Preseason Preparation
Posted By
Missouri
at
6/30/2011 12:00:00 AM
Click here for post from last month.
The 2011 Deer Season is just around the corner!! The Missouri Staff is in full preparation mode in hopes in getting the upper hand on a giant Missouri Buck and a few does as well!
NORTHWEST
July 21st
I don't know about you, but I am ready for this extreme heat to go away! Rain would be a blessing for much of the midwest right now. The great growing conditions we had the past 3 years was bound to catch up to us at some point. I can tell you that my dad and I have been preparing for this season like previous years. We've been hanging new stand setups in addition to retightening the straps on old ones, maintaining summer food plots and checking our trail cameras regularly. We have some old timers showing up on the cameras that we have been watching for years and are now tops on our 2011 hit list. I am ready to to match wits with them and bring some fantastic story lines to the show. Soon we will be out hitting the fields trying to get some good velvet footage of the bucks we will be chasing this fall.
Last week I sprayed glyphosate on all my fall food plot sites where I will be breaking ground soon putting in some frigid forage Big N' Beasty seed blend. Brassicas need 60-90 days before the first hard frost to establish good root systems that will produce good sized bulbs. That time table here in northern missouri is late July through the first week of August. I don't plant brassicas to hunt over generally. I plant them for late season forage to get the deer back in better shape after a rough rut period when they are stressed. With the heat and no rain forcasted there really isn't anything you can do other than plant and hope for the best. Brassicas are best put on via a broadcast method and just lightly pressed into the soil. If we get no rain then they will lay there fine until a rain comes along and germinates them, although I like to plant them right before a rain. If they germinate and then we get a period of hot weather like we are seeing now and they die then your only choice is to plant something else like cereal grains that can be planted up into the first two weeks of September.
Can you believe the season is only 56 days away? Tick tock. I better get back to work planting, hanging the last couple setups and trying to film some velvet.
~Andy Yost~
NORTHEAST
July 16th
They're Getting There
The Big Bucks are starting to move a little and they are starting to look pretty good! Should be a fun season!
Rick Knochel
Fastest Growing Bone in the World
I'm not sure if you are aware of it, but the antler is the fastest growing bone in the world. I did my Senior Project on the Whitetail Antler. It is so fast-growing, that many scientist have researched the antler in hope of replicating these fast growing cells to rebuild bone or tissue in humans. It really is quite amazing!! The growth mainly occurs at the ends of the antler (often you will see massive balls at the ends of the tines where the growth is occuring). Most of the growth will be done by the end of July, but it is also the month with the largest amount of growth.
Here are a few pictures of some of the bucks I have gotten. I have only had a few cameras out so far, and will probably get the rest out fairly soon.
If you look at the first two pictures, you will notice two things. First it is the same deer (Ear Notch is a dead giveaway). Secondly it is a year later at the same mineral site. Last year the deer was 2 years old so this year he is 3. The third picture is a different buck and I'm not sure how old he is, my guess is 2. Hopefully this will give you and idea of what stage of antler growth the bucks are in!
Rick Knochel
CENTRAL
SOUTH
Food Plots, Farming & Fawn Mortality
Hunting, managing and improving whitetail habitat is a year round project for a growing number of hunters and landowners nationwide. Although individual goals may vary slightly, a common thread between all managers is usually some type of improvement of the herd, habitat or both. Either it’s increasing or decreasing deer numbers, growing larger, healthier deer or just managing your land for a better diversity of wildlife, the majority of management plans are associated with enjoyment of the land and wildlife you manage.
With this in mind, it must also be considered that even with the best intentions some fawns will undoubtedly become a statistic. As hay farmers already know, summertime is when tractors and equipment spend a good portion of their time in the fields. Clover hay fields play a big role in our spring and summer food sources and maintaining them by cutting the hay or brush-hogging in late May or early June is important to promote young, tender re-growth in clover. This is also the peak fawning period in our region and it is very common for adult does and fawns to bed in the fields when the grasses are tall enough to conceal them.
The above picture was taken on May 16th this year and demonstrates how a fawn will remain totally motionless in an attempt to avoid being detected by predators. When my Dad took this picture the camera was not very far away and the adult deer bolted long before he got this close. This fawn was fortunate that Dad noticed it prior to running over it, but that isn’t always the case. Although the urge to try and touch the deer was there, he took these pictures and backed away pretty quickly so its mother could get it out of the field.
Thus far this year we know of three fawns that were killed while cutting hay. I’m not aware of a practical way to 100% avoid any fawn mortality while cutting hay, brush-hogging or burning during these times of the year. Just remember to use caution, look in front of the equipment as carefully as possible and understand that if this happens to you it is an unfortunate reality associated with habitat improvement during this time of the year.
~Darren Beck~
8/9/11
Well it looks like the worst of the hot dry weather is over here in southern MO. We've received over an inch of rain in the last few days, and the extended forecast shows several more chances of rain and highs in the 80's. This forecast has us thinking about planting foodplots and scouting for the start of bow season, which is only 37 days away! Right now is great time to find a buck and figure out his summer pattern, they're more visible now than any other time of the year. Bucks will usually stick with these patterns until the first of October, give or take a few days. In the last two seasons we've had three chances at mature bucks in the first two weeks of bow season. It's can be almost as good as the rut! Also, don't give up on the early season when the acorns start falling. If you can find the first white oaks that are dropping it's a perfect opportunity to tag an early season buck, like my brother did last year. Here's one of our hit list bucks we'll be trying to figure out for this early season, hope everyone's preseason preparations are going great! Good luck and hunt safe!
~ Ben Hampton ~
