Uplander, I wish I was the guy you like to watch shooting big deer! That will come in time. This farm will keep getting better. It is a bit better this year than last and will keep improving for several more years. I appreciate the comment and the support. I am enjoying the challenge. Have a great day.

​@bill-winke before spring turkey season you can bush hog your sorghum. It will release the seeds that have fallen into the leaves of the plants, and turkey love it too.

Thanks Eric. Eventually I will get him. I have only one day left then I will have to wait until late season and by then the acorns should be gone.

Agree. I have decent diversity: corn, sorghum, brassicas, clover. Had beans but they grew so slow this summer (drought) that the deer wiped them out. I drilled brassicas (Whitetail Institute Winter-Greens) into those plots in late July.

Agreed. Late season has to be our next great hope. We have tons of food here so the late season could be really good, especially after the deer on the neighboring farms - that are mostly pasture farms - start coming here for food. Have a great day and good luck.

Thanks for the support and the comment. I really appreciate it. Have a great day.

Thanks RNS Outdoors. I appreciate the support and the comment. Have a great day and good luck to you too.

Art, that is what I am seeing too. It is good for the deer because now they will have lots of winter food, but makes hunting hard.

I appreciate the support Charley. Have a great day.

good idea

You might also consider adding a few rows of forage sorghum to the mix. That's the tall stuff. That makes an even better visual screen and the deer will eat it late when the stalks weather down and they can reach the heads. Good luck. I used to plant a lot of forage sorghum. It worked really well for sneaking through also.

Isn't that strange. I wonder what is up with that. It almost seems that whitetail deer transformed overnight on us. Or maybe has something to do with the drought this past summer, who knows. Definitely not me!

Thanks Mitchell. Much appreciated. Have a great day.

good question , ive thought similarly

I completely agree! His current farm seems like it's literally just void of any life at all. It just has this odd feeling of emptiness, while watching most of the hunts. That being said, Bill is a very smart man, and I'm sure he can transform that farm into a good hunting location, but how long that will take is the question

I am enjoying the challenge on this farm. Things got almost too easy on the other farm. I had that farm really figured out and once you get to that level, it starts to feel almost too easy. This one is far from figured out! The deer quality here will keep improving. The overall neighborhood is not as good as the one I had in southern Iowa where many of my neighbors passed up good young deer. That is not happening here. You are only as good as your neighbors. So, my ceiling may be limited, but that is OK. I will enjoy the process. It is a really pretty farm and it is very near where I hunted a boy growing up. I sure do enjoy hunting it from that standpoint. Good luck and thanks for the comment and support.

I believe it will be good in the late season. We have tons of food and when the acorns run out and the deer on the neighboring pasture farms start looking for food, we will have them. Have a great day and good luck.

Agreed and I am trying to promote the farm for ruffed grouse. I assume eventually they will figure it out too. Thanks for the comment. Have a great day.

It does work great. I know that some of the window defogging sprays will work too, but they don't remove the moisture they just make the moisture that does accumulate easier to see through. Something to consider also. Good luck.

Definitely. There have been a number of days these past years when I would not consider getting into a stand, either too wet or too cold. But I can hunt the blinds and actually enjoy the time! Yes, this year has permitted lots of free time to think!

Thanks for the years of support. I really appreciate it. Yes, I do enjoy hunting this farm. It is hard to hunt. I actually know how to hunt it, but it is not "cameraman friendly". We would have to sleep in the woods on those ridges if we wanted to hunt them really effectively. It is the coming and going that gets us in trouble on this farm. It will be fun to see what this farm turns into in three years. Thanks for the comment.

Yes, it can all change in one minute. That's what I keep telling myself - and Ethan keeps telling himself.

Yep, this has been a really strong year for acorns and the deer are still on them.

It definitely has its place and congrats on your successful hunt.

Steve, until they really get used to it, they will hit it mostly after everything else is gone in winter, but once they get a taste for it, they will start on it in September when the seeds are just getting spongy (called dough stage).

Gary, I shot my buck last year after he came out from behind the Haunted Shack. I am glad he didn't run back there after I shot him. I would be afraid to trail in the dark!

Thanks Rickey. I only have a couple of bucks on the entire farm that are old enough to shoot and they happen to live in the same area. I am leery about spending too much time in their bedrooms. If you burn out a feeding area they just feed somewhere else or wait until dark. If you burn out a bedding area, they move away.

That is a good suggestion. Thanks. I also have a bottle of Red Magic from Redneck in that blind. This is a spray on that you leave wet. The water vapor still condenses, but it stays clear. That is fine for seeing through, but is not a great solution for filming through as that requires a nearly spotless clean window to keep from creating a bad visual. I will keep trying a few things. It is by far the worst in the season when it freezes immediately. Thanks for the comment.

Yes, I think I will get one of these two bucks eventually, but it may not be until late season now. Have a great day.

I used to use a six row corn planter and run three rows corn and three sorghum and then by going back and forth you get six rows of corn next to six or sorghum. That worked pretty well. I even tried forage sorghum in three and grain sorghum in three and that was also good - especially in areas with high deer numbers because they didn't get to the forage sorghum heads (too high) until winter when the stalks broke down. I understand not liking to hunt food for that reason, but man I have killed a lot of really nice bucks on food over the years. I don't think I am ready to give that up. I think finding creative ways to get out is the. Having someone come and move the deer off using a vehicle or ATV is by far the best.

Thanks Edward. Same to you.

Owl, we do have a few ruffed grouse. When I grew up, there were grouse all over these hills. One of my missions (almost as high a priority as the deer) is to make the farm more attractive for grouse. As it turns out, what works for the deer also works for the grouse. So that is good. Solution, more stems (trees) per acre. - Thicker cover and more aspen.

Agreed Gouch. There were be a lot of attractive food here. Have a great day.

Makes sense Robert. I agree, deer are browsers and they like a variety of foods. I think there is a lot of browse in the woods too. I see them eating all kinds of stuff when I am hunting back in the timber, even some kinds of leaves that have fallen off the trees. In southern Iowa, for example, they walk through a been field in November to eat hedge (Osage orange) leaves off the ground.

I have planted pure sorghum plots on and off since 1995. That is a great way to plant it. I plant in mid-May to June 1, but I am sure it is soil temperature dependent. I had an old timer once tell me not to even bother with sorghum until the soil temperature got to 65 degrees an inch deep during the day. I think you will do just fine with the pure sorghum, but you can spice it up by broadcasting brassicas into it in late July. I used the Wintergreens from Whitetail Institute this past year and it did really well when just broadcast. Good luck.

Thanks Bill for your quick answer. We will try some next t year with some brassicas in with it. Bob

I planted what the local coop sold. I think it is "red". There are other color designations and I guess they have different food qualities and applications. I am sure the deer prefer one over the other, but I don't know which ones. I planted the "cream" color in southern Iowa and the deer seemed to like it just fine, but I had a lot of deer. I doubt it really mattered to them. Maybe one of our other viewers can weigh in on differences and preferences. I would like to know that too. I will plant whatever I can get from Pheasants Forever or through the local coop since I don't which variety is better. You plant it when the soil temperature an inch under the ground surface is at around 65 degrees. In my area (Iowa) this is probably late May. Good luck.

Thanks for the info. If you find anything out that would be great to do a video on the info. I live in central PA so I will ask the local co-op as well.

He seems like the kind of guy that likes a challenge. I bet this farm will get better and already looks like it’s pretty good habitat. Maybe the really are hitting the acorns hard right now. Just seems odd there’s not much for tracks in the plots

Alec, I do enjoy the challenge but I don't want it to be the same as the other farm. That one had too many deer, really. The hunting was great at times but it was hard to keep the balance between food and deer numbers. I want to have less deer but overall I want them to be healthier. I have a master plan that will be interesting to see work out. I will need some help from my neighbors at some point not to shoot the great genetics when they are young, but I do see big opportunities here long-term.

It is anytime after the heads start to form. There is a point when the seeds are "doughy" when the deer will hit it hard, but my deer didn't figure that out. Then they go for again later in the fall and into winter after the seed forms and dries down.

Brian, we got those to test. They are called Xidar. You can find them here: www.goxidar.com/

Alex, I am sure they aren't bedding in the corn here. They have a lot of traditional deer habitat and that is where they are living. If the fields were bigger in more open country I am sure they would live in the corn, but not here on this farm. I am seeing some deer on cameras at night. They are still here, just not moving in the open in daylight.

@@bill-winke appreciate the feedback!! Fortunate to kill one buck already but still trying to fill the gun tag with a bow. Hoping the cameras just aren't telling the whole story

That's it. That's what they eat.

It’s funny the doe will go up on their back legs to eat the seed heads. I think a field of switchgrass strips mixed with sorghum strips is a deadly combo.

Also another deadly tactic I use is on my last roundup spraying of corn I’ll seed the field with radish. Normally I make my last spraying on the corn early July just before the corn can get above my front tractor axle. This way you have standing corn with green radish all under the corn.

Bro I hear that. I just bought an awesome property in Ohio. The former owner was nice enough to let me put up some big corn feeders and cameras in early Oct. even though I only closed on the property in mid Nov. I had a min of 10-15 nice bucks including some smashers every day and evening from Oct 5 till about Nov 12, then it dropped to a few a day till Thanksgiving when I was able to get here and hunt. I passed a big buck with busted antlers Sun and a few 2 1/2 yr olds Mon and Tuesday the big guys are gone, not even on camera at night. Even the does and yearlings have gone. It’s been dead for 3 days. I have 800 lbs of corn spread on two ends of my property that border huge woods and my stand access is far away and quiet.They just gradually vanished during and after the rut. Nuts.

@royguidry1311 man that's a huge bummer! What county? I was hunting in Gallia County.

There is a bit of activity on the food plots at night, but not a ton. They are just staying in the timber. I would hunt them harder in the timber, but both of the bucks I am hunting live in more or less the same area and I don't want to pressure their bedding areas too much now. If I do that they will move out. Instead, I will just kind of bide my time until the corn starts to call their name. Likely late season.

@@PBAdventures146my property is in Gallia.

@@royguidry1311 crazy! We were hunting near Bidwell on lease.

There are some really thick spots. I was surprised how thick it was when I looked at it to buy knowing that it had been a cattle pasture for decades. I will start some TSI work in the timber this winter and gradually work through the whole farm. That will make it a lot thicker. You are right, the thicker it is the easier it is to hunt.

No, it was there when we bought the place. It is really nasty inside. I hear that the people who owned it before me used to have parties in there! In the middle of nowhere, almost a mile off the road. The roof has fallen in and it looks really bad in there. That's why we are sure it haunted!

@@bill-winke 🔥 😂

Yes, they all live in that haunted shack.

I just use the Cordura Nylon lace up boots from Cabela's. As long as you only them when hunting or walking outdoors, they don't become loaded with scent. I have walked on trails and had deer come along only an hour later and never drop their noses. It is where your pants rub against the low vegetation that they smell your scent. Not where you boot soles touch the ground. I do think rubber works better if you tuck your pants in, but my feet sweat way to much in rubber and they are much harder for me walk any distance in, so I started wearing the lace ups back in the mid-90s and have not looked back. Good luck.

I believe it now. I have planted sorghum on and off since 1995 and I never felt that deer actually wanted it, only ate it because there wasn't anything else. I am now starting to rethink that conclusion.

Well, I do like that they are dropping acorns. I know it makes the hunting tough, but it sure produces some healthy deer and stretches the food plots a lot longer into the winter.

Will be interesting. I don't think the EHD got them here, but it is possible. I feel for those affected by EHD. I lost at least 75% of my deer on the southern Iowa farm to EHD in 2012. I still say it is all the acorns here and when the late season comes we will see the deer again. Good luck.

@bill-winke I have an abundance of oak trees here as well, hmm, I sure hope u are right, I'm in far southwest corner of Keokuk County we got the rain when we needed it for the crops this summer, got an inch of rain couple different times, but that's definitely not enough, hurry up and get these next few weeks of shotgun hunting over with and see what we have left I suppose, good luck

Aaron, it is an Xidar. I hope you are doing well.

Yes, it is physically demanding to climb all those bluffs and the roads (if they exist) are never in the right place. I have decided that the only real solution is to make the property so thick that the deer can't ever see me coming and going and when there is wind, they will never hear me. That, I believe, will be the long term key to improving access on this place. Thanks for the good comment.

Clayton, each county has a quota and as long as the quota is not sold out, you can keep buying them. The quota does sometimes sell out for this county, but in the county where I owned land in southern Iowa it never sold out so I could basically shoot as many as I needed to as long as I could afford the $11 per tag. Good luck.

@@bill-winke thats crazy! My county in Indiana the limit is 3!

They will do it though. I have seen it hundreds of times. Yes, they definitely prefer if you knock it down. I knocked some down and they aren't eating that very much either.

Too much pressure in those places will run the deer off. Since I can hunt a lot, I generally only hunt in the timber at the perfect times during the rut. I did shoot a nice buck back in the timber on November 9 and had another good hunt there on November 22, but those were the only two times I hunted that stand. I could hunt other areas of the farm, and spread the pressure, but I have a pretty good idea where the bucks I am hunting are living and there aren't any other mature bucks on the farm, that I know of, so I keep picking away at the fringes of the bedding areas hoping to catch one of them coming out - which almost worked on October 16. My philosophy usually works, but this year it isn't working. That doesn't mean I become a bulldozer and rush into their bedding areas. There is always the late season.

Not sure if that is true or not. They sure ate the heck out of it on my other farm in southern Iowa and they didn't refuse in July when the corn was the only thing with moisture in it on that ridge. They almost wiped it out then. Not to say that the GMO argument is a bad one - people have mentioned that for years - but I have just never seen it before when planting RoundUp Ready corn.

Stanley, you are right, but that was the first time I hunted that spot.