Butler Outdoors

If you had to choose one piece of gear that you would never hunt without, besides your weapon, what would it be.

For me, I think it would have to be a good quality pair of boots. Whether it’s heavy morning dew of early seasons or cold frosty mornings of later season, a good pair of boots can make or break my hunts. Wet and/or cold feet just aren’t conducive to sitting still and being quiet!

Well, the deer are definitely taking advantage of this tree coming down from the recent storms. It doesn’t seem to be affecting their travel patterns and they are browsing the leaves since they are now within reach.

This is Mother Natures version of hinge cutting!

Have you ever created a mineral stump?

I saw a video recently from a well known person in the hunting industry talking about mineral stumps, and comparing them to manmade mineral licks. If you don’t know what a mineral stump is, it’s essentially a tree that has been cut down and the stump/root system is left to grow. This creates incredibly high quality browse, because the entire root system that was supporting a tree that could have been 20-30+ feet tall with several hundred pounds of wood and foliage is now supporting just a few pounds of sprouts growing from the stump. All those vitamins, minerals and overall nutrients that were previously spread throughout an entire tree are now concentrated into the fresh growth coming off the stump.

Although stumps can be very difficult to work around in a food plot setting if you are using any type of planting or discing equipment, they offer amazingly nutritious and browse tolerant food for deer. Almost all of my food plots have a few along the perimeter to add diversity and attraction.

Murderer of 6 Deer Hunters Dies in Prison The man responsible for the death of six deer hunters in 2004 recently died in prison while serving six life sentences for murder.

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Well, it looks like I have some work to do. A new mock scrape and reopening the trail may be in order to ensure patterns continue.

Do you clear fallen trees if they block deer trails or cause obstacles that deer have to navigate around?

Came across this ad on facebook marketplace and it left me scratching my head!

Is there anyone who would actually pay that much for deer mounts? Obviously based on the price, I think it’s either a scam or a joke, but still!

Hey, he has turkey feathers and beards to! Probably asking $50k for those lol!

What is your go to food plot planting?

I used to plant monocultures like soybeans, clover, brassicas, etc. and they performed well. Even when planting those monocultures, I opted for different varieties within that planting to create some diversity. Soybeans of different RM rates, clovers of different types with a mix of annual/perennial, and brassica mixes that contained different types as well as forage and bulb producing varieties.

They all work and serve different purposes, but I have gravitated to using truly diverse blends for the last several years and plan to continue that practice, aside from a clover plot here and there.

Antlers are growing and bucks are using mock scrapes. Although patterns will change, these mocks scrapes have proven to be consistent for daylight activity throughout the year.

Do you use mock scrapes, and are you monitoring them?