. They aren't too scared when they are tempted by oats and alfalfa!

For some reason they love eating new flowers also; much to the disappointment of the person planting them...

 

[squirrelhunter]

I guess the "Ethics" of using bait, attractants falls into two catagories. Legal, and Illegal. As you stated in Alaska Mineral blocks are Illegal, In Missouri they are Legal. They do seal the blocks with Acorns, grains and such in them but they are Illigal here, they must be 100% mineral.

Here in Indiana they are illegal too. Anything put out to attract or change the natural movement of them are illegal. Even just raking acorns that are already there into a pile is illegal from what I hear. But I hear food plots are legal,go figure .

 

[SWO1]

When looking at the deer in beartooths pic and the one in mine....don't look the same. So I checked it out. Seems there are 7 different sub-species of White Tail in the U.S. The Ones in Beartooths area have white markings on the head (notice the white circles around the eyes, and on the sides of the snout). Most of the ones here in Missouri are Just one solid color like the ones in my pics. Although I have seen some with a white patch on the chest. We are right on the border with Ill and the area of the NE which contain mostly another sub-set. The article I read says inter-breading does occur when areas overlap. VERY INTERESTING. Here is a link to the site of the document if anyone is interested.

http://www.whitetailsunlimited.com/i/p/bk_distribution.pdf

 

[oldbrass]

When looking at the deer in beartooths pic and the one in mine....don't look the same. So I checked it out. Seems there are 7 different sub-species of White Tail in the U.S. The Ones in Beartooths area have white markings on the head (notice the white circles around the eyes, and on the sides of the snout). Most of the ones here in Missouri are Just one solid color like the ones in my pics. Although I have seen some with a white patch on the chest. We are right on the border with Ill and the area of the NE which contain mostly another sub-set. The article I read says inter-breading does occur when areas overlap. VERY INTERESTING. Here is a link to the site of the document if anyone is interested.

http://www.whitetailsunlimited.com/i/p/bk_distribution.pdf

Very interesting, I thought there was just white tail,black tail and mulies

 

[SWO1]

Interesting is the myth that bucks put on a spike every year....so if one has 4 spikes it is 4 years old......and so on....NOT TRUE.

There are know examples of a 1.5 year old having 8 spikes. some male deer will put on 3-4 spikes and never have any more....no matter how old they get. Only true way to tell is by examining their teeth. Also an indication is the length of their snout and color of coat in winter.....Greyer the older, generally. I once observed an 8 pointer and a 4 pointer. Clearly the 4 pt. was older. He was heavier bodied, grayer with longer hair. I shot him over the 8 pt., not because I really wanted to but he presented the first shot to my liking.

Female deer do on occasion (about 1 in 100,000) have racks. They are usually Non-typical meaning the spikes protrude from the main branch in random directions. One of the largest racks taken in Missouri was about 4 years ago by a 16 yr old girl of an antlered doe. A HUGE RACK. Missouri wildlife code states you may take 1 antlered deer during firearm season......NOT a Buck....an antlered deer.....Male or Female. Same for Spring Turkey......Must be Bearded.....Male or Female.....and yes some Hen Turkeys have Beards.......More so than antlered female deer.

We are blessed in Missouri having one of the largest population of WhiteTail deer in the US. So much in most countys they are deemed OVERPOPULATED. In most countys Doe tags are sold at $7 each for as many as you care to buy. An antlered tag (or any deer as it is labled) is $17. You don't have to have an antlered tag to buy doe only tags. Non-resident Hunders do tho.....they are BIG BUCKS....about $175 I think. Kids 16 and under are half price. Land owners get free tags based on# of acres you own or lease. But ONLY 1 firearm antlered tag. Bow tags are more lienant. I could get up to 3 antlered bow tags....but I don't bow hunt.

 

[oldbrass]

Weyerhauser charging for hunt permits

Here in western washington Weyerhauser is charging $200 to hunt on there lands in many areas and the number of permits is limited..I understand its there land but they also get huge tax breaks for keeping there land "Open to the public" A big problem is folks dumping trash and the cartels building huge pot grows..perhaps they should issue permits for thugs and tweekers..Ofcourse the tree huggers in the state capitolthink this is great they`ll be crying in there soup when hunting license revenies drop

 

[artbrownsr]

Here in western washington Weyerhauser is charging $200 to hunt on there lands in many areas and the number of permits is limited..I understand its there land but they also get huge tax breaks for keeping there land "Open to the public" A big problem is folks dumping trash and the cartels building huge pot grows..perhaps they should issue permits for thugs and tweekers..Ofcourse the tree huggers in the state capitolthink this is great they`ll be crying in there soup when hunting license revenies drop

Oldbrass, do they still have folks harvesting the cones? Maybe X# bags equals a permit to hunt.