Rams of the Badlands

Blacktail Deer Food Plot Preparation and Scouting

Keys are in the bottom right for scale.

Pre-season scouting and preparation is essential, this gives hunters the ability to locate and find deer concentrations without disturbing their normal patterns.  My favorite activity is to look for rubs.  Finding large rubs in high concentrations is my ultimate goal.  This rub on the left is a perfect example of what I am looking for, a large rub on a 7-9" tree.  In fact I have a pretty good idea of which buck made this rub and he's aprox. 6 years old and was a 4 point last year.  When all the brush and trees have dropped their leaves and when the breeding season is over that's the perfect time to go look for rubs.  Rubs are very misleading though you may find one or two rubs and think great I should hunt this area.  Not so, many bucks rub along the boundaries of their breeding area and they will be no where near that area during the rut.  People also think that once they find a rub that they should put a stand near by to watch for the buck to come back.  That is also a bad idea, most rubs are made at night.  Rubs tell you what bucks are in the area, what path he traveled to make the rub and antler configuration.

Another activity I perform in the spring is prepare my food plot and cut brush.  I don't use fancy equipment and don't plant large acres of crops.  In the picture below I have planted some fruit trees and broken up the ground with a shovel.  I planted a biologic blend of seeds and latter on added some food attractant to get the deer accustomed to regular food drops.  To be honest I haven't had much success hunting over this plot but will continue to cultivate and plant in order to maintain a healthy herd of deer.

Code to Protect Arms

 As a taxpaying, America loving citizen, my second amendment rights are coming under fire.  I have owned and handled guns since I was a young boy.  They’ve been a part of me and have been a part of this country from the establishment of the constitution.  When our founding fathers wrote the constitution they couldn’t imagine the infringement that would be happening today.  That’s why I believe they specifically worded the 2^nd Amendment with the word infringement.

President Obama thinks that if we increase regulations on guns and are able to save but one life, it would be worth it.  How has Gun Control in the US and other countries worked at stopping violence (nytimes)?

Let’s look at Chicago where President Obama taught and practiced law, tell me how has Gun Control stopped violence and crime in that state?  Illinois has some of the strictest Gun Laws in the country (guardian).  So essentially we should be able to model the results from that state to the rest of the country, right?

Reactions to the Sandy Hook shooting are similar to a knee jerk reaction; one thing acting upon another resulting in an uncontrolled response.  Banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines will not achieve the results politicians are looking for.  I would suggest stringent background searches and a competency test to verify that individuals comprehend gun safety and security at home.  When conducting background searches officers should assess: mental health history, unrest in the family, run-ins with authorities i.e. alcohol and drug abuse, assault and battery, etc.  If an applicant fails background search the applicant should be denied current and further purchases of guns as well as removal of current guns from their possession.  Gun locks should be issued for each gun sold and inspections of gun locks to verify if they’re being used.  Punishment to violators should be jail time and large fines. 

We can’t attack the law-abiding citizens that own guns (townhall).  The real issues that need to be addressed are mending broken families.  Neglect, abuse, bad parenting all should be addressed before gun control.  What is truly right and wrong has been blurred and obscured by political agendas and media pushing the envelope.  Please let’s make this country great again by restoring family values.

References:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/weekinreview/29liptak.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jan/10/gun-crime-us-state

http://townhall.com/columnists/stevechapman/2013/01/17/gun-controls-potemkin-village-n1490886

2012 Blacktail Deer Food Plot Results

So here are some results of the 2012 Blacktail deer food plot and attractant study.  During the month of August I put Swamp Donkey, C'Mere Deer, Buck Jam, Trophy Rock and Purina Deer blocks out to see which would be the most effective at bringing in deer.  To my surprise it only brought in bears.  The C'Mere deer is a very strong sweet smelling attractant and the buck jam was a apples concentrate.  Once the bears found the food source it was all theirs the deer never fed here.  I also had some apples and the food plots were alfalfa and outfitters blend.  I can't say that these results are conclusive because it depends on the time of year when you place the food out.  During the months of August the bears are searching far and wide to find food and store enough fat for hibernation.  The deer on the other hand stay out of the bear’s way.  Hopefully next year I will be able to place these deer attractants in the food plot area during the optimal time for deer.  I will keep everyone posted on the results.  Hope you had a successful year in the blacktail woods.  If you have suggestions that your curious to see if it attracts deer or have known recipes for attracting deer and would like to see if it works in different areas post a comment.  Next year I will be starting fresh and we'll be planting clover.  

2012 Washington Blacktail Buck

2012 has been a good year for blacktail hunting the weather was drier and had a few clear days to hunt intermixed with storms, which has made for excellent hunting. When the weather clears and the rut is going the blacktail woods is the place to be. I hunted two days all day in the area I had been scouting all year lots of nice deer but they were still locked down the rut hadn't kicked in. Moved locations and started walking into a clear cut when I spotted a doe. It was very overcast and dark so I couldn't tell if it was a buck or doe so I waited for at least an hour finally it light enough to identify the animal as a doe. Moments later another deer appeared with his head low and grunting and began chasing the doe away. I didn't get my hopes up yet, but I felt confident it was a buck. I followed the pair of deer as they crossed a road and starting climbing a small rise. I was looking at the bigger of the two deer and had a hard time identifying antlers on his head. Looking at the photos you can see the background brush is the same color as his antlers. Finally he moved his head a little and I could see a glint of light coming of his antlers. I quickly took aim and shot and he dropped in his tracks. He's an old two point roughly 18" wide and close to that tall with one little eye guard. He weighed over 200 lbs. I weigh close to 200 lbs. and this deer is bigger than me. My Dad and I dragged him out after gutting him and by 9:00am we were at the truck with the buck.  Thanks dad for all the help and my wife for giving me the chance to fulfill a dream I have had as a young kid.  And I want to thank all my family and friends for all the advice and input to help make this possible.

Mule Deer Buck Removing Velvet

Big Mule Deer

This buck had already rubbed and was with another big buck but I wasn't fast enough on the camera.

After he just rubbed, notice how red his antlers are.

Rubbing to get rid of the velvet, he was also trying to eat the velvet hanging on his head.

The tree he destroyed

A piece of velvet.