So I have been into habitat manipulation and food plotting for a decade or so now. I just love it and can't get enough of it. would spend every free minute doing it if i could. Three years ago I had an older gentleman from my church tell me he would like some help on his place because no deer were on it. He saw (2) deer in an entire season! So I went and walked it. It is only 28 acres but it had all the potential in the world. It has everything, hills, swamp, fields hardwood ridges, every terrain feature our area has was on this small parcel. I was excited. i told him i knew a few things we could do. He told me this, "I want you to treat this property like it was yours, anything you would do to yours do here. Know questions asked!" My jaw hit the floor! my first thought was, how big's your wallet, because i dream big! At that point the biggest buck he had shot ever was a 14 inch 4 point. The first year I went in and put in three acres of plots into his place. I began to do a little habitat manipulation but it was late summer and I didn't want to be in there alot. so i set a few stands where i thought would be good and we got out with just food plots. That fall he killed a 11 pt with his bow. I was lit up! we went in that winter and put in 5 acres of cover by half sawing trees strategically around the points of the hills to make bedding areas. this spring we put in an acre of cave in rock switch grass, and have continued with the plots. I got a phone call the other day to come check out the buck that is now living and being photographed on the property almost daily. and 1.5 hours before dark none the less. Now mind you the surrounding properties and heavily hunted, to the point of daily! Check him out, he will be the biggest buck I personally have ever seen killed in our area, for central michigan he is a real giant! I hope he puts n arrow through his lungs! He passed him last year in the rut because he broke his right side off at the brow tine! he is a whopper!
OH WOW, thats a breathtaker for sure and a great story! It's amazing how much difference a little habitat can make....sometimes it's nearly instantaneous and sometimes it may be sort of unnoticable and then BOOM all at once things start popping. I love it....I have gotten to where I'd darn near rather play with the management half and watch everyone else shoot the deer as long as I have enough meat in the freezer, lol.
Awesome to hear brother! Love to share a breakfast with ya sometime brother, have to make it up to you sometime after we both hopefully tag out this season!
If I asked i know he would let me. But I have excellent hunting myself and if I went in there and killed that deer I would be miserable. about it, I want him to tag him! there will be big deer in my future!
Great job! I took over and introduced food plotting to our lease a few years back. Most of the lease members ask my opinion on food plots before they are planted. I do my best at getting out there and helping them when I can even if I don't plan on hunting the plots. Helping a buddy out with plots and him shooting a couple nice deer off of it is just as exciting. Well done!
Got a place similar, I know he would and I only plan on helping control doe numbers would feel terrible too!
For as pressured as Michigan is if you do a little land managment its amazing what can happen. Great looking michigan deer, good luck to him this fall. Keep us posted if he wraps a tag on him
