Land & Legacy - Habitat + Hunting

This week is devoted to all things cover. Cover for wildlife can come in many different shapes and sizes. This is why we promote various cover types and within those cover types according to the region you should have a whole suite of beneficial species. Tune into this podcast to hear what cover looks like in each region of the country for whitetails. Every region has different factors that determine what type or composition of cover should be present. The various forms are dictated by the climate, rainfall, and length of the growing season. Why does this matter? At this point in the season in much of the country, whitetails are seeking out the cover to find does. As land managers and landowners we need to be able to promote the right cover on each property. Each element of cover we discuss should be present to play a key role in the development of the deer herd and attractiveness of the property. To best understand what type of security cover, escape cover, bedding cover, and fawning cover should be present write down the different types of cover composition for each region. Try to replicate this on your land. If treated like a sanctuary, this cover will produce deer almost every rut! Land & Legacy is Powered by Simplecast

On this podcast, we discuss several critical observations we made while consulting across the country. Recent trips have taken us to farms in Mississippi, Virginia, Arkansas, Iowa, and Missouri. We have seen several trends on the past tours that we devote our time to discuss. Our goal is to educate everyone on the proper management of the natural resources on their land. Closed canopy forests are so common across much of North America. However, when we examine forests closely, they provide a very small amount of benefit to the overall landscape for many wildlife species. Forests produce on average 50-100 pounds of digestible forage per acre each year, yet a whitetail consumes over 2,000 pounds of food a year. When we place real values on each acre of land we are managing, we find a huge under producing element. Although this resource is a low producer, we find it dominating the landscape! If we want to manage a property to be super productive, we have to decrease the number of acres in closed-canopy forest. The new objective for Earth Day is to cut a tree rather than plant one! This improvement across the landscape would make a positive impact. There are more trees across the landscape now than ever before, think about it! Enjoy.Learn.Share! Land & Legacy is Powered by Simplecast

This is the time in which deer hunters across the country begin to hit the woods with real anticipation for encountering rutting whitetails. From our in the field observations and what has been sent through the CuddeLink System, we know very little chasing is occurring in our neighborhood at this time. However, we are just days away from a massive cold front closing out October. The combination of a cold front and the photoperiod is a recipe for pre-rut activity. In this week's podcast, we discuss how our hunting strategy of being conservative thus far in the hunting season is about to change! We start to move in for a strike when the deer begin to move and get on their feet chasing does. If we pressure the property too much before the peak of deer movement, we limit ourselves and productiveness when the chances of encountering mature whitetails is at its peak. Listen closely to the hunting strategy we will begin to deploy this week and the few to follow. It's all about cover, find the cover and hunt! Deer behavior from year to year does not change at this time of the season. Without fail, bucks will be chasing does in areas of ideal bedding cover. Be there or be square and eating tag soup! Enjoy.Learn.Share! Land & Legacy is Powered by Simplecast

Not every encounter with a giant whitetail ends well. Misses are not fun, but they are real and happen to every bowhunter. Without fail at some point you will either miss a buck or loss one to a marginal hit. These tend to be the lower points of archery hunting. On this podcast, we discuss a recent hunt on the Prairie Hollow Property that resulted with an amazing encounter with the largest whitetail currently on the property. The hunt did not end with a truck bed full of antler, but a clean miss and more intel for future hunts.During the podcast, we set the stage for the preparations ahead of time to the habitat, the access, the stand location, hunting conditions, and overall hunting strategy. This powerful cold front that hit the Midwest early in October was highly influential in the success and deer movement we experienced during the hunt. We want this podcast to be like any other, an educational experience that will help others succeed in the outdoors.There are a ton of great days left in the hunting season to take to the woods. This early encounter with this giant buck was a gift. We are gonna keep at it and see what late October has in store for us. Keep you all posted! #ForLoveoftheLand Land & legacy is Powered by Simplecast