Gleaton Chip Ranch Updates

[Big pig]

Thanks for the kind words! I think the biggest reasons we are harvesting and seeing these big bucks is because we are high fenced and allowing these bucks to get older. Before, these bucks would have jumped the fence and the neighbors would have shot them when they were 3 or 4yrs old. It’s amazing to see what these deer can do with some age and nutrition.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

100%. Kill does and let the good bucks grow.
Proof is in your photos !

[MooseontheLoose]

Still enjoying this thread OP. Big Brows is a hammer Hope this moisture continues so we get a good pop in the spring. Be fun to see what BB can do on a good year.

[PondPopper]

Yea our place has no cattle and our ground is covered in new winter grass sprouts and A LOT of clover!!! Clover everywhere.... I'm kicking myself for not planting this year...

[bgleaton]

The 3.5 acre plot is looking good. Keep in mind that this was planted and it hasn’t received any rain since planting. Goes to show that wheat can be planted in December. Hopefully we get some rain this week to help it flourish throughout the year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bgleaton]

We just had Brady Feed & Fertilizer come out today and put out 6,750lbs of protein in our protein feeders and also had them throw out some alfalfa bales to ensure there is plenty of feed to help these post rut bucks bulk up. The alfalfa is more for the blackbuck but the whitetail deer will still hit it hard as well. We typically only have 2 timed protein feeders running this time of year during hunting season until the end of December to ensure there is always protein available year round but we started a couple of weeks early this year…oh well.

I’m curious to see how the winter wheat plot is doing and should have pictures next week. I doubt it’s doing great but I was surprised to see how well it was doing during our last trip so fingers crossed. The soil moisture reading I’ve been sent this entire week, which is located under the plot, has been reading anywhere from 19% to 17.8% so the dirt still has some decent moisture in it even though it hasn’t rained on the plot since we planted. I’ll be sure to post some pics once I receive them next week.

My goal is to get out there after the New Year and have my son, a couple of his friends and their dads come out and shoot at least 3 more doe and 1 cull buck. If we can pull that off then that means we only have 2 more doe and 3 more cull bucks left.

My Hubsan Zino drone is up and running again. I will post some pictures to show what we are thinking of clearing for the new water line along with some new roads we are adding. Hoping to remove 15-20 acres worth of cedars to create more edge and more forage.

Have a great evening!

[bgleaton]

Bobcat Picture



Anyone else think this bobcat is pretty big?

[TKRanch]

Looks pretty thick and healthy for sure!!!!

[Puncher51]

Nice cat! Pretty one too!

[Big pig]

Not an expert but looks mature ! Saw one last week behind the house 1/2 that size.

BP

[Krivoman]

man everytime i come back to this thread I love it. Good stuff. I need to get better about attacking my ranch in Lampasas. By far the worst year of deer hunting in my life. No deer on cams and no deer really seen at all. The 2021 freeze did a number on them plus the lack of water this past year really hurt the over all area. I had plenty of food out, just did not have enough water to keep them around. I need to readjust and plan for a fix this year. thanks for taking the time to update and educate us...

[Droptine3030]

This is by far my favorite thread. I find myself disappointed when I check back and there are no updates . Lol Haven’t seen any pics of ur good bucks in awhile? Hint hint

[bgleaton]

Cedar Clearing

I mentioned before that we are clearing an area for the new water lines to go to the big pond and smaller pond. While the equipment is out there, we are going to have them clear more cedars in hopes to increase the amount of native forage and more edge habitat. Here are the three sections we are clearing along with the new roads for the water line.

We are going to remove ONLY cedars in the red outlined area and leave all other trees and brush.


We are only going to remove 50% of the cedars here to provide more food but also still have some cover near this blind.


We are going to remove ONLY cedars in the red outlined area and leave all other trees and brush.

Once these areas are cleared then we will broadcast a perennial pollinator mix to help get some quality forbs established. The total amount of acreage we will be removing of cedars will be around 9 acres.

[bgleaton]

We got the new electric hoist installed in the game cooler. This will make it much easier to lift and hang these bigger deer by yourself.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Big pig]

Love that plan. Are you going to doze the cedars or mulch?
Let’s hope we get some rain this year for your new ground!

BP

[bgleaton]

Love that plan. Are you going to doze the cedars or mulch?
Let’s hope we get some rain this year for your new ground!

BP

Our plan is to doze these areas with a smaller dozer. I would prefer using a mulcher since it does less damage to the soil but a dozer can do all of this work in 1 to 2 days whereas it would take a mulcher 4 to 5 days. These areas, according to the Web Soil Survey, show that they can produce around 2,500lbs of forage per acre and are our better productive souls so we are hoping these better soils will help us produce more deer forage. The good news about the bulldozer is that we will be able to broadcast a perennial pollinator mix in March and then use our cultipacker over top. As with all perennial forbs and grasses, they don’t do much the first year but start really growing the 2nd and 3rd year.