Don't let the dates fool you. I forgot to reset the camera when I put it out. This was in the last week. miles





Probably the same deer a couple of weeks ago. Same feeder, camera on different tree.

I have one about like that hanging around of late.

Looks like he'll be sporting a pretty nice rack come Fall.

If things go as usual, he will disappear about the first of Sept., before any hunting season is in. Poachers or automobiles? Who knows. miles

About September they are gone from here.

Eastern Oregon here and Cookie did a quick drive through of the rut pasture she chases the deer in each November.

This guy still has a couple months to go (snapped on 23 June), so should be of show quality this fall. Not going to be very wide, but I expect some serious height. Body condition looks a bit low, however, as forage production is down and herbage is curing early around here.

Good looking deer. miles

Rice bran works wonders, huh?

No rice bran here, doubt you could buy it locally at least I've not seen it.

Have about 6 bucks that are that size, and one 10 point so far this summer.

They will be in summer pattern like y'all mention. Until mid Sept/early October, once they rub off they are within a month of the first hard rut around Oct 15 here.

But they do come back through at times, as I have so many food plots out for them year round they come on back.

I figure on 100 acres, having 9 food plots, 3 protein feeders and a couple corn feeders out, I don't mind harvesting a deer a year off my 100 acres.

Don't like teh locals that own acres next to you that try to shoot 2-3 or more deer and think it doesn't hurt the population though.

Miles, nice looking progress there, and still quite some time to grow, at least a month of decent growth left.

I think that miles is up in white county, around Bebe if I remember.

Next County to the SE from Beebe. Prairie County, although it is only 15 miles to Beebe. My deer quit eating rice bran. I figure they must have changed the way they were processing it. Right now I have goat feed in the feeder. There is also a salt/mineral lick about 25 feet from where that deer is feeding. miles

Miles, Nice young deer, I had 12 bucks at my protein feeder behind the house the other night, only one older big guy,I need to take some pic's to show you in N.M. rio7

I am still in awe of the ones that I saw in person back in January, right behind your house. miles

Miles, I have one that's about 5 yr old that looks like he will make 165" or better, the rest are in the 130"to 140"our deer look really good this year with all the rain we have had there's lots to eat, but they still show up here every evening for water and a little protein, I call it happy hour.

Remember that big buck we saw last year at 31 strip, saw him early this morning I think he may be over 200" this year he's going to be 6 1/2 this year, may be shooter after the rut. Rio7

I do remember him. Quite often. miles

My favorite new additive is BB2.
I have had bucks bed next to it and run off other deer trying to eat it.

What is BB2?

Not what I am after. I want something good for them, that they come and eat and then go on about their deer business. I do not hunt over the one feeder that I have out, it is for the camera only. miles

Blue, I did a quick search and came up with this. miles

BB2

Miles, At almost $30.00 a bag 50# counting shipping I don't think that stuff would work for me. we feed over 120,000# of protein a month.rio7

It's an additive to feed, not feed.
You dust the feed with it.
Don't knock it.

There is both on the web site. I agree, not for me either. miles

Dang, I thought I was ambitious, I put out 1000 lbs of Antlermax yesterday It was $12.50 per 50 lbs, in Junction. I put out 1000# in April, in 3 different feeders on our little lease, and they'd cleaned it out.

Pat, are you using broadcast feeders? Rio7

Ringworm I am not knocking your additive, I am saying I cannot afford it with the amount of feed we use, and I don't want 1 deer chasing all the others off feed. Rio7

That is the main reason that I said that it wasn't for me. Pizzes me off when the male hummingbirds run others off the feeder. Back to the deer, since I don't hunt the feeder, I don't want the deer laying around it all the time. I just use it to see what is out there, and then hunt the trails to it. Small acreage and if you bump them, they are over there for somebody else to kill. miles

I don't worry about someone else shooting them, not much chance of that here, but I want as many deer as possible to take advantage of the protein as possible. Rio7

No just gravity type feeders. Two are mine, just small ones 300lb capacity, and the ranch has one big one ~800 lb capacity. The feeders are in pens to keep the cattle from knocking them over.

Pat, Here the small feeders don't work for us, almost all our feeders are 1000# or 2000#, we fill ours every 10 day's, most will be empty or some a little grain left, all our cattle are on the south ranch where we don't hunt deer.we have 54 free choice feeders. rio7

Our lease is only about 700 acres, low fenced. But the surrounding ranches do feed protein as well. And me, myself, and I are the people actually filling the feeders

Approximately how much protein will a buck eat in a day? I may have to re-think adding some more protein feeders.

Pat, we have 6 bulk tanks each hold 32000# of protein each, 2 on the north ranch 2 on the west ranch 2 on the main ranch, we use 2 8000# trailers pulled by tractors that blow the feed into the feeders, I think the amount they eat depends on the deer some hang around and eat for awhile and others just cruse threw eat a few bites and travel on, the does and fawns hang around a little longer and I think they eat more than the bucks.
Anytime you put any kind of feed out you are feeding all the critters on the ranch, from the ants up birds,pigs,rats, everything that hits the ground is cleaned up by something,your feed is not going to waste. try putting cameras on your feeders and you will find out where your feed is going I think you will be amazed the amount that other critters get, your not just feeding the deer. you should have a feeder for every 200 acres, I don't have that many but am working on it. Rio7

In quantities that one should feed, even a nutritional additive can be expensive, best to let a good mixed feed to it all if possible.

Those that feed, are not in it for attracting deer as much as for betterment of the herd.

Of course if you are only feeding 5 acres, I could see how it could be considered affordable, especially since you are only feeding maybe a few resident deer and trying like heck to attract more.

I'm definitely hoping to better the herd. But in addition, it is a low fenced place, that runs along a FM road. The ranch across the road feeds protein pretty heavy, and to a certain extent we're competing with them, and the other adjacent ranches.

Pat, Do you have a good water supply spread out over the ranch? a 700 acre place should have 3-4 good locations for water. The does will hang out within about a 500 to 1000 yrd circle of water, I wouldn't worry about the bucks, feed the does, during the rut the does stay home and the bucks start moving around looking for does, i have seen bucks move 20 miles over night late in the season, looking for a hot doe, I would be happy the other ranches are helping me grow bigger bucks, if you can put a couple of feeders with in 100 yrds of water.
lets sit down and visit about this in N.M. the end of the month. Maybe we can get Mudhen, and a couple others Idea's. Rio7

great!

yes there are two regular sources of water on the ranch, about one mile apart.

LOL you guys putting that much food out to get deer that barely make make 160" I applaud your tenacity and love of deer hunting, but i can go to any public area in illinois/wisconsin/minnesota and have a real shot at a deer that size, without any supplemental feed. Is the ground that poor down there that, even with implanted genetics deer cant grow without all that stuff?

yeah. And your daddy can beat up our daddy.

Well good for you. We also have to put out fertilizer to raise grain crops. There are at least two different strains of deer, depending on where they were brought in from. The Arkansas deer herd was almost extinct at one time. There were a few around Mountain View on the upper White river and a few on the lower White river where the White river refuge is, but most of Arkansas was stocked for deer brought from other States. Natural minerals vary widely across the State with most of the natural big deer coming from the river bottoms, and mostly from the delta. Mineral supplements helps a lot in other places. If I can improve the deer herd on my place and won't, then I am not a good steward of my land. miles

Coop, send me a map or two with some coordinates for WI.

Acooper 1983, there is a huge difference in water and food, between the upper mid west and S. Texas, this is brush country, no crops, very little water,no running water(aka) streams, as for deer size, we take more 200"+ bucks in a season than you guy's do in 10 years. next time you shoot a 160"+ buck post it I will be happy to brag on it. Rio7

I suspect on public land anywhere in the US, deer with decent racks at 2½ and 3½ years old tend to get shot before they get older. It's a really lucky or really smart buck who lives long in those areas.

Even on private land, I've let deer go thinking they needed to grow another year or two, only to have somebody shoot them. This guy was 2½ (I think) when I first saw him as a 6 pt. I let him go.



The next year he was a wider and better 8 pt, but I let him go again. So of course he wandered onto the next pasture, and the landowner's 10 year old grandson shot him Another 2 years and I think he would have been darn nice.

People think it's a slam dunk hunting in Texas, but it takes work and patience to get a big deer - just a different kind of work than it takes in other parts of the country.

I kinda partial to these kind!

KanBuc1 by Rick Mulhern, on Flickr