Land & Legacy - Habitat + Hunting

That doesn’t work here! We constantly hear it on social media. Today we are joined with Wildlife Professionals and Consulting Foresters from the North to the South to discuss various topics that we constantly hear, “How do I choose a land consultant”, “Should I hinge cut”, and “How do I increase my turkey population”; among several other topics. This week, Thomas and Hunter are Joined by Kyle Lybarger (Alabama), Daric Denny (Missouri) and Greg Berndtson (Pennsylvania). Each of these guys are at the top of their game and spend every day in the woods. Y’all grab your steel toe boots and maybe we won’t hurt your toes too bad as we dive into various topics in the wildlife habitat world to find out it that works here or not.

The acronym TSI or Timber Stand Improvement is very commonly used, but the practice is often misunderstood. There is a wide realm of understandings, beliefs, and practices from people who believe they are completing TSI. However, we set the record straight this week and discussed the three main levels of TSI that we most commonly prescribe, Light, Medium, and Heavy TSI. For each degree of TSI we discuss the canopy reduction, standard methods used to achieve those canopy openings, and what the general purpose or usage is from wildlife like whitetail deer and wild turkey within each degree of thinning. You get a free in-depth understanding of how TSI should be implemented and utilized on recreational farms. Remember education is only as valuable if it is applied. So get out there and implement some of the sound TSI practices that we discussed this week on the podcast.

In today's podcast you are going to learn how to turn "junk timber" into whitetail woods. The term junk timber is over-used, misused, and used incorrectly. Today, we set the record straight on recreational properties where the goal is to improve the property for whitetail deer. Not all value for deer is found within oak species. Although they provide a lot of potential from the mast they produce, other tree varieties can provide an immense amount of woody browse and cover. These trees don't come in the form of towering oaks, but are often mid-story or smaller DBH trees. When cut and not treated with an herbicide they offer incredible amounts of forage when they resprout for deer. Learn how to capitalize on your junk timber!

Join us this week as we discuss some of our past projects as well as plans we have for next year, some of our upcoming guests and even a couple of rants. With hunting season going on we have been preoccupied, but looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and making major habitats improvements starting over the next few weeks.

This is your how to instructional podcast to create one of the most important foundational aspects to a managed hunting property for whitetail deer. You have to have cover and cover in the appropriate places. This podcast explains in a step-by-step process of how to identify the proper locations, how to size the opening, and how to cut it to maximizes it’s security and forage resources. You should be able to listen to this podcast and then go pickup a chainsaw and implement what we’ve shared. Don’t complicate things! These bedding thickets will be the magnets of your farm. These areas hold does and bucks, create edges in timber blocks, increase consistency of deer movement, feed deer year round, and more. As we roll right into January, this activity should be on your brain. Don’t miss out, your neighbors might not just be cutting firewood these days!!

We’ve all been there. We climb up in the stand for a relaxing hunt and our thoughts quickly turn to what you wish you had gotten done. If I would have only cut in that bedding thicket, or feathered that edge; would this hunt have been more successful? Would I at least be more confident? Why didn’t I get it done last year? Should I climb down and do it now?I guess every habitat manager has these thoughts, but how do we get it all done? Join us as we discuss our thoughts and plans on how to tackle these projects so we can enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Late season is the time to harvest mature bucks. The exhaustion of the rut and settling in of cold temperatures drives bucks to feed and feed routinely. With proper planning though, the advantage can easily be placed in the hunters corner. Last year to this year, we’ve learned a few things on this western Iowa farm. During this podcast, we break them down one by one. Wind protection is a huge when it comes to feeding locations. Out of the wind areas will be highly selected when standing grain is left. These areas are magnets for daylight activity. If you have topography features with grassy and shrubby south facing slopes in close proximity to these units, there will be heavy feeding in the standing grain. Access is also super key. When you find the location, you have to hunt it! Time in the tree is key, so you need to be able to access cleanly, both entry and exit! This 137 acre farm has produced 4 mature bucks in two seasons during the late season over the last two years. This success isn’t accidental! It takes proper planning and execution to see these types of results!

Burn in the spring to promote grasses and burn in the summer to promote forbs, but what about winter burns? For many of us burning during the late summer isn't something we get excited about because we want to avoid a large area of black, no food no cover during the fall with hunting season. In comes Winter burns and their ability to set back warm season grasses and allow forbs to flourish.

Chuck Mays is no stranger to intense situations. As Chief Inspector of the Shelby Co Tennessee Sheriff’s Department and a long career with the SWAT team in the Memphis TN area, Chuck has developed tactics to deal with criminals and uses a lot of the same mentality when managing his family farm for wildlife. He calls it “unwinding therapy”, but I’d hate to be the invasive vegetation that he’s unwinding on.Join us as we find out how he’s maintained a phenomenal turkey population, continued to have quail and is growing nice deer on his farm.

Ready or not, the cold is coming. There is the treaty of serious cold temps hitting the whitetails range in the next few weeks. Does your land have the late season food sources to support them? Do you even know what to look for regarding late season food resources? Download this podcast to find out! Woody browse, grains, greens, and red oak acorns are the staples for late season forage. These are the main food groups for deer during winter. Woody browse is the most important in timber country and easiest to create. Grains such as soybeans, corn, or milo require ag land and or serious food plot acreage and equipment.

On this week’s episode, we are joined by Brian Modrzynski, a Land & Legacy client from southern Ohio. This story will take you on a journey of landownership and the evolution of goals and mindsets. Every once in a while you come across people who can see the vision and execute. They are the people who set goals and reach them with a tenacity. In the last three years this 600 acre farm has changed and not so slightly either. We are talking big changes and real success from every angle imaginable. Old field management, TSI, invasive species management, prescribed fire, adding dense cover, new access roads, improved drainage, timber harvest, reduction of antlerless deer, you name it rest assured it’s been completed. Do not miss this episode! There are great hunting stories but also insight on how to set goals and achieve them while embracing change!

We often hear landowners say “I don’t want to cut my woods”, but timber needs to be thinned occasionally so it will remain healthy and regeneration can occur. There are way too many timber tracts that could benefit from being thinned and you just might put some money in your pocket doing it. Join us this week as we discuss When to hold ‘em and when to fold em with Forester Wade Hargrave.

Every hunting season brings new perspectives to discuss and learn from. During this episode we discuss how a 36-acre managed property out performed a 160-acre lease. The difference in a lease and owning land is stark. Coming from two habitat nerds it’s hard to hunt a property without envisioning all the changes that would solve all the problems. In addition, quality habitat doesn’t just mean great hunts. It has to be laid out in a way that allows for access and facilitates deer movement to the areas of the farm that can be hunted. If it doesn’t, then you are left to be frustrated with your hands tied. It’s better to own a quarter of the land you can lease. Hunting should be enjoyable and predictable, not frustrating and random.

Old habits die hard. This saying is so fitting for many landowners. We've all heard the lines that most hunters murmur when they just simply accept poor quality hunting. Most excuses revolve around poor genetics, bad soils, and the region of the country. These factors are not limitations, just guidelines for the ways you should manage your farm. Stop using excuses, embrace change, and implement sound techniques. As we approach the beginning of habitat management season, it is time to start getting ready to embrace change. You have to prepare for things to look different if you want a property to hunt differently. However, you cannot do that until you have first allowed your mindset to be influenced and ultimately changed. Education and knowledge is the catalyst of change, not the excuses we've all heard before, such as, well he's just a mountain buck, or they don't get much bigger around here, or we don't grow big deer cause we have bad soil, or even we don't grow big deer cause we don't have crops in our area. Start the habitat management season with one for forward, embrace the change and prepare for it!

Throughout this deer season Hunter Johnson has had the privilege of visiting over 40 top notch deer clubs while following his tracking dog Lanky. Tune in as he and Thomas Baldridge discuss what these properties all have in common and how these clubs are able to produce and hold big mature bucks every year.

Are you a private landowner or do you aspire to become one? The value of owning land is difficult to comprehend and write about, so this week we dive deep into the raw meaning, emotions, value, and feelings regarding recreational land ownership. Neil Hauger is a Whitetail Properties Agent, he has seen it all when it comes to land ownership. He’s assisted hundreds of new and veteran landowners. As a landowner himself, he shares great insight and perspective on all things land. If you want to nerd out on LAND the give this podcast a listen and a share. When you’re done, go checkout all the listings on the Whitetail Properties website!

Do you have a deer tag still? If you do, listen up! There is still a lot of great hunting season left. After the peak of the rut, it seems hunters' interests just die off. However, we are discussing why some of the best of the hunting season is still in front of us with the post-rut and late-season food hunts. The back half of the rut is often missed out on, wether hunters are tired from grinding it out through early-mid November or the buck they were pursuing was already harvested or gone MIA. The last remaining does to breed get bucks back on their feet cruising and working scrapes, so get back out there and don't miss this movement. In addition, as soon the post-rut winds down, you still have the transition to food sources to hunt over. As the temperatures drop, the feeding activity increases. So be watching weather fronts and have your trail cameras over scrapes on the edges of the desired late-season food sources. Bucks need the calories during this time of the year, therefore it provides some incredible hunting opportunities. Thanks for listening to this week's podcast! We hope you stick it out and get within range of a mature buck in the weeks to come. #ForLoveoftheLand

“It won’t work!” We constantly hear this from cattle farmers across the country. Tune in with us as we join Ryan Parker Quail Forever, Grasslands Coordinating Wildlife Biologist.We discuss grazing natives and the benefits to cattle and wildlife. Folks don’t know why it won’t work but they know they’ve never seen it done. Did the Buffalo graze fescue to be healthy? What did cattle farmers do before fescue and Bermuda grass got here?

We're back at the woodlands this week discussing the recent success that was had on a 5.5 year old buck we called the Big Ten. We watched this buck grow up! He's gone from a triple beamed 3.5 buck to a giant 10 point buck. This is just another great buck that is a product of habitat ad trigger management,

This week we have a remarkable story for you and a returning guest to the Land & Legacy podcast. Mike Hinkle is a client and great friend. He is also a dedicated land manager, hunter, and conservationist. Mike recently harvested a new record deer for his property in North Missouri and is here to share the story of the hunt, but more importantly, the journey to get here. A popular podcast Mike joined us on was Cut, Burn, Repeat. After the success this year we can confirm again that this recipe of simple land management practices is the recipe for success. There is nothing flashing here beyond the message of consistency in implementing sound natural resource management techniques. This will yield results that elevate you beyond the neighborhood's average. We have said it for years, there is no silver bullet here. If you want success, you have to be diligent and intentional with your land management. Stick to the plan, and the results will follow.

“It won’t work!” We constantly hear this from cattle farmers across the country. Tune in with us as we join Ryan Parker Quail Forever, Grasslands Coordinating Wildlife Biologist.We discuss grazing natives and the benefits to cattle and wildlife. Folks don’t know why it won’t work but they know they’ve never seen it done. Did the Buffalo graze fescue to be healthy? What did cattle farmers do before fescue and Bermuda grass got here?

This podcast may hit home for you or encourage you, but you will for sure feel something. It’s the middle of deer season and the results of other success is all around you. Big buck after big buck as your scroll through social media, but the question is are changing your standards at this point or looking for validation?“The mentality that something far less desirable is better than the possibility of nothing is a direct reflection of the need for validation” We are here to remind people that stick to your standards. There is no reason to settle or feel shame for not filling a tag. A season without a harvest should be reflected on, not justified by settling or minimizing a buck less than your intended goal. A tag filled or not does not qualify you as a hunter. No ones life will change if you don’t harvest a deer this year. Keep things in perspective, keep the home life healthy and go have fun, learn, and listen while outdoors this season.

Finding time to improve your farm while having kids and living nearly four hours away can be very difficult, and Jay Dirks won't try to tell you any different, but there is a way! Jay is a Land & Legacy client from way back and he's seen his property change completely! From timber thinning, burning, and more timber cutting the place has come alive!

This week we visit with Matt Martin and get a unique perspective from a guy that has been on all sides of land management. Matt worked for the NRCS, has been a landowner with a NRCS EQIP contract, and now owns a land management business where as a contractor he works for others trying to develop their land

Hunting the Rut can be tough but it can all change in a instance.

In this podcast we sit down with Ryan DeSantis of Oklahoma State University to discuss forest health. This episode is all about the importance of active forest management. We discuss this from three major angles!First we discuss why forests need to be managed for their overall health. Single aged forests are one step away from being devastated, but diverse aged stands can withstand disease or wind damage. Wildlife habitat creation is another main influencer of forest management. Food and cover is created through diverse forests. Lastly, a proper forest functions like an independent ecosystem and stores carbon. This is an important message to share as you learn about how actively growing forests are carbon storing machines! Please take this podcast to heart and manage your forests. Every angle suggests it’s importance.

Time and time again we get asked after we write a management plan what are the next steps. It's a loaded question but the general theme is the same. Start working! Do we do the work ourselves, do we hire contractors? Should we sign up for government cost share? All these questions and more right here on Saw Dust & Fire

Land & Legacy client Aaron Jordan has had a season to remember! Laying down a 181" Kansas giant is not simple task. This didn't come from accident though, this comes from years of work, planning and habitat restoration. Land & Legacy consultant Kyle Hedges worked with Mr Jordan back in the winter and put together a game plan to start the complete restoration of habitat to not only grow more deer but to harvest more deer, needless to say it's working!

We've all asked that question when running into a buck we didn't want to leave our farm. Does he stay and just go nocturnal or does he leave the area completely? That's where today's research and podcast topic are crucial in understanding the needs of whitetail deer and how we can lay out our farm to benefit ourselves in high pressure neighborhoods. You make think you have thick cover but listen in on this podcast to hear Andy discuss what they found when trying to stalk these deer for the sake of research. Was it a simple patch of grass or tall mature timber? Listen in to hear!

We recently asked landowners to reach out to us and tell us about your habitat work. Today we are joined with Cole Shealy from South Carolina to discuss his property, the habitat work he’s done and the results he is seeing as well as the benefits of a prescribed burn association that he’s recently helped start.

You've heard the talk, scout before season, scout during season, scout while hunting! Blah, Blah, Blah! Most of us don't have the time to scout and play defense with the deer. Good land managers lay out a plan, implement, and reap the rewards. Zack and Issac Coy have been working to improve their property for years so we discuss the natural transition from food plots to burning. This is a great podcast to encourage you to start planning your scouting with habitat work!

There are two things that always coincide with treestands, that is safety and comfort. We can all agree on that at least. Every farm has several locations that are always dependable, each and every season. These are perennial stand locations that may require long sits in the tree safely and comfortably. Vertical Treestands is a newly launched and emerging treestand company that is offering new technology to the treestand game. In addition, they are offering a discount code to listeners, use the code LandLegacy20 to get 20% off the new offerings. We sit down and chat with Austin and Frank of Vertical treestands as they discuss the in's-and-outs of the new equipment. You can tell from our conversation that they know treestands and are building a company based around quality products made in America! Be sure to check out www.VerticalTreestands.com!

This week we are joined with Mr Donnie Deaton from the pine thickets of south Arkansas to talk about how to recover from a bad hit on that deer we’ve been targeting. We discuss shot placement, wait times before searching and yep, you guessed it….blood trailing dogs. We even talk about ole Lanky, the dog that chose his human.

This weeks podcast we review the three main ways we hunt and setup farms to be hunted. There are a lot of die hard hunters who cling to stereotypes such as, saddle hunter or rifle hunter. But let’s be real, we do it all, we are hunters! Specifically on managed private lands, there are three main scenarios you can find yourself in. The first is mobile, that requires a tree saddle. Not every location has a tree that can be hunted from a stand. Secondly, the permanent setup. These are perennial locations that the wind behaves and are always good, likely due to distinct habitat or topography features. Lastly, elevated blinds, these are for the areas that are sketchy to hunt and you need that extra advantage or big views where you can hunt with a firearm. Give this podcast a listen to learn more about the ways we setup a highly managed and well strategized farm!

Rut Predictions are lame. We are basing this on the science, the cold hard facts! The rut happens the same EVERY SINGLE YEAR AT THE SAME TIME! Sorry to burst the bubble, but it's reality. This week we break down our rut predictions from the pre-rut phase, lock-down, and the post-rut. We discuss how weather also impacts deer behavior during these time frames and how the moon phase really means nothing. For our region, the pre-rut falls between Oct. 26-Nov. 10, peak-rut falls Nov.11-16, then post-rut is Nov. 17- Nov. 25. This is all based on the average conception date for your region, but peaking breeding occurs during the 11-14th right here at home. Get out and hunt! Be safe, diligent, and disciplined!

Today we are joined with Private Lands Supervisor Ted Zawislak from Arkansas Game & Fish Commission to talk about putting more prescribed fire on the landscape.Prescribed fire is is one of the number one tools in the habitat management tool Box and is essential for creating and maintaining turkey and quail habitat. In this weeks episode we discuss learning to burn and forming PBA’s to help us safely and effectively meet our objectives of prescribed fire.

Remember that phrase, "You can't kill them from the couch?" That was probably spoken by guys who hunt every waking moment they can and likely put way too much pressure on their farm early in the season. On this podcast we discuss the technique of knowing when to pick the days to hunt and the success that follows. Also, what should you do to clear the field at the end of a hunt in the evening? Tune in to hear how Kasey and Greg hunt their plots and ensure future daylight use on their farms. Most importantly this podcast is about the hunt leading up to the harvest of a 177" buck that's lived in Iowa for at least 7.5 years until Greg and Kasey caught up with him in early October. Don't miss it! #Forloveoftheland

Every year, the term “October Lull” is thrown around as a time frame during a portion of October that some believe mature bucks don’t move within this timeframe and especially not during daylight. This is however false! Mature bucks do move daily throughout October, but we breakdown during this podcast, where, why, and how they move throughout your property. Pressure, heat, food source changes, scrapes, and more are huge influences for getting mature bucks in their feet. Another thing to consider with this change in movement is your position in relation to this movement. Where are your trail cameras, are you hunting where mature bucks are frequenting? If not, this will certainly impact your observations and beliefs in the myth of the October Lull. Remember go checkout the social media post to pull your own observations from this movement pattern.

None of us like spraying herbicides and we really dislike having to purchase it these days. In this weeks episode, we dove into some of the herbicides we commonly use on our farms and discuss the in’s and out’s that help us save a little money, mix properly and get this not so glamorous job done efficiently and effectively.

We're very excited to share the recent western trip to the mountains and future plans with Rolling Bones Outfitters. For more info on this hunt and application process check out https://landandlegacyhunts.rollingbonesoutfitters.com/. Chainsaw Chad is still batting .1000 in the mountains going 3/3 on bulls. Stay tuned for his story and what happened with Adam in Utah. This is a first for Land & Legacy but buckle up, we're going west more!

Yes, you read the title correctly. It is possible and during this week's podcast, we discuss how the proper trail camera placement will reveal consistent patterns from your target bucks, year after year. This is what we refer to ask "historical information". This past week we've seen our trail cameras light up in certain areas of our farms that don't normally have routine photos of target bucks. The fall shift in scraping behavior has started hot and heavy. The trail cameras will reveal certain patterns over the next couple of weeks of what your future target deer will be doing during the rut. Monitor scrapes heavily with cameras each year during this time frame. When you watch them closely, these younger bucks will develop very similar patterns year after year. This is a huge advantage for the wise hunter. It's very possible to develop a game plan on how to kill a buck when they are mature, based on what they do in the years previously during the rut! Be prepared!

Join us as we cover a topic a lot of habitat managers seem to struggle with. We cover easy sprayer calibration, sprayer setups and mixing herbicide for the habitat guy. It’s all way easier than you think!

This podcast covers the full story of a 7.5-year-old buck named Dove Creek 10. Seth Harker has been after this buck for several years and finally, as the 2022 season rolled around, this buck was a regular during daylight. The key takeaways from this hunt were entry and exit, ridge top with consistent winds, annuals/perennial food sources, beating the acorn drop, and shade lines. We will break down for you the four sits we had for this buck and why it all came together as it did. This buck was a warrior, he had been shot years ago and overcame a wound from a neighbor. Although this could have been his smallest rack to date since he was mature, he made up for it in his body weight! There are always lessons from success, we hope you tune in to sharpen your skills as a bowhunter.

Are bumper crops acorns a good thing or a bad thing for bow hunting? That is part of the conversation during this week's podcast. We give you tips on how to hunt and if you should be aggressive during this time of the year or not. When dealing with an excellent mast crop, you must set trail cameras over your top producing white oak trees. In addition, you need to focus effort on the cover. This food source is everywhere, so stay to what is consistent and that is cover, specifically east and north facing slopes during this time of the year. When hunting during this time, just remember that you must hunt with favorable winds. You need to put the time in the tree to be successful under these conditions, so make sure you are hunting undetected. Don't be afraid to put time in, but be expected to hunt extensively during this time frame. Deer patterns are tough, but any time in the field is still a time to learn and observe!

This week we are joined with Arkansas DMAP Coordinator Bubba Groves as he goes over deer nutrition from both natural habitat as well as reducing mouths to increase antler size, fawn recruitment and overall herd health on your property and the importance of record keeping and what we can learn from it.

This week we're going over some of our past projects we did on our farms this summer. One of those is the use of planting annuals into perennial plots and the benefit to each. We also discuss using a disc to help with planting plots! Shocked right?1

We have a highly debated topic for this week's podcast! This topic is incredibly important to consider when you are buying recreational land. Every state has factors that influence the hunting opportunity for whitetails, this week we will discuss the best states and the ones with the most potential. Factors to consider when discussing the best whitetail states include season dates, antlerless tag availability, land uses, climate, habitat, hunting culture, number of buck tags annually, over the counter or draw system? These factors all play a large role in what we see and experience while we are hunting. We break down these factors and discuss for you how influential these all are. We hope you enjoy the podcast and it gets your wheels turning regarding where you should be purchasing your next recreational parcel.

This week we cover a property consultation in a two part podcast. The first segment is discussing our expectations of the property located in Central Missouri. We discuss the property goals for the client and what we anticipate we will encounter. During the second half of the episode, we record after the visit was conducted and provide you with our recommendations for the property. This farm has a bright future and a huge transformation coming it's way. We are going to promote cattle grazing on 45 acres and implement a large timber harvest on the remaining 100 acres of timber to support whitetail deer and turkey on the property. The harvest will include, clear cuts and aggressive thinning! of course prescribed fire will be utilized to maintain this quality habitat. Don't miss this almost live consultation review during this podcast! Enjoy

This week, Hunter and Thomas talk about what’s happening on the farms they manage as well some great podcasts they have heard recently. Join us as we run down various rabbit trails from native grazing, to food plot planting, spraying, army worms, prescribed fire and a great discussion on a couple of awesome recent podcasts.

Are you ready for the month of transition for whitetails? Ready or not it is here! This month is full of change and variables. The factors are numerous and most hunters find themselves in one of two categories. 1. You don't hold bachelor groups all summer and are anticipating them showing up.2. You fear the bachelor group they have watched all summer breaking up and leaving.September is a unique month in the world of whitetails. Bachelor groups are breaking up and what has fuzzy antlers are now shed into hardened antlers for the fall. Not only are physiological things change, but also are food sources. The once green soybean fields of summer are turning yellow and cornfields are actively being harvested all the while whiteoak acorns are dropping. These changes in the landscape coupled by the changes in the whitetail's body really make for some big pattern shifts in the field. Most hunters are reactionary to these changes and stress out during this month. However, during this podcast, we educate you on how to embrace these variables and prepare for these changes. Ultimately you will become a better woodsman!