Approaching twelve inches of rain since the beginning of May. It's raining now as I write this message. Surprisingly, axis have been regularly hitting feeders with no real pattern. Saw a two year old male that I let walk yesterday morning. Wish it would have been a doe. Even at that age, they dwarf our largest whitetail bucks. Deer are hammering the protein. They cleaned out our protein feeders in a little over a month (with the help of coons, porcupines, turkey, and occasional axis). Pigs are thick as well. Two corn feeders we run during the off season that aren't paneled were empty. Daytime pictures of them. They have pretty much taken over one of the feeders. Roads are a nightmare. Part of me just wants to leave now and return when it's drier. Who knows when that'll be though with the type of rain we've been having this year. Sure beats the alternative.

Can't wait to see this one develop. I think I recognize him from last year, and if he is who I think he is, he's put on a ton of weight. Hoping his antlers blow up as well. He really wasn't all that impressive last year as a three year old.



Blackbuck family.



Good looking youngster.



Targets for next spring! I love turkey hunting.



I was concerned if this guy would even make it, he was so run down this February and March. Seems he's recovered nicely. Doesn't look like he's going to add any extra bone this year, but it is still early.



Another decent youngster.



Axis seem to be frequenting our place more and more, but they are still proving to be elusive when I've got a rifle or bow in my hand. I think they are sensitive to me driving around the place when I'm knocking out ranch chores.

First time I've ever gotten turkey poults on camera (bottom left). We needed a good hatch after the dry springs we've had in recent years.



Kinda late for this, isn't it?



Looks healthy. Not much to show for headgear though. It's early. We'll wait and see.



They love alfalfa on our place. I should probably invest and/or make a couple square bale feeders.



One of our farthest along.

We were out this weekend. I think we're feeding every deer in a two square mile radius. 1500 pounds of protein was consumed over a three week period. I'm thinking the extra water trough/tote setups we've spread around the ranch are attracting and holding more wildlife. I observed 18 whitetails in one afternoon sit and 11 axis. Ended up getting a nice axis doe for the freezer. The ranch is starting to dry out. We missed the rains that poured heavily over the Garven Store area (where 41 and 83 intersect) a couple weeks ago. The browse plants are really flourishing. Grasses and forbs are definitely starting to feel the effects of the summer sun.

We finally got fed up with pigs emptying our corn feeders in a week's time and put eliminator spin plates on all of our unpaneled spots. They'll have to come to it during daylight hours now, and hopefully we can start shooting more of them off as they come in. Axis are in good numbers on our place right now, so I'll probably try to get out there again this month to see if I can harvest another.

I've heard it said that the third year of feeding protein is the first year you really start to notice the results in your deer herd. I have no way of knowing whether it's been the rain, the feed, or some of both, but we've got lots of quality 1-3 year olds. Going to have more small to medium sized 8's than I've ever seen out there from my observations. Not a large number of mature bucks, but two or three that I'll be watching. It's still early and tough to put an age on the deer, but I clearly recognize two from the previous year that will targeted this season.

We put out one experimental cottonseed basket by the camp water trough. Filled it about halfway with four bags and mixed some corn with it to help get them started on it. We'll see if they take a liking to it. And now for the pictures.







peak a boo



I believe this is the same one from the previous picture.

Weak caudles, but a shooter from age alone. Pretty sure I have pictures of him from last year.



youngsters.



The old man lives.



Nicknamed this one "Goober". He just looks funny. Can't really pick out exactly what it is, but I'm easily able to tell him apart from other youngsters. He was a small eight last year and his beams wrapped back around and nearly touched at the tips.

Four year old that has some genetic similarities to a buck that was killed back in 2012. He disappeared for a while last year after Christmas. I was hoping a neighbor didn't shoot him. We don't have many in his age class due to the drought of 2011.



No more of this (hopefully) with eliminator spin plate installed.



Needs another year.



Should be five this year and ready to take.



Turkey babies. I counted 16 when I zoomed in on it.

Looking good sir.

16 inch inside spread?



Not many blackbuck on camera this time around.



Five year old and younger buck.



Deer aren't pen shy any more. I've counted as many as seven inside at one time. Still wish I would have made them bigger though.



Battle tested axis.

Another picture of the old man. He may end up a little bigger this year. Still too early to tell.



Had velvet pictures of this guy back in March. Now he's back.



Target rich.



At least they look cool.



Old man and another decent buck behind him. I cleaned the camera screen, so I should have clearer photos next time.

Decent three year old utilizing water.



Late bred doe. Fawns that have hit the ground still aren't traveling yet.



Short caudles, but he still looks impressive in this picture.



Last picture of the old 8. Lots of growing is going to happen over the next few weeks.

Looking good!

What size are your pens?

8 panels

Your place is looking good JMalin, and so are the animals. I was at my place North of town last weekend as well, axis are still in rut. Im going back this weekend again.

Its outstanding at the amount of grass out here. Never thought Id see the day where most of the rocks were hidden. Starting to dry out though as the days are getting hotter and hotter.

Great idea adding those water totes. We did the same a few years ago and really increased the activity on our property and are holding quite a few more deer. Got a quick question for you. How are you filling your totes? We gravity fill ours from the back of the truck. Bit of a pain, and there has to be a better way. Just curious, if your using a different method than me.

I have to siphon it using a 1.5 inch clear vinyl hose from another tote we have in camp. Truck isn't high enough to pull up to the totes in the field and drain directly from ball valve at the bottom of the tote into the opening at the top of the other one. I've heard of some people using bilge pumps with some success. Obviously a gas powered pump would be the fastest way to get the job done, but siphoning is cheap and I don't mind spending the extra twenty minutes per tote to do it that way.

I gotcha. My dad has leftover crates that he gets material shipments on at work, and I stack them on the truck and then put the tote on top to make sure its high enough to drain completely into my field setup. But we strap down the tote on the truck to make sure it doesnt move around or tip over while in transport.

I cant siphon due to the shear distance between well and setup, figured you may have used that black poly pipe or something else. Im thinking about doing something like that so I dont have to load up crates and tote, fill, and transport water once a month. I knew water was essential out there, but it surprised me at how much water is being consumed in a months time. And Ive got two 275 Gallon totes tied together.

Thanks.

I siphon from the tote in the back of the truck to fill each tote in the field (we have two totes and one 225 gallon tank that I spent too much money on). Three total tote/tank setups plus the camp water trough which is tied in to a 500 gallon storage tank we have in camp that is tied into our well.

He went downhill. Lost a couple inches on his G3's from last year.





I think he'll grow a G4 on his left side, making him a mainframe ten with a small sticker off right G2. Made a pretty nice jump from last year. Getting a pass this year as a four year old.



Feeding these guys is starting to hurt my pocketbook.



He'll be nice in two more years.

Nice eight that has been holding on our place this year. Had a couple pictures of him last summer, but he wasn't around much during the season. I'm thinking he's at least five and ready to take this fall.







I've never seen so many 2-3 year old 8 points running around the place. The future is looking bright. Just by sheer numbers, a few of them will be recruited to maturity 2-3 years down the road. I'll try to post up some trail camera pictures in a little while.

Really like following your reports and seeing pics. Thanks! Love that country.
Looks like you really doing it up right. Great job!!!

I really like the looks of the young 9 in the background. I'm hoping to have some better pictures next time around.



Hard to tell if his caudles are broken or if they were always on the short side.



This guy has been regular on our property for a few months now.



Would be tempting with a bow. Nice brows and caudles. Probably wouldn't make 30 inches for beam length though.

Nice brows. Hoping he finishes strong. Green light on him this year.



Eliminator plates have been doing the job. Wish I would have installed them years ago. Hog activity has slowed down a bunch at feeders, I'm not returning to empty feeders, and the ones that are there are showing up during shooting light hours.



Side profile view of potential four year old mainframe 10 (assuming his right G4 comes in).



Pretty boy and his running buddy.

Pretty nice velvet axis. Probably won't make 30 inches, but he's got everything else going for him.



Good crop of poults.



Axis very similar to the one pictured above out of velvet. I know that he's different as I have pics of the velvet axis at a later date.





Remember this guy from last year. He was the one I'm assuming neighbors had a bad shot on. The scaring on the top of his shoulders is clearly visible. It'll be interesting to see how he finished up.

Some small axis sparring in the background.








We put out an experimental cottonseed basket last time we were out and mixed a bunch of corn in with it. Pigs found the corn and most all of the cottonseed that was in the basket ended up on the ground as they attempted to get at the corn. It looks as though the deer are starting to get on it though. Plan on putting out to more baskets near out other water trough/tote setups next time I'm out. We're keeping the protein going year round and will feed cottonseed seasonally from January to September.






Browse on the place is in great shape. Oaks are healthy and putting on all kinds of new growth, particularly the ones I fertilized earlier this spring. It is very dry out there right now though. Hoping we get some rain this month. Didn't get any in July.
Short on tine length, but it's be nice watching him progress the last three years.

I've really enjoyed following your blog. I hope to have a place like your soon. I wonder if the buck that had been injured will have his antler growth altered? It will be interesting to see. Thanks for the pictures and updates.