Which means the food plots this year will get that much more attention! I hope.

I have used the nikon pro staff for years. Great rangefinder. Sadly, its GONE. No clue where it went. I’m guessing it fell out while tracking a deer.

Anyways, this year I needed one fast and had a limited budget so I bought a Wild Game Innovation XRT Halo?

I think thats what it is called. Anyways, let me start by saying I am not a fan of WGI at all for many reason I will not get into here and now.

BUT… I will say this. So far so good, this range finder is on the mark and sitting next to my buddy with his $300 finder we are reading the same within 1 yard +/-.

I paid $89.99 at Fleet Farm on sale from $129.00 or close. I also get a $20 rebate putting the final price tag at $69.99. I’ll let you know in two months when it stops working how great it is then

But so far so good.

http://www.bowhunting.com/publisher/hunting-news/2014/9/23/halo-xrt-precision-rangefinding-at-a-great-price

link to review

Judging by picture 990 I would agree in saying 4.5 years old.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Those battery packs that charge your cell phone are awesome. Well worth the $20. Then you can text like a demon.

Haha.. We sound like a bunch of dorks. But yeah thats what I do… text, check facebook, love instagram (tfilio) if you are on there, and take pictures. Thats what I do to pass time.

Congrats!

kooty wrote:

I would double and triple check your city ordinances…

My exact thoughts…

kooty wrote:

Question for you on the Rye. Dad said our small plot of Rye was extremely hard to disc up compared to everything else this spring. He had to hit is several times. Ever notice this in your area? I suspect not given the pristine pics I’ve see, which I’m still jealous of…

I assume you are talking about rye grass? Rye grain should not be a problem to get rid of.

$1000????

Why was I not informed of this. :-/

I knew they had the shoot but didn’t know it was for $1000. Thats pretty sweet. Next year I will definetely throw my hat in.

Fred Scott wrote:

Food plots are addicting, once you get going its hard to stop. No such thing as left over seed, just means one more food plot. We’re addicts, first step is admitting you have a problem. I am thinking of joining a FPA (food-plots-anonymous) if I can find one, only for current seed availability of course. LOL!

I will join your club

How’d it go?? Did you get all the seed down?

I would of suggested the same thing. Rye Grain is cheap and what I would have used. It’ll grow fast and might beat out some of the weeds.

Another option and what I do a lot of the time is just cut my plots outs and then kill it with 41% Gly. You could have cut it, killed it then planted it in the same day. What that’ll do is kill everything there except your seed. You could have planted a brassica mix, beans, peas, rye grain or whatever else you would like to plant. Over-seed so you get good germination but I have success every year doing this. You won’t have as much weed competition.

As you know by discing it and turning the soil all you do is turn up new seed and the weeds will over take it. Generally you want to wait at least two weeks and then kill and plant after turning soil.

Another thing.. Rye Grass and Rye Grain are two different things so make sure you get the right one

I see its been said already here but it can’t be said enough. Get your seed at your local feed mill. I go to EJ Houle in Forest Lake and you can buy pretty much whatever you need and usually save about 50% of what you would spend for big name seed blends. Its the same if not better. I tell my neighbor this every year and for whatever reason he doesn’t listen. Also get your fertilizer from the feed mill. These are local business owners that I would rather support anyways.

I’ll stop preaching now

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Another person’s theory on what’s going on, and a good read.

Corey’s Blog

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This guy is a goof ball… LOL

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Xecute your post would carry more weight if we knew who you are.

I have a couple of questions for you.

1: Are you a member of MDHA?
2: Where do you stand on APR?

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Steve,

My name is Tim Filiowich. I work with Ted on the MWA.

I am not a member of MDHA.

I support APR.

I also see that there is a huge problem with deer numbers in the state of Minnesota these areas need our help as much as we need their help for APR.

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I think he thinks this is a piece of cake and doesn’t realize we bowhunt for a bunch of reasons other than just killing something.

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Thats exactly it. I started bow hunting in 1999. My first bow was a PSE Nova that my Dad bought me. I wanted more of a hunt and loved deer hunting. I remember when I got that bow I was shooting as much as I could and then when I wasn’t out shooting I was out scouting the land and finding the best spot for a bow stand. My energy and passion was on my sleeve. I was really hoping to see that in my good buddy but it just wasn’t there.

First day of the season I shot a small doe. I was hooked. That same year, October 26th, I shot a small 8 pointer. Some of the best memories of my hunting career!

Update:

This is a great buddy of mine and we spend a lot of time together. He was just so damn kill hungry it wasn’t giving me a good feeling. He does not have his own land and knows nothing about hunting. Has no interest in deer just killing one.

He called me a few days after getting the bow and said that he went out and bought broadheads and a license. So I asked if he had shot yet… Nope. He said he had no one to shoot with.

I then just told him that the only way i’d let him come to my properties is if he could show me a good group at 40 yards. I want 10 arrows in a paper plate. Ever since that convo I haven’t heard a peep out of him about it.

I had a feeling from the start that this would not work. He still claims he is going to a buddies cabin this weekend to hunt. I asked him if he shot or what his plan is? He said that when he got up north he would shoot a few arrows and build some confidence.

Oh well….

Thanks for reading. Nice reading some responses to get me brainstorming.

Been hunting straight minus 1 day since the 1st of November. I am on my deer hunting binge and don’t go back to work until the 18th!

I hunt north metro area.. Lino Lake/Columbus area.

Every day on stand I have seen chasing. The last two mornings and the 1st have been the most aggressive. Took the evening off to attend to some things today but back at it steady tomorrow for another 10 days straight!

Couple shots from the stand.

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By the way Gary I forgot to mention that there is a special interest group out there that is against APR that has done everything in there power to do away with APR. So APR supporters are not the only group out there that has a special interest group.

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Its should be no secret that the MDHA is the only driving force against APR’s. When a majority of the people in Zone 3 wanted to see the regs they were the only ones lobbying to stop this. Then 2 years into it they again tried to put it to an end. Their small interest unfortunately has some influence. Its sad when the majority wants something and they chose to attempt to stand in the way.

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and if you want to compare fish to deer shouldn’t we protect the BIG deer(breeders) and kill the little ones.

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You are making a GREAT point here and if you believe what you just typed than you support APR. You are just a little backward.

A good friend Ted laid it out perfectly for me once. These are his words….

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In areas of Minnesota where APR is not implemented, you can expect 70 – 80 of all bucks to be harvested. This is similar to other states such as Missouri and Pennsylvania prior to APR implementation. A majority of these bucks harvested are yearlings. In fact, we are among the leaders in the nation in percentage of yearling bucks in the total harvest. In 2010, we actually led the nation in yearling buck harvest at 67% of our total harvest consisting of yearling bucks. The 3 year APR trial in zone 3 has brought this down some, but we are still among the national leaders due to other parts of the state that are still under traditional management.

So what does all this mean biologically speaking? First of all, with such a large number of bucks harvested, you get very few bucks breeding more than one year due to them being killed. Because of this, you have a lot of inexperienced bucks doing the majority of the breeding and they never establish a hierarchy. They simply all take part in the breeding activities. With APR, you start to see a buck age structure that is more balanced across several age classes. This happens because 75% of all yearlings survive the deer season and they are allowed to breed more than one year. Additionally, these older bucks now start to exhibit their dominance and their aggression can actually suppress testosterone levels in the younger bucks and keep them from breeding. This does two things. First of all, it assures that the yearling bucks spend their time building up energy reserves to help them grow healthier in future years rather than expending their energy reserves on breeding. Secondly, this hierarchy that develops allows bucks to establish a breeding pecking order, and the stronger and more superior bucks will do more of the breeding, again creating a healthier herd in the long run. Yearlings will still breed even with a balanced buck age structure, however, it will be significantly less than when the age structure is skewed strongly towards yearlings.

Data from other states shows that yearling buck harvest goes from 50+% to under 20%. There is no reason we can’t expect similar results in Minnesota.

One theory states that when you have a better balanced buck to doe ratio, the breeding phase will be shorter and more intense, resulting in a fawn drop that is condensed the following spring. This allows for better fawn survival because fawn predators are simply overwhelmed by the sheer number of fawns. There is not however, significant data from the other APR states to allow us to understand the true impact of this yet.

From a biology standpoint, one thing that you can expect to see is very intense pre-rut and rut activity. This is all more natural behavior and the way deer populations interacted before we started shooting all the bucks. You will see more buck fights and scraping activity. Bucks will get more aggressive towards each other because of the increased competition from experienced bucks. If you ever tried using scents, rattling, and other forms of calling with minimal or no success, you should see a big change in this. The increased age of the bucks coupled with the increased competition will suddenly provide you with deer that are willing to respond to these tactics.

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Oh.. and don’t answer this by saying that you don’t want the GOVERNMENT telling you what you can and can not shoot. They already do for hunting and fishing. It called PROTECTION of the natural resources. WITHOUT that PROTECTION take a look at Red Lake and the path that Mille Lacs is in when it comes to walleyes. The hunting and fishing community is huge and we need to stay within boundaries and MANAGE our game. APR is a proven management tool that has worked.

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Steve, I have a question if the “MAJORITY” of hunters support this and over 90 percent of hunters in zone 3 hunt private land why do we need APR?
can’t the MAJORITY just practic QDM on there own and not force it on EVERYONE?
Yes i go to a lot of the public meetinds the DNR holds and I’ve asked this question more then once to Lou Cornicelli in person and via e-mails and each time i got NO response.
Now theres a guy i can get behind and support.

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What is wrong with protecting yearling bucks?

I’m going to guess he is 3.5 and has potential to grow bigger but… depending on what else you are seeing he would def be one I’d consider taking. Only way i wouldn’t is if I knew there were bigger deer around and a good shot at them.

And lastly… I just want to put this to rest. I hear it from Gary and a few others around.

APR is not about trophy hunting. It is simply about protecting yearling bucks! Allowing bucks a chance to mature and when I say mature i’m referring to 2 1/2 years old. Its creating a more balanced structure on the male side of the herd and giving them a chance to form a natural hierarchy.

Think of all the deer you have seen over the years in the field and on camera. With APR you can shoot a 7 point or better buck. How may little basket 8 pointers have you seen. Generally a buck doesn’t reach trophy potential until he is about 4 1/2 years old. Of course there are some genetically superior and they can become trophy book deer at 2 and 3 years but the on average it takes a couple years.

There is no regulation protecting those deer. If this was simply a trophy program it would be run a lot different.

APR = Protection of yearling bucks.

And your right Gary, this isn’t soccer.

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The truth being special interest of the minority being shoved down the throat of the majority, through lobbying of our government.

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I don’t understand this quote from Gary.

The majority favor APR’s. Are you aware of that?

If you are interested in testifying in person (either for or against), you’ll need to contact Amy Rudolph at (651) 296-1774. She is the committee administrator.

If you are interested in testifying in person (either for or against), you’ll need to contact Amy Rudolph at (651) 296-1774. She is the committee administrator.

Here is a list of email addresses you should include:

Denny McNamara (R)
E-mail: [email protected]

Duane Quam (R)
E-mail: [email protected]

David Hancock (R)
[email protected]

Feel free to copy the rest of the committee in on this:

Paul Torkelson (R)
E-mail: [email protected]

Jean Wagenius (DFL)
E-mail: [email protected]

Bill Hilty (DFL)
E-mail: [email protected]

Paul Anderson (R)
E-mail: [email protected]

Michael Beard (R)
E-mail: [email protected]

David Dill (DFL)
E-mail: [email protected]

Steve Drazkowski (R)
E-mail: [email protected]

Dan Fabian (R)
E-mail: [email protected]

Andrew Falk (DFL)
E-mail: [email protected]

Tom Hackbarth (R)
E-mail: [email protected]

David Hancock (R)
E-mail: [email protected]

Rick Hansen (DFL)
E-mail: [email protected]

Kate Knuth (DFL)
E-mail: [email protected]

John Persell (DFL)
E-mail: [email protected]

Peggy Scott (R)
E-mail: [email protected]

Here is a Letter that was sent:

Dear Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee Member,

I DO NOT SUPPORT the following language in the amendment to H.F. No. 984:

25.29 Sec. 62. DEER HUNTING RULES.
25.30 (a) The commissioner of natural resources shall not adopt a rule applicable for the
25.31 Series 300 deer permit areas that:
(1) imposes an antler point restriction for taking antlered 26.1 deer other than that
26.2 imposed under Minnesota Rules, part 6232.0200, subpart 6; or
26.3 (2) prohibits party hunting for antlered deer according to Minnesota Statutes, section
26.4 97B.301, subdivision 3.
26.5 (b) The commissioner of natural resources shall amend Minnesota Rules, part
26.6 6232.1300, subpart 3, item B, to allow legal bucks to be taken in season option A for a
26.7 nine-day period beginning the Saturday nearest November 6. The commissioner may use
26.8 the good cause exemption under Minnesota Statutes, section 14.388, subdivision 1, clause
26.9 (3), to adopt rules under this section, and Minnesota Statutes, section 14.386, does not
26.10 apply except as provided in Minnesota Statutes, section 14.388.

I am not sure you understand the great deal of research that has gone into the development of this pilot project. There has been a lot of hard work by thousands of individuals that will be absolutely destroyed if you include this language. According to the QDMA’s Whitetail Report, which is based on data and scientific evidence, Minnesota is regarded as one of the poorest managed whitetail populations. Those who opposed these rules have no data to back up their arguments, which is why the MN DNR has been supportive of the efforts to institute the new regulations in zone 3. Last year was year one of this 3-year trial. Why must you find the need to derail the DNR’s efforts so early in the project? What scientific evidence do you have that indicates this is a bad thing?

Minnesota has had its base current regulations in place for essentially 30+ years. It is time for change. This is how 22 other states have already changed and quite frankly, if we had it our way, we would want more strict regulations. These regulations are a complete compromise. Everything you may hear about these new regulations catering to one group is an absolute lie. The regulations as they are now are what we have always thought of as a nice middle ground where everyone can be happy, they just have to give them a chance.

Lastly I am very angry at how this rule got pushed through without input from groups like Bluffland Whitetails and the Quality Deer Management Association. There is a reason why it was done this way. The surveys done by the MN DNR show that the majority of hunters support the new rules and the passage of this bill with the language above will only satisfy a minority of the population. Last I checked, it was a Representatives job to do what the majority of the people wanted, not the minority!

Please take this language out!

I just confirmed this… we need your help. They are trying to take away the Zone 3 restrictions.

VOTE IS TOMORROW!!!!

Here’s a link to the website. The section that eliminates the APR in Zone 3 is Sec. 62 at the end: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/docs/A11-0225.pdf

This is the text:

Sec. 62. DEER HUNTING RULES.

25.30 (a) The commissioner of natural resources shall not adopt a rule applicable for the

25.31 Series 300 deer permit areas that:

(1) imposes an antler point restriction for taking antlered 26.1 deer other than that

26.2 imposed under Minnesota Rules, part 6232.0200, subpart 6; or

26.3 (2) prohibits party hunting for antlered deer according to Minnesota Statutes, section

26.4 97B.301, subdivision 3.

26.5 (b) The commissioner of natural resources shall amend Minnesota Rules, part

26.6 6232.1300, subpart 3, item B, to allow legal bucks to be taken in season option A for a

26.7 nine-day period beginning the Saturday nearest November 6. The commissioner may use

26.8 the good cause exemption under Minnesota Statutes, section 14.388, subdivision 1, clause

26.9 (3), to adopt rules under this section, and Minnesota Statutes, section 14.386, does not

26.10 apply except as provided in Minnesota Statutes, section 14.388.

I HAVE A LETTER AND THE EMAIL ADDRESSES OF EVERYONE ON THE COMMITTEE.

Does anyone support what they are doing?? I don’t and haven’t met one person that does. If you do I want to hear from you.

Considering what i’ve seen on some farms I wouldn’t bat an eye at it.

Where do I pick up my prize!?

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In my opinion their customer service is garbage. I’d rather give my money to a chinese company than cuddeback. I’ve dealt with them in the past and never will again.

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You think they have bad customer service you should try Moultrie….