RE: What are you doing to your properties this year?
Thanks guys.
Right now like some others I’m "land rich" and equipment poor, my inventory consists of: 2 chainsaws, a Stihl Weedwacker, and my pickup. The "light" areas in the picture are where the PO maintained food plots, either corn or beans. Once I have a tractor I plan on redoing at least one, the one on the western edge is going to becaome part of a pasture.
My neighbor brushhogs around the pond for me, hays and has planted the corn on a 30-70 share deal. He also keeps an eye on the place as we live 15 miles away in town.
So for now, I’m focusing on planting trees and putting up stands/clearing shoot lanes. I’ve also established two mineral licks using trophy rocks that get quite a bit of traffic in the spring. I run the deer feeder with a mix of corn/soy beans from 1 Sept through MAY/June depending on when the last refill runs out. The feeder is in the middle of a wild persimmons tree "grove" of about 12 trees on the south end of the pond. I have 3 stands up, and a portable ground blind that I move depending on what trails they’re using along the rub line.
So far, based on Game camera pics around the feeder, my "herd" consists of 4 does, 2 fawns, 2 large fat raccoons, a surly possum, and "something" that looks like a muskrat. I don’t get the bucks coming through till just pre-rut through a few weeks after the rut is finished. I’m attempting to increase the number of does I "hold" and hopefully the bucks will follow.
I’m thinking about putting in a Honeysuckle patch in my "deer engagement area" south of stand 1 and west of stand 2.
Besides trees, anybody have any ideas on what other improvements I can make now with limited equipment?
Thanks,
Chuck