Yes I am aware. My Wmu is only one surplus but I live on the border of 2 Wmu’s and have bushes in both
Additional deer tags
- Thread starter Derkd9
- Start date
I Got excited for minute thought something changed
Sportfish 2050
Well-Known Member
Well I'd sure be happy with one , haven't used a tag since 2016... maybe this year!
This year is the year!
7 years is a long time
Old Cut LongPointer
Well-Known Member
After not filling a single tag last year ( first time in 20 plus years) my gang will be hungry for redemption. At least I've been seeing them in my area and will just have to wait until November 6th. Oh ... that reminds me to go check my salt stumps.
Drop some apples and corn mixed with molasses around your shooting areas as well
Old Cut LongPointer
Well-Known Member
We feed a couple of spots with that stuff (bagged deer feed) as for apples I have an old orchard that they probably visit but I have seen deer go crazy for watermelon... go figure ? They smash them open with their front hoof and eat right down to the white of the rind.
Orchard is nice but hard to pin point where they will be
If you get them in a routine of visiting specific areas come hunting season you know exactly where they will be.. does anyways
Bucks might not hit the piles until after dark still but they could slip up
Old Cut LongPointer
Well-Known Member
I salt all year round not so much to draw them to that same spot but more for the overall health of the deer in the area. The Does need salt when they are lactating and the Bucks for their antlers, I just use the rock salt that I put in my water softening system but read somewhere there is a better formula for them containing other minerals like calcium and phosphorus they need. I can see baiting down here in Norfolk County useful only if it is something so special and irresistible to them (like molasses) they can't find elsewhere. I have a buddy that comes down from Burks Falls because he loves the flavour of "farm raised deer" as opposed to the wild taste of the ones up north. Probably cheaper to buy a bag of whole kernel corn and some tubs of molasses to pour on top of it then that store bought feed ? Bonus is you will have some nice chubby squirrels to hunt too ! If you love eating bunnies (Cottontails) you will go nuts for squirrel !
I have guided, been on shows etc but nothing is as rewarding as doing ALL the work yourself. If you are about to get all crabby/pissy just RELAX cause I am not commenting on your ability rather your technique. That being said I live in the middle of Huron county out in the wilderness. So I know I am kinda blessed with the number and size of the deer. I have 4 buddies from Sudbury that come every fall to bowhunt just for the corn raised venison that are abundant here.
That works when you have thousands of acres of bush to hunt
Property we hunt there is no need to bait this year as there is corn and they are always in the corn
But last year there was no crop 70 acres of workable land which had nothing on it 30 acres of old bush with little to no bedding in it.
Luckily the property is a transition area have to go threw it to get from
Bedding to food across the road… but with no crop there isn’t many deer around. So makes sense to bait them.
Here's a home made recipe that I've used for years with great success. I only use in one area per farm so they come to one spot. I use it year round and. The bags where purchased at the Elgin Feed Store in Aylmer but I'm sure any feed mills carry it.
1 bag of Di-Cal Phos 18%. Use 1 part
1 bag of red Trace Mineral. Use 1 part
2 bags of feed mixing salt. Use 2 parts.
Some also use dried molasses 1 part but it's only an attractant and not necessary. Once they find the salt they're hooked.
The two spots I use it ,I started out by putting it on an old stump. within a year the stump is gone and they paw out another foot or two of soil. I refresh maybe 4 times a year. I use a plastic peanut butter jar for measuring, and put in a large freezer ziplock and backpack it to the bush. Wear gloves and set up a camera.
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Old Cut LongPointer
Well-Known Member
Thanks GPS ! Sounds like a good recipe to keep deer happy and healthy.
RCFire77 ; Not much in technique, sneak into woods, get my butt up in the treestand, sit and wait. Maybe throw in a few bleat calls for good measure. Been hunting the same properties for over 20 years so I pretty much figured out their comings and goings but they didn't harvest the corn until late in the week during the November Hunt and with the full moon the deer stayed in the corn and pigged out.
Most properties down here in Norfolk County have bush lots that are usually connected to bush lots on other properties and may average 20 to 50 acres in size. Then you have big corn or soybean fields as the main crop and the rest is a mix of vegetable crops or grain or ginseng and or tree farms. Oh.... and marijuana grow ops.
So, while getting skunked is a humbling experience it was just a matter of time as we have been very fortunate in the past. Will we change our style... probably not. We hunt because we love to hunt and meat on the pole is always the bonus prize but hanging out drinking and eating with the boys at the end of a day is priceless.
RCFire77 ; Not much in technique, sneak into woods, get my butt up in the treestand, sit and wait. Maybe throw in a few bleat calls for good measure. Been hunting the same properties for over 20 years so I pretty much figured out their comings and goings but they didn't harvest the corn until late in the week during the November Hunt and with the full moon the deer stayed in the corn and pigged out.
Most properties down here in Norfolk County have bush lots that are usually connected to bush lots on other properties and may average 20 to 50 acres in size. Then you have big corn or soybean fields as the main crop and the rest is a mix of vegetable crops or grain or ginseng and or tree farms. Oh.... and marijuana grow ops.
So, while getting skunked is a humbling experience it was just a matter of time as we have been very fortunate in the past. Will we change our style... probably not. We hunt because we love to hunt and meat on the pole is always the bonus prize but hanging out drinking and eating with the boys at the end of a day is priceless.
I do have thousands of acres to hunt so it’s probably why I sometimes get a tad ‘elitist’ when it comes to bowhunting deer. My error
No worries
I would love to hunt buck bedding areas
But there is none on the property I hunt all in the neighbours who also hunt and don’t allow anyone else on their property. Best chance at shooting a nice buck is when they cruising during the rut.
No problem shooting a few Dos they seem to come around when there is a crop on the fields to feed on. Otherwise we bait that’s what I did last year..
this year with the corn it is pointless but they will be around
Last year there was no reason for them to come up our side of the gully
Old Cut LongPointer
Well-Known Member
I don't Bow hunt but I could see it needing a much different technique/effort to it no matter what size property you hunt on. The foliage as it transitions throughout the season, then pre-rut, rut and post rut and of course the weather where you can go from tee shirt to mind numbing cold.
I will stick with the Controlled Shotgun Hunt in November as per my/our usual and leave the December Hunt to the farmers as they usually "push the bush" with large crews. It's not uncommon to see a parade of 5 or 6 pick up trucks loaded with blaze orange coats running around the County for that hunt.
I will stick with the Controlled Shotgun Hunt in November as per my/our usual and leave the December Hunt to the farmers as they usually "push the bush" with large crews. It's not uncommon to see a parade of 5 or 6 pick up trucks loaded with blaze orange coats running around the County for that hunt.
Agreed. But the stupid deer just keep changing their transition routes to where I put the bait. Not much I can do about that.