BSK QDM

[156p&y]

Bryan what I've watched your property progess over the years from your trail camera pictures, and I have to hand it you. Ya'll have done an excellent job with your deer.

What is the one thing you would give the most credit to for producing the deer you do? Except for letting them age of course.

 

[BigGameGuy]

I'll put my money on habitat management.

 

[156p&y]

I'm sure of that but what does he do? In other words I need a free habitat plan

 

[Stick'n'String]

Positive he'll say created diverse habitat and cover on a previous majority mature hardwood property.

Oh and quit bowhunting. :grin:

 

[BSK]

I'll put my money on habitat management.

the right habitat management and improved state management. Not a single buck lives within the confines of our property, so the Unit L limits have made a difference in my area.

And one more thing--neighbors who are lousy deer hunters! With the exception of one guy who hunts adjoining property (Bruce, who posts on TNdeer), none of my neighbors ever kill 2 1/2+ year-old bucks. They shoot a bunch of yearlings, but that's it. Bruce shoots only older bucks (usually 3 1/2+), and sometimes one's we've photographed using our place. But as long as he makes wise harvest decisions, I say more power to him picking off a couple of the bucks using our adjoining properties.

 

[BSK]

Positive he'll say created diverse habitat and cover on a previous majority mature hardwood property.

Oh and quit bowhunting. :grin:

You hit all the high points right there!

 

[BSK]

I'm sure of that but what does he do? In other words I need a free habitat plan

Here are the keys:

1) Diversify the habitat (break it into lots of small patches of different habitat--I like "patches" of 3-6 acres each).

2) Make sure you have well-distributed patches of thick cover, and NEVER crawl into that cover at any time of year. Make them hard-core sanctuaries, totally free of human intrusion.

3) Create predictable travel patterns with the habitat. Look for terrain features deer prefer to travel along anyways and then create a habitat bottleneck right along that favored travel terrain. You've just created a "double whammy" travel corridor. Create as many of these "predictable travel corridors" as possible.

 

[156p&y]

Thanks Bryan I think we have done everything you stated. We have sanctuaries but just not great cover for the deer. There is really nothing we can do about that b/c this property is meticulously maintained. The main problem we are having is once our deer hit 4.5 we never see them again, even on trail cameras. We all think that someone is poaching them b/c we know all the neighbors and they haven't shot them.

 

[stickler]

BSK can you explain how you diversify the habitat.

 

[BSK]

BSK can you explain how you diversify the habitat.

We manipulating the habitat to create diversity through a variety of management techniques. We want to take a property that was almost all hardwood forest and turn it into a property that has patches of everything: from food plots, to native grasses, to brush/brier fields, to improved timber stands, to stands of mature timber. A little bit of everything all scattered around like a patch-work quilt.

It's a bit more complicated then that, but that's the basic concept.