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What to look forward to in 2012...

bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
49,857
303
Appalachia
It still pains me to be in the dark about Moe's fate, but it is what it is at this point and I have to flush that from my system. Despite that lingering issue, there are still a handful of things that have me excited for the 2012 season; deer and turkey wise! I was hoping for a lot for pictures to dig through with 6 cams out nearly 3 weeks, but I still ended up with some decent ones out of the 2,600+ on the cams. Since turkey season is going to be here first, I'll kick things off with a couple thunder chicken pics...

As luck would have it, the three best long beards out of this ground broke off from the flock to get their pic taken. These 3 run in a flock of 7 long beards...

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There are 12 turkeys in this picture and every one of them has chest hair. This is the flock of 7 that I see regularly and a group of jakes. I had to sort through a couple dozen pics, but I'm 100% certain these are all males of one age and class or another...

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As a leading deer numbers bitcher, I about pissed myself when I saw this picture. I have not had more than 3 deer in a single pic in a couple of months now. There are 6 does and 2 button bucks here. This was the only time all season that there were that many does in one spot and the cams still say that we only have one mature doe and her two offspring (does) using our farm with any regularity. But I'll take what I can when it comes to does numbers even if they don't frequent our farm...

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My parents place is only 10 acres, but it has a knack for turning out a few dandies from time to time. We saw a 140" 10 back there on the 23rd of October, but I never could get a picture of him. I did manage to snap pics of an impressive 8 that I'm fairly certain survived the season, so he will be a for sure shooter this fall...

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This is a cool buck that I hope to see again this fall. I'm pretty sure this is the buck we almost shot during muzzleloader. I have pics of him from this week, so I know he made it...

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This buck made it as well...

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This is the buck that I passed on the second to last night of the season. Nice deer, but he needs another year. I saw this deer several times this season, so I have a feeling he will stick around...

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I saw this buck once this fall and believe he could be a real stud this year. The jury is out on age, but I'd say he'll be hard to pass this year. I have pics of him when he is walking that make him look 3, but he doesn't look that old here. Either way, I'll be sure to keep my eyes peeled for him come fall. Oh, and I know he survived the season as well...

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At this point, the new #1 for the 2012 season is my buddy Captain Jack. With the whereabouts of Moe and Boss Hawg unknown, he moves to the top of the list. This is the first deer that I will have three years of history with assuming he shows up this summer. I have not written Boss Hawg off as he is a roamer and I will also have 3 years of history with him if/when he returns. However, Jack has the makings to be one of my favorite deer of all time. I love big 8's and with his split G2s, he could very well captivate me this summer. He made a great 3 year old, so here's to hoping he makes a stellar 4 year old!!!

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Great pics Jesse! Capt.Jack will be a thumper this fall. Still holding out hope that Moe is still lurking somewhere near ya and alive.
 
Nice assortment of bucks Jesse. Looks like several could be shooters next year. I am going into next year with one hopeful. Not to worry bubba. We will find some more to pursue. They always seem to show up somewhere.
 
Looks really good!

Where are your hens at?!? Looks like a good place to kill a turkey. Although, as my buddy says after a morning of calling "Fuggin turkeys, if they won't come into that calling, they must be gay!"
 
Nice pics! Capt. Jack will be a great 4 year old, Good to see someone still getting pics i pulled all of camera's. I think all my deer run away this time of year. never any pics till june.
 
[video=youtube;b3EniJEwQ6s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3EniJEwQ6s&list=UURKDjTWarJV1SugXXpTRg7w&index=10&feature=plcp[/video]

[video=youtube;nlrrUul-kVs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlrrUul-kVs&feature=channel[/video]
 
Looks like you have lots of good young bucks to look forward to this fall. I plan on putting together a survivors list here soon and get a gameplan going for this fall.
 
I would be pretty excited if i were you. You still got a good amount of bucks to look forward too. I have exactly 1 doe and 1 fawn that survived the season that are using my property constantly, and the doe has had a broken leg for about a month.. My neighbors really loved me this year.
 
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Looks good man. I'd say we have a long off season of working plots and game planning ahead of us. Def looks promising! Let's get one of those turkeys first!!!!
 
I was going through a seasons worth of pics last night from my parents. In the past, my buck to doe ratio has been as skewed 1:7 or 8. I used to see groups of does that would run 14 deep during the 2007 season. My cams captured a total of 11,000 pictures back there this fall and I spent 63 hours on stand there. The biggest group of does was 4 deep and the buck to do ratio was just over one buck per doe. This was always the place to kill a doe, but with the party hunting to the west of us, that is no longer the case. Oh how I miss the old days!!!
 
Jesse said:
I was going through a seasons worth of pics last night from my parents. In the past, my buck to doe ratio has been as skewed 1:7 or 8. I used to see groups of does that would run 14 deep during the 2007 season. My cams captured a total of 11,000 pictures back there this fall and I spent 63 hours on stand there. The biggest group of does was 4 deep and the buck to do ratio was just over one buck per doe. This was always the place to kill a doe, but with the party hunting to the west of us, that is no longer the case. Oh how I miss the old days!!!
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Sounds like a double edged sword. In theory, with the better ratio you should see some killer rut activity. You should see random bucks during the rut which are not regulars to your area. Conversely, your resident bucks are also out searching and potentially being killed (or poached) on other properties. In the end, there could be more exciting hunts, but at the same time less does to hunt and less "predictability" with your regular bucks. Catch 22 here.
 
I liked this spot for its dependability. Ask Wayne about his all day hunt a few years back. This was place was the bread and butter do SR Outfitters! I need that back!!! LOL
 
The hens are stacked 25 deep at my parents place. I never did see a long beard out there this fall...
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If the hens are there, so will the toms come spring.

I still think the herd is reduced quite a bit, but there are obviously still some good prospect out there.
 
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