Grow the Hunt

Chainsaws: A Valuable Wildlife Management Tool

If you are looking for a great tool to add to your habitat management collection, consider adding a chainsaw. A chainsaw can be used for many different applications in habitat management. Some of the uses include creating wildlife openings, creating bedding cover, cutting shooting lanes, and clearing trails.

Reducing tree density reduces the amount of canopy overhead allowing more sunlight to reach the forest floor. The sunlight stimulates the growth of herbaceous vegetation creating a deer salad bar. Felled trees create temporary cover for deer, turkey and a host of other animals. A chainsaw is a great habitat management tool. Do yourself a favor and invest in one if you haven’t already. Be sure to use caution when using chainsaws and let someone know your location.

Enhancing Natural Food Production on Your Property

-By Randy Cooper

I’ve been asked a lot lately about how to get natural vegetation, fruit and mast bearing trees to produce more on hunting properties and attract more wildlife. The answer is to fertilize the already existing plants and trees that benefit deer, turkey, quail and the host of other critters on your hunting property.

Through scouting, I’ve noticed the places deer like to feed and the travel corridors they like to use. I’ve found several varieties of oak trees on my property that deer love to feed on when acorns are falling. Knowing the area and lay of the land really helps put the puzzle together in plotting a hunting strategy. I’ll find a stand sight in a tree with good foliage cover that allows me a bow shot at an oak tree I know from experience the deer love to hit when the acorns start falling.

I’ll mark these trees with surveyors ribbon so that in the winter, when all the leaves have fallen and the sap in the trees is at its lowest, I can find and fertilize them. There is a specific way I go about this that I have learned from the advice of farmers, QDMA members, respected wildlife biologists and from hard learned personal experience.

If I can find a tree that deer seem to pay more attention to than any other tree in the area, I’m in business. Usually the reason they are hitting this tree and ignoring the others that are dropping just as many acorns is that this is what I call a “SWEET TREE”. Simply, this means that the tannic acid content in the acorns this oak tree is producing is lower than any of the other trees in the immediate area. The acorns don’t taste as bitter to the deer, therefore they are sweeter. Finding one of these special trees takes some looking but when you find it, you’ll know what you’re looking. From the base of the trunk, all the way out to the drip line and beyond, there will hardly be a leaf to be found and the ground itself will look like a roto-tiller has chewed it up with all the tracks and droppings there. It truly is a sight to see! By fertilizing this already good tree, I’ll make it even better next fall.

I like to do this after the season closes. I’ll get several bags of 10-10-10 fertilizer. The first number is for nitrogen, the second number represents phosphorus and the third number is for potassium. Along with this I like to add zinc in a granulated form. I mix the zinc with the fertilizer in a 5-gallon bucket and then fill my handheld broadcast spreader. I spread fertilizer around the entire tree at the DRIP LINE. This is the imaginary line formed by how far out from the trunk of the tree the limbs grow. Underground, the root system will reach out to the drip line and that’s where you want the fertilizer to reach when the rain soaks it in. You don’t want to get any closer to the trunk of the tree than that.

A good rule of thumb as far as how much fertilizer to use is: 1POUND OF FERTILIZER TO EVERY INCH OF DIAMETER OF THE TREE TRUNK AT ABOUT CHEST HIGH. So if the diameter of the oak is 14 inches, use 14 pounds of fertilizer.

You can also fertilize greenbriar, honeysuckle, persimmon trees, crabapples and muscadines in the same manner. I buy persimmon, apple, crabapple and sawtooth oak tree saplings from an online supplier. They ship them in good shape with very little soil on them. They are wrapped in wet newspaper surrounded by plastic sheeting to hold the moisture in. I plant these in the corners of my food plots. I usually use potting mix and about a cup of lime mixed together in the hole I’ve dug for the sapling. I water it in with Miracle Grow mixed in the water. For support, I stake the tree to the ground using rope tied to it in three directions. I also use a piece of flexible black drain pipe that we’ve all seen with the drain holes in it to put around the trunk of the tree to protect it from bucks rubbing it and possibly killing it until it gets to be about a year old. At that time I can just cut it off with sheet metal shears and the tree is on its way.

I know all this sounds like a lot of work and it is. For me, I get the thrill of truly seeing the FRUITS of my labor. If you’re as passionate about farming for wildlife as I am and so many more that I know, it’s an accepted part of the big picture we all want to see each and every fall and we don’t mind doing it. I live for doing this in my beloved woods and absolutely love seeing the difference I’ve made in the health of the deer, turkey and other animals that live there. This is one more way that I attract and hold deer on the properties I hunt. Try employing some of these time tested tactics that I’ve used on your property and see the difference it makes in your wildlife and in your experience.

Do game cameras spook deer?

Mike Hanback’s blog posting on April 30, 2008, poses an interesting question about whether or not trail cameras spook deer. The subject seems to be a hot topic these days and opinions differ. Some hunters have had negative experiences using flash game cameras. On the other hand, Moultrie receives hundreds of pictures and stories from hunters each year capturing the same big buck on a flash camera time after time. Case in point, there have been many instances when a flash camera is set up to take a “burst” series of shots (Moultrie Game Spy cameras can be programmed to take three in a row) and the deer will turn to look toward the flash. However, the deer remain in the same spot unbothered by the flash, and are photographed returning to the camera’s location days and weeks later.

It is true when a series of pictures is taken by the infrared game cameras, not as much attention is drawn since the infrared flash is virtually undetectable. While there is always the possibility that a “worry buck” may be spooked by a game camera, it is evident that the benefits of using a game camera far outweigh the negative. We receive countless stories from hunters that were able to fill their tags with a trophy buck due to the information that has been provided by these great tools. We would love to hear your opinions on using game cameras. Let us know what you think by posting a comment.

Merriam Turkey Hunting With Adventures Wild

-By Brandon Wikman

My passion for chasing gobblers through forest and field stretches for miles, literally. This past week I tossed my books, classes, and the memory of school aside to drive 14-hours and nearly 850-miles to southwestern Nebraska. All for a crack at a monster Merriam long beard with the help of my dear friend Chris Vaughn from Adventures Wild.

The majestic beauty of a simple white strip across a band of tail feathers drives the spirit of hardcore bird hunters from across the country. The unique characteristics of the species and terrain variations make the hunting experience one not to be forgotten.

I left Eau Claire, Wisconsin after my Advertising class at 7pm and drove the painstaking 14 hours through the night, a full cup of coffee in hand at all times. I arrived the next morning in a small country town by the name of Benkelman, population merely under 1,000. You know the turkey hunting must be good when there seems to be more of a thriving bird population than people.

By noon I was already in the woods, trekking or just plain sleepwalking, I can’t remember. I was absolutely exhausted, but the urge to kill a turkey gave me enough verve to trudge across the river bottom in search for tracks, scat, and sign. No more than an hour in the woods, I was already on my first setup. A pompous gobbler escorted a harem of hens across an alfalfa field. Not only did every hen in the entire square mile join the parade, but also the long beard marched gobbling away from me. All I could do was watch as my reality piddled into nothing more than a dream.

As I watched from the concealment of a blind, birds began filtering through the green pasture and into the woods. Heavy rain started to crash, which turned into small beads of hail. The weather evolved from a pleasant sunny afternoon into a miserable cold evening.

I sunk my way into the chair as far as I could and shivered a sigh of disgust. The light soon faded thanks to a heaping pile of billowy black clouds, which ended my hunt sooner than I bargained for. All I could hope was that tomorrow would be a better day.

I arose from a tireless sleep and stretched. The itching feeling of anticipation for hearing gobbling, spitting, drumming, and the countless sounds of nature began to escalate. That is until I opened the curtains and peered out the window with my jaw smashing against the windowsill. More than two inches of the color white caked the entire plains. Not only was snow an inhibiting factor, but the wind tore across the valleys ripping trees and sending tumbleweeds airborne. This was some sporadic weather for spring. The entire day I spent sprawled on the bed, watching the Outdoor Channel and wishing I were living it.

I woke the third day with much surprise to see the snow melted and spring greens dominating the countryside. I knew that the gobblers were going to be hollering, considering the day before was most likely spent under a tree keeping out of the wind.

As the orange glow sparkled across the horizon, the race of gobbling began. From the nearest oak tree to the furthest saddle, turkeys roared with thunder. I sat down, called and had a gobbler respond within seconds. No more than ten minutes, I had a Merriam long beard in my line of fire. He stood proud, looking for his mate. As he edged closer I shot him as my cousin, Joe Nawrot, documented the joy with a video camera. It was an amazing turnaround of weather and luck.

It truly made the drive well worth each and every mile, cup of coffee, and pounding headache along the way!

Deer Season is only 5 months away!

Moultrie knows to most deer hunters the warmer months seem to drag on and on. Here is a picture that was submitted to us that we thought we would share to give you a little incentive when you are wondering if all of the hard work that you are putting in this summer is going to be worth it.

Remember May is a good time to mow your perennial grasses to promote re-growth.

Securing your Game Camera

-By Randy Cooper

The people I know who have trail cameras set out usually don’t say much, but if they are like me, the thought of someone stealing these expensive cameras has crossed their minds. I have two high-end cameras from Moultrie looking at my deer feeder from different angles. One is an infrared camera and one is the flash type. The other day, I pulled the cameras, like I do every week, to see what I had captured.

As I ran through the pictures and video footage, I came across a 30-second video with two boys on it. They had cut through my property to get to a street that ends near my house. As they passed through, one boy saw the feeder, walked up to it and tapped on it a couple of times. He then saw the program box on the side of it and waved his hand in front of it a couple of times as if trying to get the feeder to go off and dispense corn. When it didn’t do anything, he walked off and joined his friend.

Harmless enough right? Wrong!!! First, these kids were trespassing. Second, they were messing with my feeder. And third, if they had seen the two cameras that took their picture, they may have helped themselves. Right now, with everything getting more expensive, I can’t afford to replace a camera that someone decides to steal. The fact that their pictures were taken alone is a testament to the value and usefulness of these cameras as a surveillance tool.

After seeing the footage, I posted signs along the backside of my property close enough together for even the most nearsighted person to see. I hope they get the message.

I have permission to hunt a property that has some huge bucks on it and is very inaccessible. I even have a rough time getting there because the terrain is tough. Through post-season scouting I found three trails that run parallel to each other and about 20 yards apart along a hillside. They are all worn to the ground from so much use. Using a screw-in Moultrie Camera Tree Mount for my trail camera, I mounted the most expensive camera I have on a poplar and left. I went back a week later, swapped out the SD card and came home. I almost had a stroke when I looked at the daytime footage.

First, I saw a black Lab that hit the very trail that I was covering right in front of the camera. He started backtracking deer right on it until he went out of sight. The very next footage on the camera shocked me. Right there, in those deep, hard to reach woods where no one goes but me, deer and turkeys, was a girl about twenty years old. She walked across the trail in front of my camera from left to right WITHIN 5 FEET OF THE CAMERA!!!! I don’t know if she was following someone or looking for the dog I had seen on the other footage. The point is, where I least suspected someone to be, there they were.

I immediately ordered three of the game camera security boxes made by Moultrie. I went back and thankfully my camera was still there. Obviously, the girl didn’t find it. I pulled the camera, put it in the box and secured it with the padlock that comes with it. This box is meant to keep honest people honest. Like most things including bank vaults, if someone wants to get into the box bad enough, they will return with tools and get in it. My hope is that if someone were to find one of my cameras in the security box they won’t have anything with them to remove it and they will leave it alone. I love my Moultrie trail cameras and use them daily. I want to protect them and keep them from being stolen. There are a lot of dirt bags out there that are just plain sorry and mean. They don’t care about anything; much less what belongs to someone else and they will take anything that’s not nailed down. I’ve had enough tree stands and screw-in steps stolen to stock a sporting goods store. I take great care in selecting my stand sights and the places I set up my cameras because of that. I’ll be even more careful now that I know that no place is void of people anymore. If I even think there might be a chance of someone finding one of my cameras, I’ll put it in one of the security boxes.

You will also do well by using pruning shears to cut limbs with foliage on them and CAMOUFLAGE YOUR CAMERA. I use cable ties to attach the branches around the camera where it can’t be readily seen.

If you have trail cameras, do yourself a big favor and get some of the Moultrie security boxes to house them in. It could make the difference between keeping your camera or someone stealing it. I’ll be protecting my assets from now on. You should too.

Hunting a Soggy Turkey

-By Brandon Wikman

Weather plays a major factor in the success of your hunting strategy, but don’t let the rain drench your results. It is critical to adapt to the situation at hand.

Last week I spent four days trekking up, down and around the vast country hillside of central Wisconsin in search for a long-beard with my shotgun. The weather was anything but pleasant; in fact, it was pure torture. I spent half of my time under the roof of a hunting blind, due to high winds, rain and even the occasional snowfall. Hunting early-season turkey in Wisconsin has always been sporadic, but this year was absolutely abnormal compared to previous years.

On our first morning’s hunt we were greeted by light rain, which evolved into a total downpour by mid-morning. Defenseless and cold, my cameraman and I trekked our soaked bodies back to the truck. Usually, birds don’t gobble when it rains and you’ll rarely see them scratching in an open field, which turns your turkey hunting strategy upside-down.

We drove back to camp and grabbed the blind, which would keep us dry, and keep the camera functioning properly. Not only did we have to dry the soggy camouflage that clung to our freezing bodies, but also scarf a few more friction calls that weren’t drenched. We decided to prop the blind between a cluster of oak trees and waited for a few hours as water streamed down the windows as the blind seemingly turned into a virtual waterfall. No gobbles. No bird sightings. No sign of luck.

After packing our gear back into the truck that evening, I spun the wheels to the local town and connected Wi-Fi style. I needed to check the weather for the rest of the weekend. I logged onto weather.com and realized that Mother Nature wasn’t going to be easy on us. The predicted forecast detailed high winds and showers for the next two days. This came as a shock, considering the prior week’s weather consisted of bright blue skies. Using websites as sources for weather is ideal because it’s quick and efficient.

The following evening my cameraman and I were stumped and felt like two turkeys ourselves. We hadn’t seen any birds for the past couple days.

It was a conscious decision to make a drastic change in hunting technique to fulfill our objective of killing a tubby-tom. The plan was to conceal a blind near a potential roosting sight by a field and wait for the birds to roam back for their nighttime loft. The blind was brushed with white pine branches, which made us look nearly invisible to the turkey’s keen eyesight.

After settling into our evening scenario hunt, I began tuning a few yelps out the blind window and hoped that the sound would reach at least twenty yards before being muffled by the rain clobbering into the tree tops and ground. The cloud-blocked sun began to sink into the horizon and turned the colors into grey mode.

I knew it was either now or never. Before I began doubting our setup, three gobblers trotted their way across the field and into my hen decoy setup. Each gobbler began eyeballing the fake, which gave my cameraman a chance to roll some great footage as I prepped my gun into position and fired a load of bb’s into the vitals of a long-bearded Wisconsin turkey.

Turkeys are unpredictable creatures without an organized timeframe. This makes them very difficult to pattern and make assumptions on travel routes. The only surefire tactic during a wet-streak is to find a roosting sight and wait for the birds to stroll by during legal shooting hours. It worked extremely well as I soon found out.

Turkey Box Calling Tips

Watch Harold Knight as he demonstrates how best to use a turkey box call.