I was amazed at how the deer kept the clover “mowed off.” They were in it all season long, from early summer to even after the snow was on the ground. The following year I planted another acre of Imperial Clover. Once again I was shocked with the quality of the clover; this year was very dry and hot in the Midwest, and I was worried the clover would not do well. By the end of the summer, the clover looked as thick and as lush as the clover I had planted the previous year. Overall, I have been amazed by how tolerant the clover is to drought and how much the deer eat it. This year I have seen more quality bucks on my hunting ground, and I feel a major part of it is due to the quality of food they are provided.
I have seen many great deer this year, and there was one in particular I had my sights set on. I have been watching this deer for the past 3 years; during that time I have found his sheds and got trail camera pictures of him. Late this past summer I got a trail camera picture of him on a creek crossing that leads into one of my Imperial Whitetail Clover plots. I also got one of him entering one of my Imperial Whitetail Clover plots. I couldn’t believe the mass and tine length the deer had developed since the previous year. He was huge!
On December 8, during our muzzleloader season, I got to see the buck again at 35 yards. I shot him with my muzzleloader and I waited about five minutes and walked to the spot where he was standing and immediately saw a big spot of blood next two “four finger” tracks. I felt the shot was good but I didn’t want to take any chances, so I decided to wait for one hour before I looked for him. I was so wound up, I only made it to 40 minutes, the rain was beginning to pick up and I didn’t want to take the chance of losing his blood trail due to the rain. We tracked him about 85 yards before we found him; he made it back to the edge of the timber, just out of sight from where I shot him at. He was a monster! I never thought I would get the opportunity to harvest him. I had high hopes of getting him, but I never really thought I had a chance. It was the end to a long 3 years of watching this deer and finding his sheds. He is my biggest buck ever and ended up being fourteen points, and gross scored 203 7/8.
P.S. I found out since killing him that my neighbors got several trail camera pictures of him on their Imperial Clover plot too.
I have seen many great deer this year, and there was one in particular I had my sights set on. I have been watching this deer for the past 3 years; during that time I have found his sheds and got trail camera pictures of him. Late this past summer I got a trail camera picture of him on a creek crossing that leads into one of my Imperial Whitetail Clover plots. I also got one of him entering one of my Imperial Whitetail Clover plots. I couldn’t believe the mass and tine length the deer had developed since the previous year. He was huge!
On December 8, during our muzzleloader season, I got to see the buck again at 35 yards. I shot him with my muzzleloader and I waited about five minutes and walked to the spot where he was standing and immediately saw a big spot of blood next two “four finger” tracks. I felt the shot was good but I didn’t want to take any chances, so I decided to wait for one hour before I looked for him. I was so wound up, I only made it to 40 minutes, the rain was beginning to pick up and I didn’t want to take the chance of losing his blood trail due to the rain. We tracked him about 85 yards before we found him; he made it back to the edge of the timber, just out of sight from where I shot him at. He was a monster! I never thought I would get the opportunity to harvest him. I had high hopes of getting him, but I never really thought I had a chance. It was the end to a long 3 years of watching this deer and finding his sheds. He is my biggest buck ever and ended up being fourteen points, and gross scored 203 7/8.
P.S. I found out since killing him that my neighbors got several trail camera pictures of him on their Imperial Clover plot too.
