...in operation.

Got 2 more to sand/re-paint, put new spinner, and skids on 'em.

Invested $50/feeder. Traded with a landowner that I did some beaver work for. Got a couple hundred more in paint and new spinners with solar.

…. One of my feeders blew over in a hurricane…ain’t no renovating it … luckily nature has more in different locations

Your friend must not know about those natural feeders found on public land....lol

BTW.....what oaks that the loggers didn’t cut down and feed into a chipper a couple years ago....Hurricane Helene toppled them.

Lost probably 40% of the water and laurel oaks, 50% of all the bigger live oaks and 90% of the remaining white oaks and swamp chestnut oaks.

There are a few left in the wetter sloughs and red maple swamps, but there are so many toppled trees that I can no longer get to them .

If you look closely at the trees in the background of the pic above you can see that most of the trees are leaning from right to left. Helene's winds hit us coming from the southeast....which is to the right in the pic. Almost a year ago....

… that’ll help your unnatural feeders

…. He’s set up right in the middle of them along a clear water branch…. Told him there wasn’t any sense in his kid risking it like that …. The deer have always been there

Yep

And now we haven't had a rain in over 2 weeks with none forecast for several more days. It's time to plant my "deer gardens" and the dirt is too dry.

….. shoot you having all kinds of heck … I got a couple funnels picked out to start with when the bucks start roaming… if that fails I’ll fall back to finding hot sign and climbing right then and there

…. Still in the 90’s here so I ain’t really feeling it yet

… freezer still fairly full too

Main target is eating pears every night, but not making daytime appearances....yet.

I know where he is spending daylight hours, but its in that hurricane-damaged wetland area....almost impenetrable. And nothing but head-high dog fennel clearcut surrounding it....no trees at all.

…. What the earliest your seeing him ?

An hour after dark at another camera on an old logging road near edge of the rough. But, he hasn't been consistent there. Sometimes he there at 10pm....next night at 9:30pm....next night not there at all.....then back at 2am next night.

Here is a daytime pic of pear tree area. Dang crows triggered camera, but are knocking the pears out. The trees in the distant background is his bedroom and he criss-crosses that dog fennel clearcut.

…. So no main trail to backtrack and shotgun him coming out then … I guarantee he’s up during the daylight in that cut … this one might be tough for you …. Wish you luck

No main trail.....that Ive found. Our gun season don't open for another month.

Getting within arrow range of him is gonna be a challenge.

Then there is this buck that has a very similar rack, except for wider spaced brown tines and slight shorter tines.

Gonna be difficult to tell them apart in the heat of the moment....but I think the Big8 is older than this buck....he's a little heavier for sure.

They are in the same area.

… I’d kill either …. But that’s just me lol

Yep....gonna be hard for me to pass him....especially while holding my Mathews.

Got a few others that are older bucks that I'm not sure on killin'....this season. A couple of them I saw last season and passed. Their racks didn't improve much, so their continued survival depends on my killing status at the time if I get a good look at em this season....

…. I kill em all shapes and sizes lol



… got this one in a cutover like your talking about …. Wouldn’t break it during daylight (that I know of … no camera but hunted his sign a never saw him) …Back tracked him and got him right at dark from the only tree they left behind…. It happened to be one yard from his trail … shot him straight down into the spine and lungs

Ive killed several in circumstances similar to the one you described. It sure is difficult to find "the spot", but when you do....you know it.