Big_Holla
Senior Member
Sunday afternoon and Monday will be my rain dance Jesse, I’ll make honorable mention for you as well!!
1023's 2023-2024 Season Journal
- Thread starter bowhunter1023
- Start date
Feeling much relieved about the storm that just pushed through and the rain that should arrive this afternoon. It's nerve-wracking to spend hours of time and too much $ on planting plots only to have your seed sit atop powdered dirt for a week!
Left my phone in the truck, so no pics to share, but we moved 3 stands this morning and I'm pleased with the end result. The morning started off with a bang when I parked the quad on top of a yellow jacket nest. I went to hop off and looked down at Gunnar and the poor fella had 15-20 on him! Took us a little bit to gather ourselves after all that, especially since I'd thrown all the tools and the sticks/stand down right next to the nest 
We pulled a set that's been up 2 years and never hunted. We found a nice tree overlooking the big creek bottom plot with great visibility, plenty of shooting opportunities, and a giant red oak that usually provides acorns will essentially create a bait pile 15 yards from the stand on the good years. We pulled the Hawk 1.5-man ladder stand off the oak flat on our north ridge and moved it down into the pond holler for an all day rut/gun spot. We replaced it with a set of sticks and a Millennium. I loved the spot, but hated bowhunting from that stand. Was super pleased we the new view once it was done.
I'm on the downhill slide now. I'll monitor plots for a dose of urea if needed, and I'll go in on 9/6 for my usual birthday scrape freshening and cam check. I have an hour or two of shooting lane prep, and 2 blinds to get set, but we're almost ready. Opening day will be here before we know it!
We pulled a set that's been up 2 years and never hunted. We found a nice tree overlooking the big creek bottom plot with great visibility, plenty of shooting opportunities, and a giant red oak that usually provides acorns will essentially create a bait pile 15 yards from the stand on the good years. We pulled the Hawk 1.5-man ladder stand off the oak flat on our north ridge and moved it down into the pond holler for an all day rut/gun spot. We replaced it with a set of sticks and a Millennium. I loved the spot, but hated bowhunting from that stand. Was super pleased we the new view once it was done.
I'm on the downhill slide now. I'll monitor plots for a dose of urea if needed, and I'll go in on 9/6 for my usual birthday scrape freshening and cam check. I have an hour or two of shooting lane prep, and 2 blinds to get set, but we're almost ready. Opening day will be here before we know it!
Started chumming the gar hole behind the house last night. 100#s of corn with 50#s of sweet feed and a can of cherry kool-aid. It's been a month since I had anything back there and it only took 2 hours for him to show back up. I suspect this buck will meet Kaydence at some point this season.
Another one off the to-do list. I haven't had a blind here in 3-4 years, so it was time to replace the OSB. This spot has the best access on the whole farm, which includes being the shortest walk. It's almost a flawless stand in the mornings since the thermals rise really quickly here. My buddy Kennie G came out to help today. She's probably my best tool-hander-offer of the 3!
She said she wants to nap in there while Kaydence hunts!
I've had this Hawk panel blind for almost 5 years, but it's seen better days. It got blown over the side of the hill in early spring and we just rescued it 2 weeks ago. I was able to use the tractor for most of the hard work, then wollered it 75 yards through the woods and up on the platform. I hit it with some matte brown spray paint and will brush it in another day. Very pleased with how the window alignment matched up with the shooting lanes. Debating a gravity feeder since this is mostly for Kaydence and another little girl I'll be taking out this fall. Might as well join the crowd!
I'm very pleased with the top 1/3 of the big field. The Corner Pocket needs help, so I'll hit it with some urea and a top dressing of rye/oats and she'll be $ by mid-October.
She said she wants to nap in there while Kaydence hunts!
I've had this Hawk panel blind for almost 5 years, but it's seen better days. It got blown over the side of the hill in early spring and we just rescued it 2 weeks ago. I was able to use the tractor for most of the hard work, then wollered it 75 yards through the woods and up on the platform. I hit it with some matte brown spray paint and will brush it in another day. Very pleased with how the window alignment matched up with the shooting lanes. Debating a gravity feeder since this is mostly for Kaydence and another little girl I'll be taking out this fall. Might as well join the crowd!
I'm very pleased with the top 1/3 of the big field. The Corner Pocket needs help, so I'll hit it with some urea and a top dressing of rye/oats and she'll be $ by mid-October.
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That’s a great spot, especially once the leaves come off! I foresee many hero shots with the girls, post nap of course 
for the Domain Bombshell! 
Chancegriffis
Active Member
Suffered through a few hours of ridiculous heat, humidity, bugs, and spider webs in order to do my annual birthday cam check. Was able to scratch a few more chores off the list while I was at it. Managed to check all my cams and add Black Widow scents to all my scrapes. All my plots have some weed issues, but there's still plenty of food in them to make a difference. The Big Plot has a smartweed issue, but I'm winning the battle.
I added a scrape tree in the plot that sits at the intersection of the main E/W travel line, and the trail that enters/exits the sanctuary. We hung a new stand where the white X is and I suspect it'll be a fun sit when the time is right.
The Runway Plot is a timeless classic. Probably the best soil on the whole farm.
This is the spot where Kaydence killed her deer last year. I've always wanted a stand and plot here, just hadn't done it until this year. I'm super pleased with the food plot.
I used some flag pole holders to add limbs around the buddy stand and it blends in really well.
The mineral lick is 25 yards from our tree and while not an in season attractant, it goes to show how much activity this spot sees.
The Corner Pocket got an overseeding of forage oats to help with the bare spots.
My plot screen is exceptional and despite the weed issues, there's a ton of forage in this plot.
And just the birthday gift I needed to wash off all that scent and water the plots!
I added a scrape tree in the plot that sits at the intersection of the main E/W travel line, and the trail that enters/exits the sanctuary. We hung a new stand where the white X is and I suspect it'll be a fun sit when the time is right.
The Runway Plot is a timeless classic. Probably the best soil on the whole farm.
This is the spot where Kaydence killed her deer last year. I've always wanted a stand and plot here, just hadn't done it until this year. I'm super pleased with the food plot.
I used some flag pole holders to add limbs around the buddy stand and it blends in really well.
The mineral lick is 25 yards from our tree and while not an in season attractant, it goes to show how much activity this spot sees.
The Corner Pocket got an overseeding of forage oats to help with the bare spots.
My plot screen is exceptional and despite the weed issues, there's a ton of forage in this plot.
And just the birthday gift I needed to wash off all that scent and water the plots!
Big_Holla
Senior Member
Finished up late last night, so an "after" pic was hard to come by. Was able to swing by between meetings today to put new batteries in a cell cam and snap the end product. The big clover field looks a little rough and probably needed more regular mowing. I'll hit it with a heavy frost seeding in the spring, and will go to battle with herbicide and mowing next year to make sure we stay on track. I'm hopeful with a little rain and these heavy dews will help it rebound nicely by early October.
I was dubious about using 3-year old seed for my screen, and it started slow, but it's come along very well. It's over 10' in spots and much more effective than last years version.
I was dubious about using 3-year old seed for my screen, and it started slow, but it's come along very well. It's over 10' in spots and much more effective than last years version.
Received a little bit of intel this week that pushed me over the edge. After 4 years of not baiting at the farm except gun season through muzzy, I'm back on the bandwagon. I'm going to run one feeder and only one feeder, and I put it in the #1 spot for hunting with kids. When there's 7 other guys baiting inside the 640-acre square mile, what's a guy to do?!?
I'll be happy when they ban baiting, but until then, I'm back in Master Baiter mode
I'll be happy when they ban baiting, but until then, I'm back in Master Baiter mode
The color change is on and we're roughly 14-21 days from peak. It's still really dry, which helped me finish up my trail mowing today. I'm pretty happy with my plots and general prep for the season. I didn't get many of my shooting lanes checked, but we can deal with that on the fly. Overall, things look good and I can't wait to get the drone flight done!
Little different look at the plot behind the house. Perfect little hidey hole plot. Hoping for many more of these shots in the future!
Everything looks awesome dude, wishing you and the girls a great season!
at1010
*Supporting Member*
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Big_Holla
Senior Member
I freaking love seeing those birds eye views of properties and what you've been working on THAT year. Google Earth is many years behind what you got right there Jesse!
Colors are rolling over quickly here. 4 days made a huge difference! The dry snap, followed by rain and wind should pull down a bunch of leaves. Should be able to see through the woods pretty good by November.
A good look at what we call "The 2nd Field". Just a little plot right near the main entrance that is mostly visited at night. It's currently in Year 1 of a clover/chicory blend and will get a heavy frost seeding of more clover and alfalfa. I'm battling cocklebur and Johnsongrass here, but I'm winning the war. When we bought the place in 2005, everything below this field was hayfield. It sure looks good right now! But it's almost too thick and we're going to mow it off in the spring, then try and convert it to a natural prairie habitat. The main trail leads to one of my favorite stands in terms of flawless access. Lots of good berry picking in this pic, too!
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