Day 243 Corn patch food plot (doesn't that have a good sound, Day 243?)
To clear the air on the transportation issue of last week, there is one more Ford, a 1970 F-100, flare side, short bed, 302V8, 4 spd.,still with the original single speed transfer case rolling on 9X16 non-directionals. This old truck went to live with my son in Thomasville. Now fellers that was a truck. It came with a 300 six cyl. when I bought it new in Winter Garden in 1970 for $3000. I remember one summer in Jane Green, now Bull Creek WMA, we had crossed a creek going east and ended up staying late and had to go back out the same way. My wife was driving and several of us were standing in the back looking to see a deer as we headed back to the 192 hiway, she had turned on the lights as we drove into the swamp crossing and all of a sudden the lights went out. She almost paniced but kept going and the Ford fianally got up out of the run of the creek and the lights were above the water again. Back then we kept the ignition systems sprayed with some kind of water proofing that worked most of the time. I'm grade it worked that night!
Now back to the corn patch, deer activity seemed non-existent last week, only hunted a couple of late afternoons, got to see a red fox both afternoons, he came out right at 5 o'clock, like he was on a timer. The 1st afternoon I only saw him one time, but on Friday afternoon I was able to see him as he hunted the whole south end of the corn patch, in and out and around working the full length of the patch, then into the pines. Quite a sight!
Didn't hunt Saturday as a church friend was having surgery, didn't get home till after dark. Monday the 7th, worked at processing the doe from doe week and went to the shooting house about 4pm. I ate a grapefruit and kept scanning the pines beyond the corn with the binoculars. About 4:45 after a scan, I put the binoculars down and realized there was a little buck in the corn about a hundred feet from the shooting house, he had come from behind me and was watching something in the corner of the patch that I couldn't see. Again, I'm a meat hunter, he was legal and he is now in the cooler. When I shot, he ran a short distance into the corn and disappeared from sight but the stalks had quit moving, so I got down and went to the house and got the dog, she went right to him once she found some scent. He had 1 brow tine, forks on one side and the other side was broke where it had forked. This deer was covered with fat and had lots of "leaf lard" inside. Found a picture of him this morning when I checked the camera. There were 2 other bucks on the camera that we hadn't seen before along with the usual butt heads. There was also a picture of a doe going into the woods at the same time he was looking toward the area where the camera is set.
The bucks are beginning to ramble as we get closer to the middle of the month when the rut should be in full swing in this part of Florida.
Treefarmer
Day 243 other vivitors this past week:
Treefarmer
That's about as much fat as you will find on an old swamp donkey
Question???
Is there actually still ears of corn hanging on the stalks?? If so, is it still in a dried state and palatable for the der?
Ilv2hunt, There are still ears on the stalks. The shuck protects the kernels from the rain and it is just like the corn we buy in the bag for the feeders, except for the color. Being palatable doesn't appear to be an issue for the deer as they will dig up ears that have been buried by a disk.
Have been picking some all along, the way I'm doing it, you work from the left side of the cart, driving along the row and picking the bigger ears, the nubins are left on the stalk. Ok the next round you knock down the row you just picked as you pick the ears on the adjacent row. Going the same direction keeps stalks from jambing up under the cart. This puts the little ears on the ground where the deer work on them.
The corn that is picked is shelled out for an automatic feeder on the lease property. Enough has been saved as seed for a patch next season, which ain't too far off.
Treefarmer
Looks like the corn patch is producing well at this point. Nice buck, I'm with ya on not horn hunting and putting meat in the freezer.
:saluting
