OT Elk in Kentucky OT

YukonRon · February 2017

B and C 377 5/8, with phenominal symmetry. 8.5 years old bull. State record. Herd is at 10,000+ and trying to maintain the population, Kentucky department of wildlife is granting more bull tags in the next few years of the lottery. Go on line and register. This bull, was taken on the 15th anniversary, from the reintroduction of Elk to Kentucky, brought in from Colorado and other areas.
Go on line to regester.

Biggreenpharmacist · February 2017

We have elk here now, too. But now have cases of cwd showing up. Do you have cwd in kentucky?

Eoin · February 2017

Biggreenpharmacist said:

We have elk here now, too. But now have cases of cwd showing up. Do you have cwd in kentucky?

Like BSE in cattle / scrapie in sheep? This was big news here 25+ years ago but a lot of controls were put in place and the human cases never ramped up like they predicted. Supposed to have started with sheep, although the scrapie was never implicated in human transfer (as far as I know).

YukonRon · February 2017

As of now, the heard is void of CWD. The heard is very healthy. The Downtown has done an incredible job monitoring the health and growth.

pgprescott · February 2017

I thought you had a tee time with Steve Elkington.

Hntnhrd · February 2017

Picture or didn't happen!!!

YukonRon · February 2017

pgprescott said:

I thought you had a tee time with Steve Elkington.

Dude is an idiot. Not a fan.

YukonRon · February 2017

Hntnhrd said:

Picture or didn't happen!!!

Hntnhrd · February 2017

Oh what a brute I love those big heavy bulls!!!!

pgprescott · February 2017

YukonRon said:

pgprescott said:

I thought you had a tee time with Steve Elkington.

Dude is an idiot. Not a fan.

Don't know him.

pgprescott · February 2017

YukonRon said:

pgprescott said:

I thought you had a tee time with Steve Elkington.

Dude is an idiot. Not a fan.

Ooo, I googled him. No bueno.

FarmerTom · February 2017

So are you also into hunting YukonRon ? A friends little girl, that lives about a mile away, got selected for a special elk hunt a couple of years ago in Wisconsin(she survived cancer as a child). Came home with a nice bull. Not quite as nice as the one pictured above, but quite an accomplishment for this young gal. I do hope the Ky Department of Fish and Wildlife don't intend to allow our herd to grow to the numbers of white tail deer here. Can't imagine how many acres of crops those things will devour or the damage one would do to a vehicle. Here's Brianna and her trophy. She is third from the right.

YukonRon · February 2017

10,000 is the limit on the heard for Kentucky. Kentucky Wildlife is committed to that number. That is why they are offering more tags to more entrants for the lottery and special hunts. They will not let those numbers get out of hand, in order to keep them healthy and to keep them out of the crops.
I used to be an avid hunter, but my time has become so limited, by rebuilding the house and my job. Much of the time, I can't because of my leg. It has been a while, but someday, I might be able to get back into it, certainly not like I had been before, but I would like to.

Killit_and_Grillit · February 2017

I remember when I was in high school they were really starting to get that process going in Kentucky. Some dumba$$ redneck popped a bull and brought it in to the processor with a whitetail tag on it. Ended up in prison. I never imagined I would see the day where we could hunt them.

I guess i know know what I will be researching today.

FarmerTom · February 2017

The county where I live regularly has the largest whitetail deer harvest in the state and our farm has a large population on it, not unusual to see 10-20 in a hay field late in the evening. My son is an avid hunter, but I seldom have the time. I did get this nice 10 pointer a few years ago though. It was opening day and my son passed on it. Thought he would see a bigger one. Bad decision.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/a1/wc55d98h0ckj.jpg

northGAcock · February 2017

We have a problem with snipes here in South Carolina. Let me know if you guys want to come hunt them....I can hook you up....no license required.

YukonRon · February 2017

northGAcock said:

We have a problem with snipes here in South Carolina. Let me know if you guys want to come hunt them....I can hook you up....no license required.

You might get me to, after a couple of your world famous, Bloody Maries.

YukonRon · February 2017

Killit_and_Grillit said:

I remember when I was in high school they were really starting to get that process going in Kentucky. Some dumba$$ redneck popped a bull and brought it in to the processor with a whitetail tag on it. Ended up in prison. I never imagined I would see the day where we could hunt them.

I guess i know know what I will be researching today.

I have heard some super stoopid stories on hunting, especially here, and I am not a disbeliever, in what you have posted.
If you get the chance to get in the lottery, you should. I have a friend in the DOW/Kentucky that has said odds for getting issued a tag, are projected to be 1 in 50 this year, as opposed to 1 out of 200, if that means anything.
If you get one, hire a guide. The guy that drooped the record Bull, used a guide, which has tracked champion bulls for the last 15 years.

YukonRon · February 2017

FarmerTom said:

The county where I live regularly has the largest whitetail deer harvest in the state and our farm has a large population on it, not unusual to see 10-20 in a hay field late in the evening. My son is an avid hunter, but I seldom have the time. I did get this nice 10 pointer a few years ago though. It was opening day and my son passed on it. Thought he would see a bigger one. Bad decision.

That is a beautiful harvest. If I had 15-20 in my fields, there would be 1 less after opening day. You live a good life my friend. Congrats.

EggMcMic · February 2017

I enter the KY drawing each year. Haven't got my number pulled yet...but I keep playing the game. For $10 it isn't too pricey a lottery...

DoubleEgger · February 2017

That's pretty cool Ron. Thanks for sharing. I remember when they introduced elk into Kentucky. I had forgotten about it until I read this. Pretty neat to see a sustainable population now.

YukonRon · February 2017

DoubleEgger said:

That's pretty cool Ron. Thanks for sharing. I remember when they introduced elk into Kentucky. I had forgotten about it until I read this. Pretty neat to see a sustainable population now.

Just about every national outdoor sports media has done a review of the process that Kentucky DoW implemented in the re establishment of Elk.
Most of the heard is in Strip mine or surface mine areas in coal fields. That is also a part of reclaiming the land. It has come along nicely it seems, with a record harvest the last 3 years, and the steady growth and health of the animals increasing annually.
My hats off to these guys. They are dealing with a lot of pressure from different sources, trying to manage the wildlife here.
I am sure there are better places to hunt and fish inland, but, Kentucky is not bad, not bad at all.

YukonRon · February 2017

EggMcMic said:

I enter the KY drawing each year. Haven't got my number pulled yet...but I keep playing the game. For $10 it isn't too pricey a lottery...

For $10.00, a winner gets you a trophey, most hunters will never have. The meat off these beasts is delicious. I was invited to a dinner, and they served the straps, and jerky. Awesome.

FarmerTom · February 2017

YukonRon said:

That is a beautiful harvest. If I had 15-20 in my fields, there would be 1 less after opening day. You live a good life my friend. Congrats.

Between my son and I, we usually harvest 3 or 4, sometimes more. As the landowner, I can take all the does I want. We have a small group of guys that have hunted our farm for around 40 years. They used to be really gung-ho and helped keep the numbers down. 10-15 per season. But now, just as with me, they are no longer able to trek up and down the hills like they used to, nor do they want to deal with so much processing. So they mostly buck hunt now. Doesn't help the numbers problem much.
Now through early fall, it's not uncommon to look back the ridge and see 10-20 disappear over the hill as we go back. Son once counted 30 in a 3 acre alfalfa field. We have given up on growing alfalfa in the fields that are farther back. After the first cutting in the spring, the deer would keep it eaten down so, it wasn't feasible to try to mow it. But when the time for rut comes around, they stick to the woods and are seldom seen.
I don't wish to sound anti Fish and Game, I'm not, but I don't think consideration for the farmers who feed these d%&n things, is high on their list of priorities.

YukonRon · February 2017

FarmerTom said:

YukonRon said:

That is a beautiful harvest. If I had 15-20 in my fields, there would be 1 less after opening day. You live a good life my friend. Congrats.

Between my son and I, we usually harvest 3 or 4, sometimes more. As the landowner, I can take all the does I want. We have a small group of guys that have hunted our farm for around 40 years. They used to be really gung-ho and helped keep the numbers down. 10-15 per season. But now, just as with me, they are no longer able to trek up and down the hills like they used to, nor do they want to deal with so much processing. So they mostly buck hunt now. Doesn't help the numbers problem much.
Now through early fall, it's not uncommon to look back the ridge and see 10-20 disappear over the hill as we go back. Son once counted 30 in a 3 acre alfalfa field. We have given up on growing alfalfa in the fields that are farther back. After the first cutting in the spring, the deer would keep it eaten down so, it wasn't feasible to try to mow it. But when the time for rut comes around, they stick to the woods and are seldom seen.
I don't wish to sound anti Fish and Game, I'm not, but I don't think consideration for the farmers who feed these d%&n things, is high on their list of priorities.

I agree, but being overwhelmed by the deer population is not unique to Kentucky. I read that Ohio had over 70,000 deer killed by autos last year. Indiana was similar. I know Kentucky DOW sponsors one of the most aggressive deer harvests in the USA, however, with this region, and the hunter's numbers declining, it is enevitable, the population has become a nuisance to agriculture.
On one hand it is a good sign, indicating a healthy environment, on the other, just like Kudzu, if you are not trying to kill it, it will take over in no time at all.
There has been much lobbying in the Commonwealth, by insurance companies to increase the number you can take, lowering the fees, and extending the season an extra 4 weeks.
With hunters numbers dwindling, Kentucky still posts record harvests each year.
With deer now becoming a varmint, so to speak, being in farming is frustrating no doubt, but having alfalfa, corn or soya fed deer meat is not entirely, a bad thing.
You have both my pity, and also, my envy.

YukonRon · February 2017

Heading to the Red River Gorge this week, taking my MM. Should have some good eats, making chili and corn bread. Will be tent camping, rappelling (light duty stuff only), backpacking, and checking out the area where the world championships for rock climbing is held. Place is wealthy with cliffs, caves, rivers, creeks and natural sand stone arches.
It is as beautiful as it is deadly. I grew up in the area, it is home.

shtgunal3 · February 2017

@FarmerTom my son and I would love to help you thin the heard.

Biggreenpharmacist · February 2017

YukonRon said:

FarmerTom said:

YukonRon said:

That is a beautiful harvest. If I had 15-20 in my fields, there would be 1 less after opening day. You live a good life my friend. Congrats.

Between my son and I, we usually harvest 3 or 4, sometimes more. As the landowner, I can take all the does I want. We have a small group of guys that have hunted our farm for around 40 years. They used to be really gung-ho and helped keep the numbers down. 10-15 per season. But now, just as with me, they are no longer able to trek up and down the hills like they used to, nor do they want to deal with so much processing. So they mostly buck hunt now. Doesn't help the numbers problem much.
Now through early fall, it's not uncommon to look back the ridge and see 10-20 disappear over the hill as we go back. Son once counted 30 in a 3 acre alfalfa field. We have given up on growing alfalfa in the fields that are farther back. After the first cutting in the spring, the deer would keep it eaten down so, it wasn't feasible to try to mow it. But when the time for rut comes around, they stick to the woods and are seldom seen.
I don't wish to sound anti Fish and Game, I'm not, but I don't think consideration for the farmers who feed these d%&n things, is high on their list of priorities.

I agree, but being overwhelmed by the deer population is not unique to Kentucky. I read that Ohio had over 70,000 deer killed by autos last year. Indiana was similar. I know Kentucky DOW sponsors one of the most aggressive deer harvests in the USA, however, with this region, and the hunter's numbers declining, it is enevitable, the population has become a nuisance to agriculture.
On one hand it is a good sign, indicating a healthy environment, on the other, just like Kudzu, if you are not trying to kill it, it will take over in no time at all.
There has been much lobbying in the Commonwealth, by insurance companies to increase the number you can take, lowering the fees, and extending the season an extra 4 weeks.
With hunters numbers dwindling, Kentucky still posts record harvests each year.
With deer now becoming a varmint, so to speak, being in farming is frustrating no doubt, but having alfalfa, corn or soya fed deer meat is not entirely, a bad thing.
You have both my pity, and also, my envy.

You hook me up and I'll be right on along to get rid of some of ya'lls pests.

Focker · February 2017

FarmerTom's first annual "Pest Fest", has a nice ring to it.

YukonRon · February 2017

Focker said:

FarmerTom's first annual "Pest Fest", has a nice ring to it.

I will bring my MM

Killit_and_Grillit · February 2017

@Focker Big Green Pest Fest...I would make that an annual event. gutting station, processing station, and eating station. From Field to Fork in 45 minutes.

@FarmerTom you just let me know where to register.

OT Elk in Kentucky OT

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