Most of the season we had little to no snow .
Today was the last day for me this season and go figure .
It was like a blizzard out there this afternoon , not to mention COLD .....
As I,m typing this its gone down to 3 degrees and 20 to 40 mph winds at least ...
BBrrrrrrr....
Although I didnt get a buck this season on my property I seen many does and at least 5 different bucks .
They will only be bigger next year and I,m sure there will be at least 1 shooter buck .
Time to start biulding another enclosed stand and figure out what to plant next for next years season .
This years done and I,m already thinking abought next year ..
Happy Holidays .....[8D]

There seems a certain satisfaction in the looking ahead to next season.

I was able to harvest a nice buck on the property I hunt and it feels good not just having taken a nice buck but knowing the off-season work paid off. I plant turnipsin the late spring for the deer to forage on after the acorns are gone and the weather turns bad. This spring I am going to plant clover and soybean in the same field just in separate plots for the deer to have more to choose from as soon as first spring bloom starts up until the clover and beans die after the cold frosts of fall hit. I also supplement minerals from February straight through to late July,earlyAugust. I have seen a huge difference in the size of the deer since doing this. My buck this year was 225 pounds. But what alot don't understand is you still have to hunt the deer.I hunt in other states where baiting is allowed andmost of the guys are still unable to harvest the bigger deer they are after within the first few weeks of the season when their odds are the greatest.I try to supply a year round food source where the deer can consume higher protein foods during the growth stages and higher carb foods during the cold months. This winter concerns me because I have not seen any deer with significant fat stores for a long cold winter with minimal acorns. I am doing what I can to help keep the deer herd healthy and survive the winter if it gets bad. Since I am done hunting for the year the timed feeders are back out and throwing down corn an hour before dark. I had been spreading corn in the morning and night but the squirrels and turkeys are getting tothe morning cornbefore the deer, and with the cost of things I need to make sure the feed goes to who it is intended. Enjoy the off season!

Sounds like a plan 4evrhtn.
I,ve planted clover a couple years ago .
Also the fallowing year .2 different 1 acre plots .
I also planted a few different micro plots of 7 different types of seads .
Year before last I planted buck forage ots with some turnups mixed in .
The deer ate the oats then after a little snow hit the turnups hard .
Everything helps and is time consuming and getting expensive , but even small plots help out .
Next year I plan on planting more turnips and may try beans ,
Ive never tried them before ..
I have a local farmer who cuts one of my fields and he wants to try corn next year .
Its around 12 to 15 acres so it should help draw in the deer great by fall .
I ,ll try to get him to leave a couple rows for the deer ..
Already picking out a new enclosed stand location for bow ..

The corn is a great addition not only for a food source but also as cover. If you have a water source nearby those deer will have no reason to travel far and will most likely remain in that area till the rut. Also, when those does start getting pressure from the buck they usually bed down in thick cover to get some rest from the buck chasing them everytime they get up. I wouldn't plant it in the normal row style but rather scatter it so it's thick and not easily walked through. If you can set up between this cover and their water source or other small plots you will catch them traveling from one to the other. Even better if you can find a natural funnel between these sources you got it made.
The beans I have planted were nothing but stems before the archery season ever started. They hammered them hard and the turkeys flocked to them as well. The clover is always planted but it is the smallest of my plots. I make the plots containing the foods that last longer through the winter the largest.From springtill 30 days before seasonwhilethe clover is growing and unaffected by the cold I supplement it with corn, oats, roasted beans and mineral mix.If I get my deer and am done hunting I start feeding again with the mix and up the minerals in february. During the antler development months I mix salt and monocalcium or dicalcium phosphate. The deer love the salt and consume the phosphate in quantities they otherwise wouldn't.It works, every year I have done this I shot a buck over 110". It is alot of work and costly but to me the results are worth it. I hope something here was helpful.

Where I live and hunt I could do everything you do and it wouldn't make a bit of difference because the deer already have more than they need. basically you are harvesting farm raised deer without the fences. If you are located in PA and you are in an area where baiting is illegal, you might want to check the regs about spreading corn during the hunting season.
If you don't think I am right, PM your name and address to RSB. I am sure you will be given a referral to the appropriate WCO!!!

You can feed anything you want (except bears) all year long if you are not hunting it. And you can feed in season as long as you don't hunt it (except coyotes) within 30 days after it is no longer detectable. I abide by the regs but I also do what I can to increase my odds of seeing nice deer. It doesn't matter what those deer have in the wild to feed on they can not get the quantity of minerals and nutrition they can with these plots and supplementation. I try to keep the wintering mortality low and keep as many of these deer localized so button buck and fawn killers don't get a chance to kill them. You can hunt anyway you choose by the regs. If you think feeding the way I do is comparable to hunting farm raised deer, you need to consider this.. the deer travel onto public lands just as they do the food plots and these deer go nocturnal just like every other deer. The odds of me shooting a nice deer are as good as the guy who like you does nothing for the deer and expects to receive a benefit by sitting along the travel ways to and from this property. So if AR's don't work (as you see it) what I am doing is. Maybe farming plots would occuppy some of your time like a hobby and then you can manage your own area and be unaffected by whatever programs you dislike in the PAGC. Plus, your blood pressure and health would improve from not getting angry and arguing with everyone on this site. Good Luck to you Bluebird, I wish you could lose some bitterness and find something to make you happy/