# Berrien county 2013



## billy336

Super pumped that I'm back on whitetailer's lease east of Alapaha. These boots need some berrien dirt on em again. welcome back to me


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## ALLBEEF

Knock knock.......does this thang work??


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## ALLBEEF

I got a few pics from the yard under my pear tree and from the swamp......I'm trying to upload...but having a little trouble. Not sure which is which here......should be self explanatory when you see them tho.....


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## billy336

That main frame 6 is cool, I'd shoot him in a heartbeat. Nice young deer behind him too. Looks good and for the love of God kill them swine


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## Cavalry Scout

Those are fine lookin animals.  Good luck!


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## spearjunky

anybody going bow opener i will be in nashville


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## ALLBEEF

I'll be in ATL for the opener.......and I don't mean after any of those suburban deer either......

But Its so hot now.....I usually don't fool with going until it cools down. I may go once or twice before gun comes tho.....if I can get a good one patterned. 

Good luck!


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## billy336

I won't be up until the second week of gun. Chasing a stud down here in Ft Drum, FL. Good luck


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## creekhunter

*Opening Day*

Three of us hunted this morning. My son jumped some bedded deer getting in his stand. They blew and ran thru the swamp warning the others. Skeeters were big as toy helicopters. Thermacells finally did their job. At 8:45 I saw a big spike that I had gotten on my deer camera recently. We got out early. Miserably hot! About to go back to stands now. 

Anyone else seeing anything?


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## creekhunter

This evening my daughter in law saw a doe with her two fawns and a 4-point, all together. My son saw 3-brown foxes. That is all.


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## creekhunter

*Buck killed this morning*

Killed an 11-point at 7:45 am this morning. He was by himself and neck was not swollen and his hocks did not stink. Also saw 3-does and let them walk.


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## billy336

Congrats Creek, post a pic if you can. Whitetailer is up on our lease. Waiting to hear what he saw. I am planning on heading up Friday


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## spearjunky

good job nice buck


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## billy336

Nice one!


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## Whitetailer

*Late to the dance!!!*

Hey all,

I feel I am getting to the prom late!  Ole' Billy started this thread in back May, heck I was busy fishing until recently and not thinking about the hunt.  Hey All Beef, Creekhunter and everybody, great to hear your keyboard!   Well, the Alapaha river property has gone through major changes.  the "new" landowner has clear cut 250 acres of 18 y.o. pines and is in the process of clear-cutting hardwoods on the river bottom. 



 I was up the open and did see lots of deer including two nice buck that did not give me a shot.  




I will be up soon to hopefully have some rut activity  in early November and my son will hunt a few days with me....  Nice Buck Creek!!!

Good luck to all.

Whitetailer


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## billy336

Small 8 got a ride to Florida. We crossed paths at 930 Saturday morning on the bank of the Alapaha River


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## creekhunter

Yesterday morning, I watched a spike and a 6-point fight. This morning, that same spike chased a doe and her two fawns for 15-minutes around the field I was hunting and thru the woods. He's ready, but she's not! We see deer every time we hunt, but no big bucks yet. The next 3-weeks should be good, but temp is rising again.


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## creekhunter

*Please help identify this track*

Guys, I know this is off topic, but please look at this track and tell me what you think it is. I think I know, but want a second opinion.


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## creekhunter

*Billy336*

Congrats Billy! You got meat in the freezer.


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## Whitetailer

Coyote or feral dog....   depending on the size.

I thought you were going to show us a black bear track!  I have had them on my property in years past.

Yeah to Billy....  He spends 20 minutes on the property and while taking a walk shoots a buck


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## Four

@creekhunter 

Looks like dog to me...


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## Whitetailer

DANG Four.....

Look at you with the irrefutable answer....

Are you an attorney?  Or did you just sleep in a Holiday Inn Express?


Whitetailer


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## Four

Whitetailer said:


> DANG Four.....
> 
> Look at you with the irrefutable answer....
> 
> Are you an attorney?  Or did you just sleep in a Holiday Inn Express?
> 
> 
> Whitetailer



Internet Guru


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## creekhunter

*Rut*

Guys, it has started for us. We killed a 5-point (by mistake) Saturday morning. His neck was not swollen and he did not stink. We killed a pretty nice 8-point just before dark yesterday and his neck was swollen and he stunk so bad, its how we found him in the high grass field. They should be hot for the next couple of weeks!

Good hunting!


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## Four

creekhunter said:


> Guys, it has started for us. We killed a 5-point (by mistake) Saturday morning. His neck was not swollen and he did not stink. We killed a pretty nice 8-point just before dark yesterday and his neck was swollen and he stunk so bad, its how we found him in the high grass field. They should be hot for the next couple of weeks!
> 
> Good hunting!



woo woo!

Looking to head up sometime later this week.. packing slowly.. hopefully it's nice and cold up there and the bucks are runnin'.


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## spearjunky

yea man, bring my daughter up for her first deer can't wait


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## billy336

I was intending to head up but weather looks warm


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## Four

I'm all packed up,  i'm leaving straight from work today.


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## spearjunky

talked to people in my camp and they seen bucks every sit but little ones that was sunday maybe big boys will be up now


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## billy336

Few folks up at the lease, havent heard anything


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## creekhunter

*Weather*

Billy:

Its 50-degrees now and going down to 42 tonight. The high tomorrow is supposed to be about 72. We expect to see something in the morning. Son saw two does late this evening.


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## creekhunter

*This morning*

I watched a very tall-tine 6-point chase a teasing doe at 7:40 this morning. A spike joined the chase briefly, until the 6-point   speared him. They crashed around in the woods for several minutes. Saw 2-yearlings in the same area. Figured they belonged to the doe. Its on guys!


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## timj1633

I've been hunting in Alapaha every weekend since opening day. I haven't seen the movement I've come accustomed to the past couple years around this time. Is it just me or the rut a little late coming? I'm not seeing what everyone else is saying they are.


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## billy336

Pretty quiet outta the guys, no report. Prolly means they killed gooduns. I'll be up in two weeks, I'm hoping its late


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## creekhunter

*Rut*



timj1633 said:


> I've been hunting in Alapaha every weekend since opening day. I haven't seen the movement I've come accustomed to the past couple years around this time. Is it just me or the rut a little late coming? I'm not seeing what everyone else is saying they are.



Saturday morning, I watched a very tall-tine 6-point chasing a doe. My son killed an 8-point Sunday morning that was chasing several does. His neck was not very swollen and his hocks did not stink, so I think he was just getting in the mood. We've had a good year so far.


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## Four

timj1633 said:


> I've been hunting in Alapaha every weekend since opening day. I haven't seen the movement I've come accustomed to the past couple years around this time. Is it just me or the rut a little late coming? I'm not seeing what everyone else is saying they are.




Haven't seen any action either... Maybe we need a big cold snap...


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## sghoghunter

Well guys we was working in the riverside area and rowetown church area in east berrien co and the bucks are chasing doe's right now.We saw 2 real good bucks behind doe's at 11:30 and saw deer all morning


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## billy336

Crickets are here


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## Four

billy336 said:


> Crickets are here



Aren't you going up soon? 

If i get back up it wont be 'till the first of the year.


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## Whitetailer

*Whitetailer report...*

Was on the Alapaha river property from 6th. to the 12th.  I intended to stay longer, but the property is a mess.  The hardwoods are being cut and there will when it is all over be 95% of the river bottom gone and high hardwoods too.  In the foresters words, " we will cut whatever we can make into a board and anything else will put through the chipper".  I have seven ladder stands that were in the woods and are now in a lone tree with no cover within hundreds of yards.  After the hardwoods are cut they will start on thinning the pines.  I saw four deer for my entire stay.  The son saw one deer in four days and took him.  We hoped that a weekend with no work being done might yield some activity.  I put my son on a food plot and when I turned the corner to drive off I saw a huge excavator parked right on the corner of the plot.  Nice... The heavy equipment is running sun up to sun down with log trucks running the length of the property all day too.  They have two dump trucks hauling sand to the roadways throughout the property as the roads are severely rutted from the heavy loads.  Now it will be a good thing in the long run.  There are trees within 30 feet of the river and tree lines along the sloughs too with a few several acre patches of woods here and there.  Of course we do not know what the new landowner plans to do as far as cleaning up and re planting.  It is just a matter of poor timing for us on the lease to have this work done in season.   I have trail cam pictures of before and after with the big cutters and skidders clearing the woods.  The guys on the adjacent lease are having a banner harvest.

Whitetailer..........


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## billy336

Yes, Four, headed upFriday. No doubt I'll slip up on a goodun, have the place to myself


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## creekhunter

*Whitetailer's Lease*

Whitetailer, I can only imagine your disappointment with your lease. The farmer adjacent to our farm had his planted pines logged a few years back and I remember sitting in my stand when the skidders were wacking the trees 150 yards away from me. Terrible thoughts go through your head!

We have hunted our farm pretty hard on the weekends and some of the older does have patterned us. They watch us in our stands and occasionally blow to warn the others. 

We think the first rut may be over. We look for the 2nd rut to start in about a week.


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## Whitetailer

*Creekhunter*

Yes, just imagine hunting a piece of land for 18 years and then everything changing that you have developed in that time.   Of course the work going on right in the window we need to hunt is the nail in the coffin.  There is no way I could see any rut indication, but it was a soft rut at best with the lack of real cool weather.  Historically there are some deer in rut mode what seems like all season beginning in early November, but the second seemed to come sometime in the first ten days of December.  

Have a fishing trip today and tomorrow I am going to handle my "Government healthcare issue"

Young Russ wants to go up after the first of the year and we may as I at least have to pick up my atv and I will be interested to view the further carnage...

 Whitetailer


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## timj1633

I am being told by Alapaha resident farm owner that the rut just now starting. I am planning on heading up Friday. Anyone have input on rut and what they think the weekend will hold weather and movement wise. Also whats your thoughts on peanut fields? Good or Bad


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## billy336

gonna freeze sunday night, hunt the does


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## ALLBEEF

I saw the biggest buck I have seen in a long time last night. Prolly go mid 130's easy. 18" wide 10pt just standing ont the side of the rd. long tines.....boy he was a nice one!! I got pictures of 8 different racked bucks in the last 2 days. I think the big bucks are just now starting to get crazy. 

I agree...hunt the does for sure!


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## billy336

Stayed home this weekend and took a nice Osceola gobbler


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## spearjunky

Deer where chasing Sunday Mon


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## billy336

Crickets


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## Four

crickets indeed...


Thinking about heading up for one last hoorah right after/at the first of the year...

depending on the fronts, i might not have the clothing!


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## Whitetailer

THE WHITETAILER WILL ON THE PROPERTY THIS COMING WEEKEND!

the keys are dead and I need a campfire and some woods time......REGARDLESS OF THE NON STOP FORESTRY WORK GOING ON. 

and, ole mossy horns could always make a mistake  


CRICKETS...IF YOU WANT CRICKETS COME TO THE KEYS...YOU CAN HEAR A SHOT GLASS DROP!!!!!


Russ aka Whitetailer


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## ALLBEEF

Anybody having any luck........this past week was too warm for me....I haven't been in two weeks. 

I may give it a shot it the am. Still got all my nice ones to shoot!!


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## Whitetailer

*Allbeef*

I was on the property Friday eve. Sat. - Sun. - Mon.  Saw one heavy bodied 6 point Fri. eve.  Zip over the weekend ,then Monday the loggers started at 7 am and I was in a stand when deer came running by in flight from the skidders!  My property is not the test case to tell anything though with all the machinery and hardwoods cut.  It was very warm = bad and rainy = not bad.  The food plots have grown well and show definite sign of the deer using them.  I am sure for the most part they are across the river or on the neighbors land daytime and nocturnal with the logging going on.

I will say that next season it will probably nothing but sensational with the new growth and small patches of hardwood cover all over the property.  I am going to find current satellite imagery for my "new" property after all this tree work is over.  There have been five deer taken on the lease this year with my son taking his best rack buck.

Good luck with the rest of your season.  Hope it cools off.

Whitetailer

P.S.  Outsideman, thanks for your best wishes.


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## billy336

Might not make it back up before the season ends.


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## Whitetailer

*Billy 336*

Let me know your plans.  Four and I will be up just after the 1st.  M-A-Y-B-E they will be done cutting hardwoods by then.

By the way Billy, thanks for the tenderloins,  I had them with eggs for breakfast two mornings

Whitetailer


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## billy336

Russ, I'm going up the weekend after the season closes to shoot some wood ducks and coyotes. Wife and daughter will be with me, oughta be a hoot


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## Whitetailer

Billy,

Gotcha on that...  Yeah, is seems it is "family" time on the property as my son is coming up and bringing a buddy who just wants to see the property, he does not hunt, but may go on Armadillo control.  And my bud PI is riding up with me too.  I am hoping to call the lumber guy who I have met several times to see what is going on with the cutting or if they are done.


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## Rackbuster

I think they are on the 2nd rut in Berrien county. My wife and I rode round my tract in North Berrien outside Enigma yesterday afternoon. They are fresh scrapes and we had a nice 8 run out in front of us there at 5:15 pm while we were riding thru tract.


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## billy336

I will be on the property Friday to do some duck hunting and some solid goofing off time. Weather looks great, looking forward to it . I've had a cam out on a tore up plot for 6 weeks, excited to see what's on it


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## Whitetailer

*Last week*

was on the river bottom property last week [ Jan. 3-4-5] to close up for the season.
Loggers are still cutting and making the roads an absolute mess as it has been raining lots.  the property was flooded and according to the river gauge still is eight feet above dead low.  All of the river bottom hardwood areas that have been cut are under two feet or more of water  and many of the sloughs are deep. The loggers repaired roads over the first slough and the sandy slough to get log trucks and skidders in and out of the lower areas of the property.  Both of those bridges have been breached and are not passable.  There were five of us including my son and we cooked on the smoker and ate very well.  Shot up a box of clay birds and "Four" shot his Springfield A3-03 for the first time.  We tablet videoed guys shooting my Ruger Super Blackhawk with recoil and flame galore.  Had a campfire every night as there is no shortage of ready cut fire wood.   So we did hunt a few times and said farewell to another interesting season.  After the loggers are done the roads will be graded and manicured and passages fixed up and we can not wait for a look at the new and improved property next season.  It outta be pretty great with all the cleared areas to set up new stand locations in.  

Whitetailer


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## billy336

Anyone been in the woods? Heard any gobbles? IM headed up next week. Took care of some business here this past weekend
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