Management thread for sub 500ac land

[KactusKiller]

I’ve been shredding and plowing strips thru it the last few yrs and it has def helped but think I’ll start burning some of it this February.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KactusKiller]

Subscribed.
Moved on our place in southern OK a little over a year ago. We've finally completed remodeling the house so now it's time to switch focus to the land. It's sad to say but I've still yet to walk the entire place out like I'd really like to, so hoping to get some serious roaming done as soon as season concludes.
Started protein this fall and plan on running it through march. Gonna hit the chainsaw hard this winter to open a few areas and increase the bedding in others. Also, planning on planting several spots this spring, then following up with fall plots later in the year.

We've already got a ton of enjoyment out of the place, but I truly feel like it is a diamond in the rough that needs polishing out.

What county in OK?

[MedicineMan7]

What county in OK?

Northern part of Murray County.

[KactusKiller]

Northern part of Murray County.

Is your avatar buck from there?

[KactusKiller]

My opinion, be careful what you clear. Mature bucks dont like to travel across open spaces any more than they have to. Lots of edge is good but try to keep the wide open view down below 50 yards in all areas.

You can always cut more next year. Putting it back can take decades.

How positive are you that the bucks arent there? I have a 32 acre property that Ive been hunting for 3 years. Normally see a few bucks at the feeder around rut but that was it. Swapped to hand corn out of the feed pen this season and there were 5 bucks on it in the first night. I bet I saw 25 bucks over the season where they didnt exist before.

I still need to look at a couple cameras just in case something slipped in but I had at least 13 "forked" bucks this yr on my place. Alot of the mature bucks were in summer time or late in season. Varying age classes and had a few other small spike bucks not included in that 13. The funny thing is that my bigger more mature bucks weren't around much during november in the prime rut times despite having a pretty solid group of doe most of the yr. So gathering more doe on the property did not help at all during the rut this yr. It's totally backward from what I would normally think. The biggest buck I have ever had on the property showed up the first yr before I really got going good on land improvement and more feed. All I had was a bucket feeder in a tree. Had very few deer staying on the property then because it was so thick and unusable. More food and female availability has not equaled more mature trophy bucks in this area.

[KactusKiller]

One other note, in an area that doesn't have many turkey and no season we have had a couple hatches the last few yrs. Predators are still an issue I think but I've had a small group around for 3+ yrs now. I think the habitat improvement has def helped them.

[MedicineMan7]

Is your avatar buck from there?

Is your avatar buck from there?

My current avatar no. My kiddo shot a buck off the place this year and I shot one last year.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MedicineMan7]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KactusKiller]

Both good bucks congrats

[EastTexun]

I still need to look at a couple cameras just in case something slipped in but I had at least 13 "forked" bucks this yr on my place. Alot of the mature bucks were in summer time or late in season. Varying age classes and had a few other small spike bucks not included in that 13. The funny thing is that my bigger more mature bucks weren't around much during november in the prime rut times despite having a pretty solid group of doe most of the yr. So gathering more doe on the property did not help at all during the rut this yr. It's totally backward from what I would normally think. The biggest buck I have ever had on the property showed up the first yr before I really got going good on land improvement and more feed. All I had was a bucket feeder in a tree. Had very few deer staying on the property then because it was so thick and unusable. More food and female availability has not equaled more mature trophy bucks in this area.

One thing that I have observed on my place is that the trophy bucks (160+) seem to ebb and flow over the seasons. This year due to a variety of factors we are all familiar with the antler growth was not that great. 2 years back, I had several 150 class bucks that have all but disappeared other than 1. My thought is that due to the smaller nature of my property that I am missing larger environmental influences or neighboring properties have killed dominant bucks and my "locals" moved to new areas.

Another interesting thing that I have documented is that I will have a few bucks every year that spend all spring and summer on my place and then up and leave. One particular buck went a few miles down the creek closer to town for at least 2 years where he was killed. And on the flip side, come late October, I normally have a flush of new bucks that may never leave.

[EastTexun]

I’ve been shredding and plowing strips thru it the last few yrs and it has def helped but think I’ll start burning some of it this February.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You may be very impressed with some burning there. We had a wildfire burn a corner of our place, and while the fire scared the hell out of me until the forest service got it contained, the new growth and change the landscape was amazing. What was once super thick and unusable for anything other than a rat is now open enough for deer to use. Lots of new browse, and not nearly as much "trash" brush and plants around.

[KactusKiller]

One thing that I have observed on my place is that the trophy bucks (160+) seem to ebb and flow over the seasons. This year due to a variety of factors we are all familiar with the antler growth was not that great. 2 years back, I had several 150 class bucks that have all but disappeared other than 1. My thought is that due to the smaller nature of my property that I am missing larger environmental influences or neighboring properties have killed dominant bucks and my "locals" moved to new areas.

Another interesting thing that I have documented is that I will have a few bucks every year that spend all spring and summer on my place and then up and leave. One particular buck went a few miles down the creek closer to town for at least 2 years where he was killed. And on the flip side, come late October, I normally have a flush of new bucks that may never leave.

Absolutely agree, that happens every yr in all areas. I know just 1-2 miles down the road they have some freak deer. My intentions is trying to find a new key ingredient to get them over to me more. My game plan last couple yr just hasn't been working.

[KactusKiller]

Here is another Youtube channel to watch, these guys use alot of marked sattelite maps to show their plans of individual properties to show what they are doing. Alot more in depth and it's not just the same old speech without real life examples. They also sho multiple properties so you get alot of examples.
This is one of the videos I watched but most were pretty good.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W43dgeBF0kk"]Attracting and Holding Mature Bucks on a Deer Hunting Property in 18 Months - YouTube[/ame]

[DZM]

Great thread. I have 270 acres in SE Oklahoma and 160 in West TX north of Abilene. 2 years ago we started feeding protein from 1000lb ASF timed feeders. My big buck sightings have jumped greatly. On the TX place we have killed 3 mature bucks the last 2 yrs. Only 1 was killed the previous 5 yrs. On my Oklahoma place we have killed 2 nice mature bucks since starting the protein. The one I killed this season was at my feed station all summer. He disappeared mid September but showed back up chasing does Halloween weekend and I stuck him with an arrow. Right now I am feeding a $10 bag of all stock from big v feeds and they are hammering it. Fed double down last spring and summer.

[KactusKiller]

Great thread. I have 270 acres in SE Oklahoma and 160 in West TX north of Abilene. 2 years ago we started feeding protein from 1000lb ASF timed feeders. My big buck sightings have jumped greatly. On the TX place we have killed 3 mature bucks the last 2 yrs. Only 1 was killed the previous 5 yrs. On my Oklahoma place we have killed 2 nice mature bucks since starting the protein. The one I killed this season was at my feed station all summer. He disappeared mid September but showed back up chasing does Halloween weekend and I stuck him with an arrow. Right now I am feeding a $10 bag of all stock from big v feeds and they are hammering it. Fed double down last spring and summer.

Where is big v feeds? Mine just haven’t taken to the protein like I would like in OK. I originally put the Atwood’s 13% all stock which my Texas deer eat ok. But I doubt these OK deer have ever eaten out of a protein feeder so def took them a long time and still not a ton of action but increasing slowly.