Frank's Hunt Journal

[MK111]

3-12-13 Bought a 3 pt. disk today. I decided to put in a food plot for the 1st time.
5-1 Spread fertilizer today.
5-14 Sprayed Roundup weed killer on food plot.
5-28 Sprayed Roundup weed killer again.
5-29 I bought a 5 ft. 3 pt. roto tiller today.
5-30 Disked and roto tilled 2 ac. Due to faulty math I ended up with a 3.0 ac. food plot instead of 2.0. More is better.
5-31 planted the 2.0 ac. with clover .5 ac. and 1.5 ac. of Evolved Harvest 7 Card Stud of turnips, brassica, radishes, rape, and oats.
6-25 I got permission to hunt the neighbors adjoining hay field. This field is surrounded by 4 sides of heavy brush and butts up to my new food plot. Deer just flock to this field morning and night. I'll put up a new hunting tower in the corner of the 2 fields. I've taken some nice deer out of that corner in the past.
6-30 The 7 card Stud plot is looking great. The clover doesn't look so good.
8-3 Bush hogged the 2.0 ac. food plot to 12" high to knock off the weeds tops.
8-24 Sprayed Roundup on the remaining 1.0 ac. plot.
9-5 The boys came down and installed the 4th wall and roof on my new hunting tower in the corner of my new food plot and the neighbors hay field.
9-12 It's rained not a drop since 8-24. Chance tomorrow of 70% rain. So I re-disked and roto tilled the 1.0 ac. plot and planted 1/2 ac to Whitetail Inst. fall oats, the other 1/2 ac. to Evolved Harvest Mean Bean and Winter PZ.
9-13 Cut the brush in front of the tower on the neighbors property. The brush is all honeysuckle and is over 20 ft. tall. I could only see about 10% of the hay field. Now I can see 75% of the hay field.
9-14 Pulled all the brush onto a pile 15x30 and 10 ft. tall. Make a good wildlife haven.

 

[MK111]

9-17 Installed the windows and only door to go.

 

[Big_Holla]

Sounds like a lot of progress!! Any pics of it all?

 

[MK111]

New food plot worked up and ready to plant.

New hunting tower in corner of food plot and neighbors hay field. The hay field is surround by 4 sides of heavy brush and deer just flock there after 1st light and at dusk.
View from tower overlooking food plot. The 2.0 ac. planted is in front and the newly 1.0 ac. just planted is in the rear of the picture.

View from tower overlooking neighbors hay field. The tree branch in the center of the picture comes down.

 

[MK111]

Looking at the tower picture notice how high the honeysuckle brush is up to and higher than the 15 ft. windows. Before cutting the brush I could only see about 10% of the hay field and after cutting the brush I can see 75%. Next year the trimmed brush will be 5-6 ft. tall for additional cover.

 

[finelyshedded]

Your gonna kill something from that platform stand this year Frank! Hope its a dandy...good luck!

 

[Fullbore]

Looks great, Frank. Good luck to ya.

 

[MK111]

Put up a one man and a two man ladder stands this week.
The fall oats I planted is about 3" high. The beans I planted 3 weeks ago don't look so hot as hardly only a few have come up. But we haven't had much rain since planted. But I do notice a lot more beans are up since just yesterday so maybe there's hope for them yet.

 

[hickslawns]

Good stuff Frank. The weather has been much nicer for getting this sort of work done as well. Best of luck.

 

[MK111]

9-28-13
Hunted 4 hrs. 7:00AM till 11:00 in my new tower. No deer sightings but seen 3 groups of turkeys for 28 total. One group of 3 hens with 14 poults of various sizes.
9-29 Hunted 12.5 hrs.in my new tower. I called the wife at 12:00AM to see where the rain was. She told me later this afternoon. 5 minutes later it's pouring rain. Can't go home now and get wet so I stayed.
Seen 5 deer and all was does and yearlings. All were in the hay field. One came out of the hay field and feed into my food plot field for 30 minutes until out of sight. I passed on the doe at 10 yds. Sightings at 8:15AM, 10:30AM, 1:15PM, 4:30PM, 5:55PM

Days hunted 2
Hrs. hunted 16.5
Deer seen 5
Passed shots 1
Does 2
Yearlings 3
Small buck 0
Big buck 0
Coyote 0

 

[hickslawns]

heck yeah! 12.5hr in the new stand? Sounds like it must have passed the Frank test. Good stuff. Even better knowing you had action in your food plot. Just happy to read all of this. Passing or shooting, who cares. Sounds like a good opening weekend for you to clear your mind for 16.5hrs!

 

[MK111]

heck yeah! 12.5hr in the new stand? Sounds like it must have passed the Frank test. Good stuff. Even better knowing you had action in your food plot. Just happy to read all of this. Passing or shooting, who cares. Sounds like a good opening weekend for you to clear your mind for 16.5hrs!

Thanks Phil. It wasn't by choice as I didn't want to get wet walking 300 yds. home. LOL.
Need couple minor adjustments. Like a better chair than my folding lawn chair and a new bow hanger. I feel it will be a better late season stand or when the bucks start chasing in couple weeks. Were the does are that's where the bucks will be.
I'll hunt up in the woods in my new ladder stand 20 yds. off the main N-S trail. Took today off as it's raining but will do morning and evening hunts on Tue-Wed. Then I'll be busy until next Monday. Be in Lima for the gunshow this weekend.

 

[Hortontoter]

This proves that sometimes rain is a good thing. Time well spent.

 

[Curran]

That's a great looking set up you've got Frank! I can see how you could easily spend some quality time up there. Good luck & can't wait to see you knock a big one down.

 

[bowhunter1023]

That tower is pretty sweet Frank! I need one of those!!!

 

[xbowguy]

That's awesome Frank. You've sure been at it since last year. Good Luck with it.

 

[MK111]

10-12 I put in a 12.9 hr. day in my new tower with my TC Encore 45 caliber smokeless ML.
9:30AM had 2 does and 2 fawns walk across the hay field 82 yds. away. It would have been a easy broadside shot. I decided to pass because I figured I would be done for the weekend.
I have no worry now about the turkey hatch in 2013. I had turkeys all day around me. At one time I had 4 different flock come into that 3 ac. hay field from different directions at the same time and I'm going to say there was over 50 total.
6:30PM a fawn came into the hay field about 100 yds. out and was still feeding when I snuck out at 7:30.
I plan to hit it again in the morning and no passed shot tomorrow. I took a good book along and passed the day in complete pleasure.

 

[MK111]

10-13 hunted 12 hrs. today.
I seen nothing till 6:20PM when 4 deer came out at 100 yds. After some difficulties I took a nice doe. I did a complete writeup under Team 11.

 

[MK111]

10-26
I hunted for the 1st time in my woods in my new 2 man ladder stand. I rattled and soft grunts at 9:00 and 5 minutes later and a little forkhorn come down the trail looking for the noise. He had a forkhorn on the right side and no horn of the left. Couldn't tell if it was broke off or not. The wind came up abut 10:00 and by 11:00 it was 15-20 MPH. I quite for the day. This evening the wind was gusting 25-35 MPH. I stayed home. I'll hit it in the morning.
The smoke scent cover and Ever deer Calm worked great as when he was 20 Yds. down wind he kept smelling the wind and never bothered him. I guess I smelled good.

 

[brock ratcliff]

I'm enjoying following along with your season, Frank!