Recent content by Stoney

From the photos you added, it looks like your oaks are further apart than what I originally envisioned. What I meant was if you have multiple trees competing in the same space, it’s a good idea to know what species they are depending upon your goals of course.

On our farm, we have red oaks outcompeting white oaks and walnuts. I’m told I can’t give away red oaks and walnut is worth 3-4X more than a white oak of the same size. Something to consider…

I’d pick the trees with the most value & potential and clear out everything that limits their crowns. When they are too close together you typically get partial crowns that severely limit growth rate. It’s already a slow process, speed it up. I’ve heard that you’re ultimately looking for 50 to...

I didn’t know there were badgers in Iowa. Until I did. And it was at that moment I regretted setting my bow down just moments ago.

As others have mentioned, EM & pray for a cold front…

Wow, that’s a bummer. I found 4 dead deer (3 bucks, 1 doe) last weekend in one small area while changing cell cam batteries. Presumably from disease. One was a very nice 3 year old.

My thoughts… 1. No NR w/ NV/T in Iowa during deer season. Look for OOS plates & road trolls. If they have NV/T in their possession, big fines… 3. Easy one. & I’m still pissed about a giant buck I almost killed that got shot with a rifle several years ago. The guy was so dumb he took it to the...

Funny to think about all the deer I missed in my youth shooting a Remington 870 pump 20 gauge with foster style slugs. Fast forward, neither one of my kids missed or wounded a single deer in all their years of youth deer hunting.

I don’t understand the logic of banning a weapon that requires you to be close to your quarry unlike a modern muzzleloader where shots up to 200 yards are not at all challenging. Hunting with a handgun puts the odds back in the favor of the animal. I thought that was the goal…

Hunting with a regular handgun can be a lot of fun and very challenging. Shots are typically less than 75 yards and oftentimes are well within bow range. I’m not sure I’d ban all regular handguns because of a few folks exploiting a loophole with AR style weapons.

I appreciated the floating tag last fall and was determined not to put it on just any ‘ol deer. Now that I’m responsible for managing a farm, I’m very reluctant to spend much time hunting so I enjoy the flexibility it provides. I miss the days when I could sit in a stand all day and focus on...

“nearly half of the antlered bucks shot in the US are at least 3&1/2” years old”…hmmm…I’m skeptical…

That is exactly why I would be for a one buck limit & why I think it increases the odds of more bucks reaching maturity.

What would this look like, specifically?

I completely agree and recently I have experienced the same scenario as you with regard to mature bucks.