RAIN, RAIN AND RAIN

Had a very wet weekend. Deer did not seem to mind, my daughter and I seen them in the rain as did a few others I talked too. Nolan Kell and Ron Meckler both shot a doe and that was it for the weekend. We had a darn good fish fry. Thank you Shane and those who brought the fish. We had crappie, grouper, trout, catfish and tilopia. Along with fries and hush puppies. It was great, we ate under the skinning shed with all the rain. Things are winding down and we need a few more does taken. If you are to shoot a doe, take your time. Do not shoot a doe at 150 yards. How do you know it is not a spike or button. Practice QDMA, give them a good look over and make sure for one that it is a doe that you are about to take and not a button. You need to protect the bucks. We did a good job last year with buttons not being shot but this year has been pretty bad and in a year or two you are going to wonder why the bucks are not coming in and it will be because we were not patient and made bad decisions, we already harvest them. If we take an average of 25 bucks a year now, we have already eliminated 25 percent of the buck herd for that generation. So in two years you will see a difference. If you see a small doe do not shoot it. It could be a button, let it at least grow to 1 1/2 and then make sure it is not a button. At last check 6 buttons were taken already this season. We have to think ahead. On that same note if we are taking 13 to 15 bucks a year that are 2 1/2 years old, which we are (72 %). Then imagine how much we are cutting down the buck herd. So you are not giving many at all the chance to get 4 1/2 years old (we have only recorded 3 bucks that aged 4 1/2 and over in the past 2 years). Guys 4 1/2 year old bucks are generally big. The one that Ty took that scored in the 130's was only 3 1/2 years old, Moody's last year 138 inches same thing only 3 1/2. Imagine the 13 2 1/2 year old buck we shot last year. Those could have been running around this year at 120 or 130 inches. Hopefully you are beginning to see the picture. Getting cold, drain your pipes and keep closing the gates. Give Paul Burdette your $200 deposit by January 1st if you intend to hold your spot or it goes up for grabs. Next year white signs with BLUE writing. Remember its your club, if you want bigger bucks think and look before taking does and let those 12" bucks walk. These are the facts and no finger pointing at anyone. Without knowing the facts, we as a club could not make adjustments and better our results. See ya at the woods.