The deer population here in IA outside the incorporated areas is definitely down now from what it was 15 or so years ago. I hunted deer 2 seasons about that long ago when we had a special antlerless season Thanksgiving weekend. We don’t have that any more.
The problem for me is that my subdivision borders what was once the State of Iowa Sanitarium, which is about 500 acres of land still owned by the state. It is perfect deer habitat. Lots of “edge” habitat. The yearlings and does are semi-domesticated, and I have been in the situation where I had to chase them off the biking trails to get by. Needless to say, fruit trees are much tastier browse than garlic mustard, bush honeysuckle, wild raspberries, Reed canarygrass, and smooth brome, etc.
Ah @thecityman, what you are saying is because of buck fever you would never of gotten that buck. But if it is of any consolation, I would not have either. I would have been shaking like a leaf.
I’m going to respectfully disagree that it isn’t the world record. First, the article talks about the fact that a bigger deer has been found dead on side of the road (1 not 2). My own statement specifically said “highest scoring white tail even taken” meaning taken by a hunter. So does the article. So we’re talking about the world record deer taken by a hunter, which is a world record. Most hunters I know wouldn’t count a deer found dead on side of the road. So I’m not sure what you mean about it being “debunked”. 5 independent judges have scored it, and Boone and Crocket list it as their world record white tail deer (they don’t count road kill either).
Anyway, its pretty cool having this guy killed a few miles from me and I for one would be very proud if I killed it!
@tennessean : Yes, Sam!!!
I most definately would have gotten most likely a LETHAL case of buck fever if I
d seen that deer with a Christmas Tree mounted on its head walking through the woods. Imagine how that poor guy felt when his muzzle loader cap went off but gun didn’t fire!! OMG!!! I’ve had that happen on regular deer and its heart breaking. I even had one stand there after my cap fired. It wasn’t until I started fumbling for my extra caps that he ran off. After that I always put tissue paper in my little can that holds my caps so it won’t rattle so much. I can’t explain it, but the muzzle loader sound- even when it fires- doesn’t seem to scare deer as much as a rifle. I have often had them stand there even after a shot from a muzzle loader. Maybe it sounds more like thunder than the sharp clap of rifle fire?
That is really interesting! Now, as someone with free range chickens that are killed in huge numbers by raptors, I’d be putting those snap-shut steel traps on top of those perches! haha. But really, I appreciate your respect for them and your intention of using them to control rodents. I have one giant oak tree where an owl sits and eats his dinner all the time, and you wouldn’t believe the amount of bones, fur, feathers, and other remains that gather under that tree. So I’m sure they make a big dent in rodents.
My neighbor has some free range birds, those that she loses are mainly to bobcats and coyotes. I’m sure the hawks and owls get a couple too. We raise a couple dozen Cornish crosses for meat each summer, but they’re only around for about 60 days. We haven’t lost any of them to predators, but they are in a 25’x50’ area with 6’ welded wire fencing and a hot wire on a solar charger at about 18" above ground level.
Looking at my own bushes, they experienced some damage. Some buds were less advanced than others and it looks like I might have some that are OK. Mine are in a relatively protected part of the yard though.
You shouldnt probably put that on a public forum because if you really are doing that you are breaking federal law and the fines are pretty significant.
About 2/3 of my blueberry varieties had already bloomed and were killed. Those that still had tight buds seem to have made it. But all this surprised me a little, as do articles like the one you posted. I always thought blueberries were much tougher than this. I mean, they have wild blue berries in some of the coldest climates that exist. I guess my impression of their hardiness is just from how much cold they can take when fully dormant. Apparently once they wake up they are as susceptible as anything else.
Yeah…i have blueberries, but have never had any issues with frost/freeze but mine are potted. I have lost strawberries before with spring frost. Once those flowers open, strawberries seem very touchy when it comes to frost/freezing conditions…although the plants themselves are very hardy.
Thank-you for your note and concern, but honest to goodness the thought about the traps on top of perches had never even crossed my mind until I saw @smsmith 's design. You may notice I said I “would be” putting traps on them, but I don’t even have any perches like that so I have no where to put them.
And in reality, even though I get very frustrated with raptors killing my chickens, and even though I am a hunter who enjoys harvesting animals humanely, I don’t like those steel traps at all and wouldn’t want to get a bird that way. Really. All that being said, I’m wondering if people actually do set steel traps on top of perches for that purpose? If you thought I was doing it I wonder if you’ve seen others do it? I’m not, and I won’t. It was just a poor attempt at humor for me, but I would be interested to know if others have had that idea.
BTW…I HAVE checked with our wildlife dept here too see if its possible to shoot a raptor if it is interfering with farming operations (like killing chickens) . Its possible to legally shot a deer who is destroying crops, but there are tons of guidelines and requirements. Turns out you CAN shoot a hawk or other raptor. Well, it a legal sense I should say it is POSSIBLE, but in no way practical. It’s absolutely shocking what it entails in order to shoot one because of farm animal deaths.
Just to give you some idea: You have to first show that you spent a year trying to find another solution: building a coop, putting up fishing line over their flight path, using air cannons, and so on. You have to have a wildlife officer come out more than once and make recommendations for other ways. You have to document all of this for a year. Then you have to fill out an application that is seriously longer than my college app was. Then you have to show that it is have a serious economic impact, that there are no federally protected species that could be harmed, and so on. Then you have to contact US Fish and game and tell them about your state application and see if they have a problem with it. When all this is done and both state and fed gives you approval (which probably they never would) then when you shoot one you have to put it in the freezer until you contact the state and US wildlife people and send it to one of them. It’s INSANE. In fact, I’m willing to bet that no one has EVER gone through that whole process and gotten a permit and legally taken a bird of prey. WHen I was researching it I just kept thinking how sill it was that bureaucrats had taken so much time to create a so-called legal process for something that they obviously would never approve approve any way! And of course every other sentence was about how if you lied and or didn’t follow one step you’d be subject to 5 years and 100k fine.
Anyway, thanks again for the warning, but I won’t be killing any raptors and if I did I darn sure wouldn’t talk about it here (but I wont)
Lots of my trees are carrying a very light crop this year. Not all the blooms were lost. Not all were lost to cold weather either. Some normally heavy producers are very light croppers this year. Maybe they did not get enough chill or perhaps they have been working to hard and needed a year off. It’s a mystery to me.
That’s an impressive deer for sure. I didn’t realize it was a muzzleloader until you mentioned the caps. I know it’s a record setter, but can you imagine how gamey that meat would taste?
Of course, we didn’t get any deer last season, but on the way home one evening a couple months ago, my wife sideswiped a big buck about 5 miles from here. He didn’t do much damage, but she mentioned that he had many points and that they were swept forward (whatever that means). It was much bigger than anything we have seen around the farm. Not only do they try to destroy my food sources they have to attack my vehicles!
CWD isn’t an issue here in KY. It’s been found in just about every state around us. But, I’m afraid it’s just a matter of time before it gets here.
Deer are thick here, think it’s because a lot of predators, like coyotes, have been hunted hard here. Old timers here say they’ve never seen so many as nowadays. Plus, wild turkeys are everywhere as well.
Was watching the local news (Huntington, WV), and the weather guy had talked to a local fruit orchardist, and they said it looks like their peach and nects got bit again. This is four years out of five they haven’t had any such fruit.
Kinda glad I didn’t pull the trigger on those new apricot and nectarine trees a couple weeks ago. It’s like why bother getting a tree that won’t produce most years?
Yes they do use that approach for catching raptors both illegally and for research purposes. Traps set for research purposes have a slide wire that allows the bird to reach the ground. The traps are padded to protect their legs that are set legally.
Keep it going!
