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I have found that if you first dump a load of grain out of it and THEN hunt it they get used to it pretty fast. :) :) Seriously, I have never used an actual grain wagon for a blind, but if there is ag activity in the area I would imagine that they would ignore it pretty quickly...like within 24...

The key word to watch out for = "opportunity". "Stay in your lane" is absolutely correct.

To this point ^^ I literally just witnessed a fawn breeding a doe. I suspect it was one of the fawns of the standing doe, but can't be sure of that. The little frisker was "up" on momma trying his best, but I don't know if he is sexually mature yet and/or well, ahem, able to reach. :cool...

Any given big buck probably spends some time on, say, 3 to 5+ different properties no matter what is done to "hold" him at "home". The second he follows a doe, etc, over the fence a neighboring hunter knows it via cell cam and is there "hunting" it sometimes within the hour. This is not...

Facts! ^^ I think there is room to grow the population in areas where it is quite low now, due largely to EHD outbreaks. But anyone that thinks that the deer hunters of the state are going to get their wishes over the insurance and farm lobbies to boost the population back up to the "good ol'...

FWIW, we had a buck that spent time on our place last year and my son found one of his sheds this past spring and there was A LOT of skull plate on that pedicle. :oops: I thought for sure he would die...but he didn't. He hasn't been on our place much this fall, but he is alive and well on a...

PM me too. I have no idea where this is, but it looks like one that I should follow up on. :) :) :)

OR...just raise the fine(s) for poaching up to where it really hurts/isn't "worth" it?? They are barely a scratch now, IMO. Note - to my knowledge we are not losing deer to thermal poaching in our area. I freely admit that I might feel differently if we were. But generally, more rules seem...

He got hit hard by EHD at least twice AND some neighbors stepped up their hunting pressure too.

Curious...how do you allow for tree growth and/or movement due to wind, etc? Do you remove the "fixed" lag seasonally? TIA.

Also in Davis County...we experienced significant EHD die off in Aug-Oct 2023. Prior to that, things were not as good as the good ol' days, but still pretty good. 2023 - was very bad, I hunted once or twice and purposely shot nothing. 0 bucks, 0 does. My son shot one old buck that year...

This ^^ is a reality for many, unfortunately IMO. I hear you, I think we are talking about a real "tragedy of the commons" scenario these days. Even in good "neighborhoods" where multiple like minded people choose not to shoot the young hi po's...it only takes one, or few, in the area that...

I don't know the number, but I certainly will use an "extra" tag to knock out a lo po buck. I sense it is more than 1% that will do this...but I think it is probably a low number, FWIW. I am not really opposed to a one buck limit, but I am not at all convinced that it is the solution to the...

I don't have a lot of "on the ground" insight on the goings on in Missouri, but I don't find that number surprising, FWIW. Lots of NR's flow to northern Missouri v. southern Iowa to purchase land because as a NR there they can get buck tags every year there v. waiting 4+ years to draw in Iowa.

Well said ^^...I totally agree. My point in sharing was just to illustrate the realities of high grading, which has received much mention here. Deservedly so, IMO, as a factor these days as to why giant deer are more scarce. Aided, I think, largely by technology, most specifically cell cams...

FWIW...the subject buck from my example ^^ was harvested the other evening. Just off of my adjacent neighbor's property. I am NOT suggesting that anything illegal or unethical was done at all, because I don't know that AND I truly suspect that it was on the up and up. But...a hi po 4 year old...

Glad to hear that we aren't the only ones. Last night was bad, although I did miss a doe that I should have hit. Harrumph. My son sat a good spot and saw NOTHING. What the??? I think they are still on acorns mainly.

There is always the potential for infection, etc. But otherwise, that looks like the type of deer that someone shoots in the future and there is an old broadhead lodged in the skeleton. His vitals are safe there, so I think he has a good chance of survival.

Not a drop tine, but a "third beam" buck once upon a time. It was very prominent when he was 5 and he was so close to me that I could hear him breathing! But...I shot a different buck in that moment, the one that he had been jousting with and had gotten behind me. By the time I got all turned...

Fairly slim pickings last evening, but did have 1 nice 3 year old come in tight. I hope we can catch up to him in 2 or 3 years. Didn't see anything that resembled active chasing, etc. I still think that there are plenty of acorns available in the timber though.