what do i do?

[JJRUN_A_MUK]

my family owns 117 acers out in Wis. we try and manage the best we can but the yahoos who live around us shoot anything that moves. this leaves us with a lot of small bucks that never reach potental, what do i do? im thinking of planting a food plot to keep them on our land, but because we dont live there people poach on our land all year round. please help.

[wtnhunt]

Good luck. Have several food plots on our farm, and like your situation the people around us shoot anything that moves. Can certainly relate, gets really frustrating.

[gitcha_some]

yeha i have the exact same situation except im pretty sure weve cut down the poaching pretty good, although i know it goes on sometims....nothin much we can do either but im planting food plots right in the middle of the property hoping that will help

[Danbo]

Yep, same problem all over. Try 3 or 4 smaller food plots where the deer feel comportable. It will help to hold some deer year round.

[WIDeer4Life]

Seems like the Motto in Wisconsin sometimes is "Brown is down" which is pure bull$^&%. For the most part, our neighbors hold out for bigger bucks and mature does and let the younger ones go. There is a group of guys that come up though that mess that all up and it really pisses me off. I'm the only one that bowhunts our land and when I'm not around these guys always seem to come onto our land too and it doesn't go over too well with me. What can you really do though? Just hope that the big guys stay on your land I guess..I planted a plot this fall hoping that will work, I guess we'll see! Good luck with your problem!
Kyle

[JJRUN_A_MUK]

thanx guys, and good luck with this season, maybe the big one is still out there.

[anderson3]

I'm not discouraging you from food plots at all, but depending on the layout they may make poaching problems worse. Establishing lots of thick cover and screening off road frontage may help you more in your situation and I'd make that the top priority with plots #2...hopefully you can do both.

[luckyman4]

JJRUN, you have no control over what your neighbors do, so all that is left is to do is what's best on your 117 acres. The chances of "keeping" bucks on that small of a property aren't very good, but you can give them every reason to return there, especially during daylight hours. Staying out of whatever thick cover you have already is your best bet for this year. . . hopefully the pressure from the other properties will move deer to yours, and they will stay in your sanctuary.

As for the future, as long as there is a poaching problem, I'm with anderson on the idea of creating thick cover. Briars, vines, and thick brush are hard to cross, so maybe that could keep your neighbors where they belong. Thick cover like that does take longer to establish than a food plot, so it will take some patience. Also, if you select species like thorn apples, raspberries, blackberries, and sumac, they will provide food for deer as well. Fast growing tree species like birches and poplars grow fast and spread, and provide food for other wildlife, like ruffed grouse.

If you want to grow mature bucks, the MAIN ingredient they need is TIME. Like I said before, you have no control over your neighbors, but regardless of what they do, if you shoot a 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 year old buck, he will never get to 4 1/2 years.

Good Luck!!

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

[ QUOTE ]
but because we dont live there people poach on our land all year round. please help.

[/ QUOTE ]

I post my hunting land with this sign:

TRESSPASSERS WILL BE SHOT. SURVIVORS WILL BE SHOT AGAIN.

Very effective. Of course everyone knows that I actually mean it too!

[MarylandQDMA]

first join QDMA, then sign up the problem neighbors, after reeding Quality Whatetails (the qdma's puplacation), there is a good chance they will change their ways. also try starting a coop. the QDMA has a booklet about starting one up. you can also try an approach of a friendly deer contest, $20/person, largest buck wins the money. this should keep them from shooting small bucks.
good luck
Frank

[gitcha_some]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
but because we dont live there people poach on our land all year round. please help.

[/ QUOTE ]

I post my hunting land with this sign:

TRESSPASSERS WILL BE SHOT. SURVIVORS WILL BE SHOT AGAIN.

Very effective. Of course everyone knows that I actually mean it too!

[/ QUOTE ]


do you know anywhere that i can buy these online or soemthing? ive been looking around in stores but they must be too extreme for the liberal state of maryland to allow LOL

[wtnhunt]

[ QUOTE ]
first join QDMA, then sign up the problem neighbors,

[/ QUOTE ]

Good luck with this. With my situation, one neighbor up the road to the north has not interest in qdm. He is a meat hunter strictly, the hunters to my south, while they agreed with me to not take out the young bucks, they continue to shoot deer that I watch walk off my property right to them. Gets pretty disheartening at times. Then as you say poachers are around too. Without landowners around you having an interest in prosecuting them, the states hands are in most cases pretty well tied.

[Plinker007]

Yeah, it sucks.. I have the same problem even worse is family invites people in to hunt then I have to kick'em out.. I did see a very interesting sign today and think I will try it. It says, "$100 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of trespassers." I think that says you mean business. With it being so hard to actually catch much less convict trespassers, you won't have to worry about dishing out a lot of cash..